I love you, I love you You are appreciated When I was young me and my momma had beef 17 years old, kicked out on the streets Though back at the time I never thought I'd see her face Ain't a woman alive that can take my momma's place Spent it through school, I'm scared to go home I was a fool with the big boys, breaking all the rules Had tears with my baby sister Over the years we was poorer than other little kids And even though we had different daddies The same drama when things went wrong we blamed my momma I reminisce on the stress I caused, it was hell Hugging on my momma from a jail cell And who'd think in elementary Hey, I'd see the penitentiary One day, running from the police, that's right Momma catch me, put a whoopin' to my backside And even as a crack fiend Momma, you always was the black queen Dear momma, I finally understand For a woman it ain't easy Trying to raise a man I know it ain't easy You always was committed A poor single mother on welfare Tell me how you did it There's no way I can pay you back But the plan is to show you that I understand You are appreciated Dear momma, don't you know I love you Dear momma, please don't worry about a thing Dear momma, I appreciate you Although my shadow's gone I will never leave you Now ain't nobody tell us it was fair No love for my daddy cause the coward wasn't there He passed away and I didn't cry Cause my anger wouldn't let me feel for a stranger They say I'm wrong and I'm heartless But all along I was looking for a father, he was gone I hung around with the thugs And even though they sold drugs They showed a young brother love I made a start, started really hanging I needed money of my own so I started slinging I ain't guilty cause even though I sell rocks It feels good putting money in your mailbox I love paying rent when the rent's due I hope you got the diamond necklace that I sent you Cause when I was low you was there for me You never left me alone because you cared for me And I can see you coming home after work late You're in the kitchen trying to fix us a hot plate You're just working with the scraps you was given And momma made miracles, every thanksgiving But now the world got rough, you're alone You're trying to raise two bad kids on your own And there's no way I could pay you back But my plan is to show you that I understand Dear momma, don't you know that I love you Dear momma, there ain't no one above you And dear momma, I appreciate you Although my time has gone, I will never leave you Pour some liquor and I reminisce Cause through the drama I can always depend on my momma And when it seems that I'm hopeless You say the words that can get me back in focus When I was sick as a little kid To keep me happy there's no limit to the things you did And all my childhood memories Are full of all the sweet things you did for me And even though I act crazy I gotta thank the Lord that you made me There are no words that can express how I feel You never kept a secret, always stayed real And I appreciate how you raised me And all the extra love that you gave me I wish I could take the pain away If you could make it through the night, there's a brighter day Everything will be alright if you hold on It's a struggle every day, gotta roll on There's no way I could pay you back But my plan is to show you that I understand I love you, momma Don't you know I love you Dear momma, please don't leave me I appreciate you Although my shadow's gone I would never leave you I appreciate you I love you I need you I love you I love you Appreciate you I need you Oh momma I appreciate you I love you I need you Oh momma I love you Appreciate you I need you