Didn't take nothin'
That I didn't need
'Cause they didn't offer
Classes in what I wanted to be
They didn't offer manhood
Responsibility
Had to learn it the hard way
Earn my degree in the streets
Graduated from hard knocks
Got my education
Hard knocks
Gettin' in and out of situations
Hard knocks
Ooooooh, oooh
Hard knocks
From the dirty, dirty south
Didn't learn crawfish peelin'
Without feelin' the burn
And I ain't got nothin'
That I did not earn
Chasin' that ooooh
Still hittin' the books
Studying Donnie and Stevie
Learn to sail the hooks
Just enough
I graduated from hard knocks
Got the bumps and the bruises to prove it
Hard knocks
Magna cum laude
Hard knocks
Ooooooh, ooooh
Hard knocks
Yeah
Had a real good teacher
Named Mr. Life
Didn't teach no chemistry
But he taught me how to fight
Didn't teach biology
But I learned it from the birds and the bees
Said stay close to your friends
Even closer to your enemies
Ooooooh
Hard knocks
Magna cum laude
Hard knocks
The bumps and the bruises to prove it
Hard knocks
Ooooooh, ooooh
Hard knocks
Yeah
Hard knocks
Hard knocks
Hard knocks
Hard knocks
Comin from where I'm from
Where I'm from, yeah
Ooooooooh