Eminem › Lyrics › When the Music Stops

{Music reality
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference
But we, as entertainers have a responsibility
To these kids, psyche}

If I were to die murdered in cold blood tomorrow
Would you feel sorrow or show love or would it matter?
Could never be the lead off batter
If there ain't s*** for me to feed off, I'm see saw battlin'
But there's way too much at stake for me to be fake
There's too much on my plate, I came way
Too far in this game to turn and walk away
And not say what I got to say
"What the f***, you take me for a joke? You smokin crack?"
'Fore I do that, I'd beg Mariah to take me back
I'll get up 'fore I get down, run myself in the ground
'Fore I put some wack s*** out
I'm tryin' to smack this one out the park, five thousand mark
Y'all steady tryin' to drown a shark
Ain't gon' do nothin' but piss me off, lid to the can of whip ass
Just twist me off, see me leap out, pull a piece out
F*** shootin' I'm just tryin to knock his teeth out
F*** with me now, b****, let's see you freestyle
Talk is cheap, m***********, if you really feelin' froggish leap
Yo slim, you gon' let him get away with that?
He tried to play you, you can't let him skate with that
Man, I hate this crap
This ain't rap, this is crazy the way we act
When we confuse hip-hop with real life, when the music stops

Ain't no gettin' rid of McVeigh, if so you woulda tried
The only way I'm leavin' this b****, is suicide
I have died clinically, arrived back at my enemies' crib
With Hennessey, got drunk then I finished it
I'm every nigga's favorite arch enemy
Physically fitted to be the most dangerous nigga with b***
I spark willingly, with a Dillinger in the dark diligently
I'm not what you think
I appear to be f***** up, mentally endangered
I can't stay away from a razor
I just want my face in a paper
I wish a nigga had a grenade to squeeze tight
To awake neighbors for acres
I'll murder you, I gauge and have me turn into a mad man
Son of Sam b****, I'm surgical
I'm allergic to dyin', you think not?
You got balls? We can see how large, when the music stops

I was happy havin' a deal at first
Thought money would make me happy but it only made my pain worse
It hurts when you see your friends turn their back on you, dog
And you ain't got nuttin' left but your word and your balls
And you're stressed from the calls of your new friends
Beggin' with their hands out, checkin' for your record when it's sellin'
When it ain't, that's the end, no laughs, no friends
No girls, just the gin you drink, till your car spin you think
Damn, when you slam into the wall
And you fall out the car and try to crawl with one arm
I'm 'bout to lose it all in a pool of alcohol
If my funeral's tomorrow wonder would they even call?
When the music stops

Let's see, how many of your men loyal?
When I pull up lookin' for you with a pistol, sippin' a can of Penz oil
I'm revved up, who said what, when lead bust
Your head just explode with red stuff, I'm handcuffed
Tossed in the paddy wagon, braggin' about how you shouted
Like a coward, bullets devoured you, showered you niggaz
If I was you niggaz, I'd run while given a chance
Understand, I can enhance the spirit of man
Death itself, it can hurt me
Just the thought of dyin' alone that really irks me
You ain't worthy to speak thoughts of cheap talk
Be smart and stop tryin' to walk how G's walk before we spark
Hug the floor while we playin' tug of war with your life
F*** a tour and a mike, I'd rather f*** a whore with a knife
Deliver that s*** that coroner's like
You hype poppin' s*** in broad daylight
Nigga, you're a goner at night when the music stops

Instigators, turn pits in cages
Let loose and bit the neighbors, wrist to razors
Y'all don't want war, y'all want talk
In the dark my dogs all bark like Woof!
Proof nigga I'ma wolf, get your whole roof
Caved in like reindeer hoofs
Stomp the booth, shake the floor tiles loose
The more y'all breathe s*** the more I moves
It's Hill Street, this is hardcore blues
Put a gun to rap, check in all our dues, nigga
Or make the news, betcha all y'all move
When the Uzi pop you better drop, when the music stop

Music has changed my life in so many ways
Brain's confused, been f***** since the fifth grade
LL told me to, "Rock the Bells"
NWA said, "F*** the Police," Now I'm in jail
Ninety three was strictly R and B
F***** up haircut, listened to Jodeci
Michael Jackson who gon' tell me I ain't Mike?
Ass cheeks painted white, f*****' Priscilla tonight
Flyin' down Sunset smokin' crack
Transvestite in the front, Eddie Murphy in the back
M.O.P. had me grimy and gritty
Marilyn Manson, I dyed my hair blue and grew some t******
Ludacris told me to throw them bows
Now I'm in the hospital with a broken nose and a fractured elbow
Voices in my head, I'm goin' in shock
I'm reachin' for the glock but the music stops