Stepping Stone lyrics

[Intro]

Take me to the river

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Verse 1]

It's 2002, everything was totally new

We were globally huge, watchin' sales go through the roof

We wrote and we feuded, Runyon Avenue soldiers included

A multitude of homies who would bounce for no good excuse

We were so bulletproof—wrote, souped and soaked in our youth

Thought we was runnin' shit 'til we lost the sole of our shoe

The death of Doody broke us in two

We were thrown for a loop, ain't none of us know what to do

And at the time I was goin' through my own struggles too

So I wasn't in no condition to be coachin' us through

Everyone tried to go solo, really nobody blew

I was hopin' they do, so I ain't have to shoulder the crew

The plan was put everyone in position so that they knew

How to stand on their own, and I don't wanna open up wounds

I just noticed that oomph was gone when we go in the booth

'Cause the truth is, the moment that Proof died, so did the group

Shoot…

[Pre-Chorus]

If I could leave this all behind

I could open up my eyes and walk in a straight line

Down to the river with you

Help me leave this all behind

[Chorus]

I'ma wash away my sins

I'ma rinse away this dirt

I forgot to make amends

To all the friends I may have hurt

I better stop and say my grace

From it I pray that I don't fall

'Cause on the way back down I may

End up runnin' back into them all

I never meant to use you all as my stepping stones

[Verse 2]

It was never the same, and it's bothered me since

And the farther we drift apart, the more awkward it gets

The more time goes by, the more life happens

And we gotta be men, we got responsibilities

Plus we don't say how we feel

And I feel like this is what got us in the debacle we're in

Been with you guys thick and thin

But it's almost as if sometimes we're not even friends

Which reminded me Biz, "Rockstar" was the shit

Y'all coulda got you a hit without me on the shit

If you woulda put D12 on it, wish I coulda did

More than try talkin' you into comin' up off of it

I know it wasn't my fault, but part of it probably is

I think of all of the trips to BET

And the rappers I wish that we woulda politicked with

Maybe y'all coulda clicked and got you some features

But that's water under the bridge

But I'm washin' my sins in it 'til my conscience is cleansed

[Pre-Chorus]

If I could leave this all behind

I could open up my eyes and walk in a straight line

Down to the river with you

Help me leave this all behind

[Chorus]

I'ma wash away my sins

I'ma rinse away this dirt

I forgot to make amends

To all the friends I may have hurt

I better stop and say my grace

From it I pray that I don't fall

'Cause on the way back down I may

End up runnin' back into them all

I never meant to use you all as my stepping stones

[Verse 3]

Bacardi and Hen', never thought the party would end

One minute you're bodyin' shit, but then your audience splits

You can already sense the climate is startin' to shift

To these kids you no longer exist

Went from rainin' cats and dogs in this bitch

To tiny drops, little drips

And by the time your reign is over, you'll hardly be missed

You start thinkin' of all the artists you dissed

All the carnage you left, is this the kind of karma you get

For turnin' your fuckin' back on Bizzy, Kuniva and Swift?

A Freudian slip, subconsciously, I honestly wished

I ain't feel so much guilt and y'all didn't harbor resentment

But it's hard to pretend that y'all ain't got none

I just wish I had words, but I guess there just are none for this

To my partners, I can't say how sorry I am

This is not how I planned for our story to end

I love all of you men

But I just can't be the guy everybody depends

On for entire careers 'cause that's not even fair

I will always be here, but that spark isn't there

And I don't know how to recapture that time and that era

I've tried hearkening back to, but I'm fightin' for air

I'm barely chartin' myself

Feels like I'm on the descent, but it was not my intent

To treat y'all like a stepping stone

Though I ain't left no one behind, but we been down every road

Done all we possibly can, I know we kept our hopes up

But the longer we spend livin' this lie that we live

The less is left for closure, so let's let this go

It's not goodbye to our friendship, but D12 is over

[Chorus]

I'ma wash away my sins

I'ma rinse away this dirt

I forgot to make amends

To all the friends I may have hurt

I better stop and say my grace

From it I pray that I don't fall

'Cause on the way back down I may

End up runnin' back into them all

I never meant to use you all as my stepping stones

I never meant to make you feel like my stepping stones

I never meant to use you all for my stepping stones

• Artist:Eminem
• Album:Kamikaze