Agony is the key to a happy life You can't know joy if you don't know strife There's no good or bad by itself You can't have poverty if there is no wealth My dad is an optimistic man My dad is an optimistic man (Everybody's gonna wanna dis you) They'll build you up and they'll break you down But you're stronger for the next time they come around They'll smile in your face and they'll give you praise And they try to destroy you in a thousand different ways 'Cause with every bad there's a little good And with every good there's a little bad So you're gonna get happy and you're gonna get sad So keep movin on like my good ol' dad 'Cause agony is the key to a happy life There's no Tribe Called Quest if there is no Fife Agony is the key to a happy life I like my ice cream straight and I like it fried In actuality, I mean in reality The words that I speak are a mere hypothesis Pure agony might not be what it's about But comparisons of one state to another, no doubt Agony might be more than I can claim I have no pure joy and I have no pain I know a person we can ask who's known Agony A grandmaster on the mic, Percy Carey With hardy laughter from my heart and tears pouring from my sockets I pass the mic along, Grimm Reaper rock it Hundreds of years, hell's been America Auctioned of yes, sold like eBay Told to be a good boy, listen to what they say Don't get smart boy, life will be easy Try to run boy, the dogs get angry Picked at cotton in the field, be happy What you say to me, you nappy Head little nigga, talkin' back String him up good, then we whip off the black Speed time up, meanwhile tell some facts Power to the people? Nah, Nixon killed that Nas pimpin' all the women, yeah bitches gettin' smacked Speed up time, whole nation on crack Drug wars and ghetto, dealers kidnapped Ransom not paid, found all hacked Hip hop daisy age, peace knapsacks Now we in the dizzy age, gangster rap Everyone is strapped, in the street bustin' caps Someone come save us, please 'cause we're trapped Taste all the agony, put some fear in ya Get home safe now, goodbye America