'Tis Of Thee

They caught the last poor man

on a poor man's vacation

The cuffed him and they confiscated his stuff.

They dragged his black ass down to the station

and said, ok, the streets are safe now

all your pretty white children can come out and see spot run.

And they came out of their houses

and they looked around

but they didn't see no one

My country tis of thee

to take swings at each other on the talk show tv

Why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun.

'Cuz we'll never live long enough

to undo everything they've done to you

undo everything they've done to you

Above 96th street

they're handin' out smallpox blankets so people don't freeze.

The old dogs have got a new trick

It's called criminalize the symptoms

while you spread the disease

and I hold on hard to something

between my teeth when I'm sleeping

I was up and my jaw aches..

and the earth is full of earthquakes

My country 'tis of thee

to take shots at each other on primetime TV

Why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun

'cuz we'll never live long enough

to undo everything they've done to you

undo everything they've done to you

and I'm trying to see through the glare

yes, I'm struggling just to see what is there

the one person who really knows me best

says I'm like a cat

the kind of cat that you can't pick up and throw into your lap

no, the kind that doesn't mind being held

only when it's her idea

yeah, the kind that feels what she decides to feel

when she's good and ready to feel it.

Now I am prowling through the backyard

and I am hiding under the car

I have gotten out of everthing

I've gotten into so far

I eat when I am hungry

and I travel alone

and just outside the glow of the house

is where I feel most at home

but in the window you sometimes appear

and your music is faint in my ears..