Lyric Open Letter (To a Landlord)
(V. Reid, Addition lyrics by T. Morris)
Now you can tear a building down
But you can t erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can t see...
This is my neighborhood
This is where I come from
I call this place my home
You call this place a slum
You wanna run all the people out
This what you re all about
Treat poor people just like trash
Turn around and make big cash
CHORUS: Now you can tear a building down
But you can t erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can t see
Last month there was a fire
I saw seven children die
You sent flowers to their family
But your sympathy s a lie
Cause every building that you burn
Is more blood money that you earn
We are forced to relocate
>From the pain that you createCHORUS
We lived here for so many years
Now this house is full of fear
For a profit you will take control
Where will all the older people go?
There used to be when kids could play
Without the scourge of drug s decay
Now our kids are living dead
They crack and blow their lives away
CHORUS
You ve got to fight
You ve got a right
To fight for your neighborhood!
Now you can tear a building down
But you can t erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can t see...
This is my neighborhood
This is where I come from
I call this place my home
You call this place a slum
You wanna run all the people out
This what you re all about
Treat poor people just like trash
Turn around and make big cash
CHORUS: Now you can tear a building down
But you can t erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can t see
Last month there was a fire
I saw seven children die
You sent flowers to their family
But your sympathy s a lie
Cause every building that you burn
Is more blood money that you earn
We are forced to relocate
>From the pain that you createCHORUS
We lived here for so many years
Now this house is full of fear
For a profit you will take control
Where will all the older people go?
There used to be when kids could play
Without the scourge of drug s decay
Now our kids are living dead
They crack and blow their lives away
CHORUS
You ve got to fight
You ve got a right
To fight for your neighborhood!