Charles & Eddie N.Y.C I was hanging out on Joy's front steps It was the summer of love We were in New York City Vibe was cool with the radio on I think it was Sly singing "Que Sera Sera" My mother kept saying you're wastin' your life Sittin' here watching the world go by Why don't you guys get out there and do something We did, we became brothers that night Sharing our lives over a bottle of Ide's But that was fine with me There was some kind of riot on the lower East Side Some rich man shot some homeless guy He thought he was being robbed (Chorus) You can hear him say... Can you believe this city Didn't get much sleep staying out all night Soul kitchen was hoppin' We'd sneak in the side and dance Smash was spinnin' some whack new song We was all snappin' hard on his moms But he was cool That shit was funky That shit was funky Teachers were quittin' their jobs by the ton Every kid in the school was totin' a gun And they were just too scared You can hear them say... Can you believe this city Ran into C on the E train Had a brand new copy of Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" I couldn't help thinkin' coming home that day Is it New York City or back to L.A.

Memories on corners with the fo's and the mo's Walk to the store for the rose, talking straightforward to hoes Got uncles that smoke, and some put blow up they nose To cope with the lows, the wind is cold and it blows In they socks and they soles, niggaz holdin' they rolls Corners leave souls opened and closed, hopin' for mo' We know where to go, niggaz rollin' in droves They shoot the wrong way, 'cause they ain't know and they goes The streets ain't safe 'cause they ain't knowing the code By the foes I was told, either focus or fold Got cousins with flows, hope they open some doors So we can cop clothes and roll in a Rolls Now I roll in a Olds, with windows that don't roll Down the roads where cars get broken and stole These are the stories told by Stony and Cottage Grove The world is cold, the block is hot as a stove On the corners I wish I could key this feelin' I wish I could key this feelin' On the corners niggaz rob or kill And dyin' just to make a livin', huh? We overstated, we underrated, we educated The corner was our time when time stood still and Gators and snakeskins and Yellow and pink and? profiles?? Street lights and deep nights, cats tryin' to eat right Ridin' no-seat-bikes, with work to feed hypes So they can get sweet Nike's, they head and they feet right Desires of street life, cars and weed types Its hard to breathe nights, days are thief-like The beasts roam the streets, the police is Greek-like Game that is deep, we speak and believe hype Banged in the streets has cop left for deep life (?) Its steep life, coming up where niggaz is sheep-like Rappers and hoopers, we strive to be like G's with three strikes, seeds that need light Cheese and recite, needs and BE strife The corner, where struggle and greed fight We write songs about wrong 'cause it's hard to see right Look to the sky, hoping it will bleed light Reality's a bitch, and I heard that she bites The corner I wish I could key this feelin' I wish I could key this feelin' On the corners niggaz rob or kill And dyin' just to make a livin', huh? The corner was our magic, our music, our politics Fires raised as tribal dances and war cries Broke out on different corners Power to the people Black power Black is beautiful Black church services, murderers, Arabs serving burgers As cats with gold permanents, move they bags as herbalists The dirt isn't just fertile, it's people workin' and earnin' this The curb getters go where the cats flow and the current is Its so hot that niggaz burn to live The furnace is, whether money movin', the determined live We talk shit, play lotto, and buy German beers Its so black packed with action that's affirmative The corners I wish I could key this feelin' I wish I could key this feelin' On the corners niggaz rob or kill And dyin' just to make a livin', huh? The corner was our Rock of Gibraltar, our Stonehenge Our Taj Mahal, our monument Our testimonial to freedom, to peace, and to love Down on the corner

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way And there was nothin' anyone could do or say And I almost listened to him Yeah, I almost lost my mind Then I regained my senses again And looked into my heart to find That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again But I still find some comfort now and then Then the storm comes rumblin' in And I can't lay me down And the drums are drummin' again And I can't stand the sound But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem And there'll be no barricades then There'll be no wire or walls And we can wash all this blood from our hands And all this hatred from our souls And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

I am Kilrain and I'm a fightin' man And I come from County Clare And the Brits would hang me for a Fenian So I took me leave of there And I crossed the ocean in the Arrianne The vilest tub afloat And the captain's brother was a railroad man And he met us the boat So I joined up with the 20th Maine Like I said my friend I'm a fighting man And we're marchin' south in the pouring rain And we're all goin' down to Dixieland I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine And we fight for Chamberlain 'Cause he stood right with us when the Johnnies came Like a banshee on the wind When the smoke cleared out of Gettysburg Many a mother wept For many a good boy died there, sure And the air smelted just like death I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine And I'd march to hell and back again For Colonel Joshua Chamberlain We're all goin' down to Dixieland I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine And I damn all gentlemen Whose only worth is their father's name And the sweat of a workin' man Well we come from the farms and the city streets And a hundred foreign lands And we spilled our blood in the battle's heat Now we're all Americans I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine And did I tell you friend I'm a fightin' man And I'll not be back this way again 'Cause we're all goin' down to Dixieland

If you're all alone And you need someone Call me up And I'll come running Reconsider me Reconsider me If it's still the past That makes you doubt Darlin', that was then And this is now Reconsider me Reconsider me And I'll never make you sad again Cause I swear that I've changed since then And I promise that I'll never make you cry Let's let bygones Be forgotten Reconsider me Reconsider me You can go and be What you want to be And it'll be alright If we disagree I'm the one who cares And I hope you'll see That I'm the one who loves you Reconsider me Let's let bygones Be forgotten Reconsider me Reconsider me And I'll never make you sad again 'Cause I swear I've changed since then And I'll never make you sorry if you'll try And I'll never make you sad again 'Cause I swear that I've changed since then And I promise that I'll never make you cry

Keep your eyes on them rolling wheels 15 solid forward gears They glide like butterflies down the highway They'll move you down the line They'll bring you home in time They'll sing you songs of love returning Oh, our brother's gone away Now he can't play like he used to But his words still ring true They curl like dust clouds on the roadside He's been broken by a heart But still does not live apart From all the sorrow he has shown me Oh, our brother's gone away Don't you wish that he could stay? To walk you to the county line To see you shining in your time Don't you wish there was a way? Like a kid who's been out throwing stones Into a river close to home I've taught myself to trust the melody So I sing when I've got the time First to lose and then to find If I don't make it, don't you worry Oh, our brother's gone away Don't you wish that he could stay? To walk you to the county line To see you shining in your time Don't you wish there was a way? Oh, our brother's gone away Don't you wish that he could stay? To see you finally settled down To see your children gathered round Don't you wish there was a way?