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(Lyrics)
I’ve seen the corner swallow names
I’ve seen the corner spit them back
The avenue breathes like a tired old beast
Tail lights fade like a promise in teeth
Men on the block with their hands in their sleeves
Kids learn fast what the grown folks leave
Blue lights flash on the brick wall stain
Some pray loud, some just say my name
A woman at the curb with her shoes half torn
Counting small bills in the cold wind storm
And the night keep moving like it owns the law
Like the law too slow to hear it all
Slow talk
Long walk
One wrong turn
And the whole street talks
Hold that line
Hold that line
When the dark gets loud
Hold that line
When the dark…
Keep your heart out the crowd
Glass on the ground like a frozen lake
Needles in the ditch where the weak ones break
A boy with a bruise and a borrowed phone
A mother with a prayer and a voice turned stone
Sirens pass by, then they fade again
Everybody here got a list of sins
Dealers at the gate with the dead-eyed grin
And the poor get trapped where the rich won’t swim
Still a hand reaches out in the wreckage glow
Saying ‘don’t let go, don’t let go, don’t let go’
I know the dark got a rented crown
I know it keeps pulling this whole town down
But every small light in a windowpane
Is a fist in the face of the fear and shame
Hold that line
Hold that line
When the dark gets loud
Keep your heart out the crowd
I’ve seen the corner swallow names
I’ve seen the corner spit them back
And I keep my voice
Slow
Warm
Deep
Till the night talks back
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