1000 Lives

I was the first born son
Of Cape Verdean immigrants
Who came to this land
In search of betterness and difference
And simply I have seen it
Plain and simple to the simplest
These people fuck you over
When you cannot speak the Eng-l-ish
You’re working overtime
For no extra pay
If you protest then you’re fired
So there’s nothing to say
Every month the landlord
Fools around with the rent
You pay the gas and electric
And they charge you again
It’s crazy the way they jerk us
In this Picadilly circus
And buried beneath the surface
Exploitation of the workers
Who come from far and wide
In search of a better life
But they end up longing
For the people that they left behind
I’m far from Marvin
But it makes me want to holler
To see my people toiling for some
Pennies on a dollar
You say, if they don’t like this country
They should go back
But some other corporate interest
Already bought and sold that
I wish I had a thousand lives to live
I wish I had a thousand lives to give
To you
I wish I had a thousand lives to live
I wish I had a thousand lives to give
To you
If I had a thousand lives to live
I’d give 999 to Iraqi kids
Whose country has been turned
To a pile of shit
And nobody seems to care
If they die or live
They’ve never known a day
That’s devoid of any drama
Just about parties
And star spangled bombers
Both litter the sky
With falling death
They call themselves
Freedom fighters
And demand your respect
But hey, we’re the kids of America
And we don’t give a fuck if we embarrass ya
We say what we see and transmit it to the planet
And try to reverse
The propaganda you’ve been handed
They care more about a war
Than housing the poor
United States Super Crazy
Two Thousand and Four
Shove 'em long enough
Eventually he’ll learn to push
I ain’t Moses but I’m trying
To see a burning Bush
(Get it?)
I wish I had a thousand lives to live
I wish I had a thousand lives to give
To you
I wish I had a thousand lives to live
I wish I had a thousand lives to give
To you
I want
A thousand lives
To give to you!
And you
And you
And you
And you
And you
And you
And you And you
And you — and you
You and you and you
And you and you and you
And you and you and you
And you and you and you
And you and me and you