new day begun (kevin so)
wake up son the day’s begun
for another year of school
you’re twelve and a half, i can’t help but laugh
i remember when i was like you
get up get dressed you’ve had your rest
it’s almost 7:49am
we can’t be late your mom’ll hate me
if i don’t get you there on time
wake up son the day’s begun
come on come on come on a new day begun
we’ll take the car it’s not too far
twenty minutes during rush hour
we can stop and eat get some good stuff cheap
we can split a gay may bow
but we can’t stay long we gotta move on
the first day is always weird
there’ll be lots of kids and yeah i know how it is
and i want you to be prepared
wake up son the day’s begun
come on come on come on a new day begun
after i drop you off tell them the fault was mine
tell them that i got lost that i barely know how to drive
if they give you hell if they keep you after school
have them give me a call and everything will be cool
it’s all right did you stay up all night ?
were you picking out clothes to wear ?
putting new laces on your old adidases
you do this every year
but you need your sleep so next day you’ll be
wide awake and feel the morning breeze
when i was twelve like you i had to quit school
had to work for the family, yeah i had to work for my family
so wake up son the day’s begun
come on come on come on a new day begun
abacus (kevin so)
there’s so many of them, there’s only one of me
why do i keep walking the beaten path ?
why can’t i fit in ? how cool do i have to be ?
how far am i from them ? you do the math
don’t have blue eyes, don’t have smooth skin
my hands are dry, my arms are thin
don’t have the face, don’t have straight teeth
wrong time wrong place right now at least
you’re not to blame it’s not your fault
you feel the same as me after all
tell me just how many mixed couples in the school do i see ?
how many blacks are in the asian society ?
how many asians even know what is the naacp ?
how many average americans want racial harmony ?
it’s an ongoing fear, i ain’t got the guts
if i went and sat down at that table they’d probably laugh
instead i just stare at the big tall studs
how many of them consider as equal ? you do the math
some say go on in, some say be strong
hey man stop worrying, it won’t be long
well that’s how i feel i’ve tried for years
i’ve turned the wheel, i’ve switched the gears
but it’s too hard to climb too far to run
it’s gonna take time til i am someone
tell me how many chinese have friends who are japanese ?
how many koreans have friends who are portuguese ?
how many africans have friends who are philipene ?
how many palestinians have friends who are israeli ?
i cannot win, what i do is not enough
i don’t fit in, it’s no use i’m giving up
i can’t compete and i don’t wanna spoil the party
i ain’t an athlete, but i wanna be somebody
yeah i’m gonna be somebody
i just want what’s fair, i don’t even need half
my daddy always says “you don’t get unless you ask”
yeah i’m very well aware, it just makes me sad
but how many of us really give a shit ? you do the math
don’t have blue eyes, don’t have smooth skin
my hands are dry, my arms are thin
don’t have the face, don’t have white teeth
wrong time wrong place right now at least
you’re not to blame it’s not your fault
you feel the same as me after all
tell me how many chinese americans do your laundry ?
how many african americans own weaponry ?
how many japanese americans know karate ?
how many indian americans work late til 3am ?
how many average americans want their mtv ?
how many average americans watch bet ?
how many average americans want racial harmony ?
tell me just how many mixed couples at the table do i see ?
what goes around comes around (kevin so)
they say an eye for an eye
a tooth for a tooth
i say a nickel for a lie
a dollar for the truth
two buildings in the sky
just crumbled to the ground
everybody wants to fly
what goes up must come down
what goes around comes around
what goes up must come down
it was september eleven
yeah it was nine one one
it was a 767
it was the rising of the sun
5000 missing in manhattan
that was the most recent count
you know anything can happen
what goes up must come down
what goes around comes around
what goes up must come down
looks like it’s comin’ to an end
feels like we’ve only just begun
some people got their revenge
some people got their own religion
300 dead in manhattan
that was the most recent count
you know what’s gonna happen
what goes up must come down
what goes around comes around
what goes up must come down
everybody’s getting high
everybody’s in the flow
everybody’s gonna die
everybody i know
so everybody good night
everybody hello
everybody hold tight
everybody let go
goes around comes around
comes around is what goes
goes up must come down
must come down is what goes
i had a dream (kevin so)
there was a place with no pollution
where people threw their trash right where it belonged
i had a dream
a doctor found a cure for cancer
i had a dream
that every person took the subway
and families were allowed to have only one car
i had a dream
i met this young american soldier
who traded in his gun for a twelve string guitar
i had a dream
there was no blood in any movie
there were no shootings on the 11 o’clock news
i had a dream
that record stores weren’t segregated
that every kid was listening to rhythm & blues
i had a dream
there was no danger in the city
that every man who slept on the street could go home
i had a dream
i called up my good friend bob dylan
he said to me that every voice is its own
i had a dream
streets of chinatown (kevin so)
first you say that i smoke too much
then you bitch that i’m out too late
then you claim that i’m out of touch
with the kids and i never can finish my plate
then you wonder why i’m in a rush
to leave the house well i’ll give it to you straight
six days on, i get one day off
to gamble with my boyz and hang by the gate
you can’t keep me away from chinatown
it’s a big part of who i am
i was raised on the streets of chinatown
it’s the only place i understand
you can’t keep me from going to chinatown
it’s a big part of your ole man
you can’t stop me i’ll find my way around
i’ll make it there if i’ll be damned
i can’t describe to you just how it feels
a break from the pressure and the fast food world
mah jong all night, have a nice meal
ain’t no drugs and there ain’t no girls
but you want me at home ? is that the deal ?
slippers on my feet, my hair all permed ?
no dominos, no spinning the wheel ?
just you and me in a white suburb ?
you can take the man out of chinatown
but you can’t take chinatown out of the man
like a seed that’s sewn deep underground
like a weed that’s being pulled by your hand
i know that i smoke too much, i know that i’m out real late
i know that i’ve been outta touch, i know that our life ain’t great
i know that’s it’s worrying you, i know that it’s making you blue
but that’s how it is. that’s what i do
i might live here but i live there, too
you can’t keep me away from chinatown
it’s a big part of who i am
i was raised on the streets of chinatown
it’s the only place i understand
you can’t keep me from going to chinatown
it’s a big part of your ole man
you can’t stop me i’ll find my way around
i’ll make it there if i’ll be damned
talk (keb’ mo’/kevin so)
hello mr president, ain’t life just great
it’s really nice to meet you and your secretary of state
what are we gonna do about our angry neighbors
that we haven’t already done
how do you justify their behavior
well maybe there’s a reason
by the way, how’s your father ? is your mama alright ?
i was hanging out with my family, just the other night
are we gonna have a revolution ?
out on the street
or is there gonna be an execution ?
is there another answer ?
why don’t we talk to each other
why don’t we talk to each other, that’s all
why don’t we talk to each other
understand one another
talk to each other, that’s all
there goes the navy sailing off to war
do they know who they’re fighting
or what they’re fighting for ?
i can see that you’re angry, well i’m angry, too
tho’ i’m not a leader, this is what i’ll do
i’ll pray for our angry neighbors
and i’ll pray for you
let’s think about our own behavior
and ask for a solution
why don’t we talk to each other
why don’t we talk to each other, that’s all
why don’t we talk to each other
understand one another
talk to each other, that’s all
shirts n’ skins (kevin so)
it was hot and humid weather kids were finally out of school
but there on the ballcourt stood mister victor woo
he practiced all summer at the ymca
ready to rumble til he heard someone say
“shirts n’ skins ! yeah shirts n’ skins”
“shirts n’ skins ?” shirts and skins
so victor got picked to play on the team of the skins
he took off his shirt his body looking real thin
all the boys chuckled all the girls laughed
“look, look, look at all those pimples on his back”
“shirts n’ skins ! yeah shirts n’ skins”
who really wins when you play shirts and skins
victor didn’t care which side was gonna win
all victor felt were fingers pointing at him
all he wanted was to put his shirt back on
humiliated devastated his confidence was gone
i wish i had muscles wish i had a 6 pack
instead i got pimples all over my back
as expected victor blew every open layup
and then he threw his arms up and yelled “i fuckin’ give up”
and when the game ended he swore he’d never play again
until he got a bigger body, until he had some better skin
“shirts n’ skins ! yeah shirts n’ skins”
who really wins when you play shirts and skins
end of your rope (kevin so)
your work has become way too heavy a load
you feel like your head is about to explode
your neighbors are sleeping while you’re wide awake
what is it that keeps you from taking a break
maybe your future’s as bright as the sun
maybe your journey has only begun
you can work your whole life and the road never ends
but what about your family ? what about your friends ?
remember watching saturday morning cartoons ?
remember riding your big wheel on a warm afternoon ?
remember kick the can, hide and seek, hooker park ?
remember when it would rain, we’d keep on playing
we made our mark
just when you thought there was no other hope
you find that there’s more at the end of your rope
just when you thought you had no place to run
go back to where you started from
remember having pizza after skating in the public rink ?
remember coming home from hoops
washing hands in the same sink ?
remember those sunday barbecues at charles river park ?
remember the good ole days when you didn’t have to work ?
maybe your future’s as bright as the sun
maybe your journey has only begun
you can work your whole life and the road never ends
but what about your family ? what about your friends ?
just when you thought there was no other hope
you find that there’s more at the end of your rope
just when you thought you had no place to run
go back to where you started from
when it rains it pours (kevin so)
they’re moving in, not much hope in sight
another big chain, one of 22 links
the future doesn’t look bright
it just isn’t fair to all us locals around
you know i’ve been here fifteen years
now i’m fightin’ the right to
stand ground
this town’s took a turn for the worse
and what’s worse is there’s more
they say that money comes first,
it was much different before
the corporation’s arrived and
they’re gonna wipe out me and all the other independent stores
when it rains it pours
what can i do now that my back’s against the wall
my customers assure me the bigger they come
then the harder they fall
yeah i wish it were true, and hey “the customer’s always right”
but they’re not in charge of counting what’s in my drawer
at the end of the night
i know there’s no end to the struggle
i have to prove myself to everyone
yeah each and every time
and pray that people don’t say
“hey let’s try the place next door
when it rains it pours
what’s it gonna be like for my kids ?
this town is fine the way it is
we got jim’s deli’s down the block
golden palace which rocks
amanda’s flower shop, frank’s video drop
no we ain’t bellying up
you gotta hold on to what’s yours
i know there’s no end to the struggle
i have to prove myself to everyone
yeah each and every time
and if they tear this building down
i’ll still be standing here
when the ceiling hits the floor
when it rains it pours
when i come home (kevin so)
when i come home i will take off my black shoes
put the money on the table
a cold apple from the fridge
then i’ll check up on the kids
i will go upstairs to make sure that they’re all right
when i come home i will turn on the tv
but before i watch this movie
brush my teeth and wash my face
lock the doors on this old place
like an astronaut preparing to take flight
i lean back in my chair and look around
reflect upon the fortune i have found
when i come home i will count the evening’s pay
til it’s time for me to say good night