Fresh Air for My Mama
So say one and so say allSay what you gotta sayOr don't say nothing at allYou've been tossing and turning through soft sticky nightsWhile the Bronx below you fights to stay alive
So say one and so say allBe what you gotta beOr don't be nothing at all
Be gracious to your motherWhen you leave this neighborhoodThe change is going to do her goodNext to me you look bad'Cos there ain't no fresh air for my mama, my mama
But the drop is shearWhen you break away
Take me awayIt's just about time to hit the roadAnd sayYou gotta believe in somethingIt's easy to seeMy God is fading awaySo pick up your bible and pray for me
We're all alone in the darknessBut our eyes are wide openWe don't see nothingAnd our hands are tiedTo the railings of the BoweryAnd the humid city slickers
So say one and so say allWe had a lot to sayAnd we said it all
The cost of living in dreamsIs rising like a crime waveThe American way of dying
And it gets you every timeAnd it looks like it's got to my mamaMy mamaMay she rest in peace