Crime To Be Broke In America
Michael Franti & Spearhead

I take the needle off the record*

And shove it in my arm

Whenever I feel life is

Comin' on too strong

They left me in a clinic fulla

Cynical motha fuckin' bureaucrats

And other kinda ding bats


Livin' on the tracks

The tracks in my arm said

It all depends which side the tracks your on.

Tellin' me what to wear

Tellin me cut my hair

And tryin' to convince me that they

Really really care

All about my health and about my wealth

But still they built the Stealth

'cause everybody's

Just lookin' out for they self


So then I ask 'em

Can I have a clean needle

Hell no that's illegal!


[Chorus:]

'Cause it's a crime to be broke in America!

And it's a crime to smoke dank in America!

[Repeat:]


Yeah hit those drums now

They lockin' brother's in the poorhouse

Who can't afford Moorhouse

Politicians nervous

It's the only free service they provide

You wanna go inside

There's a hot meal waitin' for ya

A deal we can score ya

On a bed for a night or two

Or three or four months.


They say they lockin' us up in cells

To protect us from ourselves

It smells like they got anotha

Plan in store house

Or should I say warehouse

Fulla niggas and other misfits

That couldn't turn tricks in the courthouse

It's a justice whorehouse


[Chorus]

It's a crime to be broke in America!

And it's a crime to be Black in America!



But there's a mutiny on the bounty

In ever single county

We remember Attica

But don't forget to pat a few

Other on the back as a matter of fact

Sister Asatta Shakur and Geronimo Pratt

'cause Amnesty international

Is fightin' for political

But if your analytical

You know it's much more critical than that

Percentages black is really, really whack

Can I kick a few facts yes?


Sx percent in college

From livin on the block

Twenty five percent in prison

The school of hard knocks

Fifty percent in poverty

Is livin on the rocks

Five hundred brothas on a death row box


The punishment is capital

For those who lack in capital

Because a public defender

Can't remember the last time

That a brother wasn't treated like an animal.


They say they blame it on a song

When someone kills a cop

What music did they listen to

When they bombed Iraq?

Give me one example so I can take a sample

No need to play it backwards

If you wanna hear the devil

Cause music's not the problem

It didn't cause the bombin'

But maybe they should listen

To the songs of people starving..


[Chorus]

'Cause it's a Crime to be broke in America!

It's a crime to smoke dank in America!

It's a crime to be black in America!

It's a crime to be black in America!

It's a crime to be Puerto Rican

African

Native American

Asian Hatian

A Woman


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Lyrics by Michael Franti & Spearhead

  100,000 Miles   100.000 Miles   11:59   A Little Bit Of Riddim   All I Want Is You   All People   Anybody Seen My Mind?   Anytime You Need Me   Bomb the World   Caught Without An Umbrella   Closer To You   Crazy For You   Crazy, Crazy, Crazy   Do It For the Love   Do Ya Love   Do You Feel The Way That I Do?   Dream Team   Earth From Outer Space   East To The West   Every Single Soul   Every Single Soul Remix   Everybody Ona Move   Everyone Deserves Music   Feelin' Free   Food For Tha Masses   Gangsta Girl   Ganja Babe   Gas Gauge (Tha World's In Your Hands)   Get Myself To Saturday   Gloria   Good To Be Alive Today   Have a Little Faith   Have A Little Faith   Headphones   Hello Bonjour   Hey Hey Hey   Hey Now Now   Hey World   Hey World (Don't Give Up Version)   Hey World (Remote Control Version)   Hey World [Remote Control Version]   Hey World [Remote Control Version]   High Low   Hole In The Bucket   Home   I Don't Wanna Go   I Got Love For Ya   I Got Love for You   I Got Love For You   I Know I'M Not Alone   I'll Be Waiting   I'm Alive   I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like)   Is Love Enough?   Keepin' It Natural   Let It Go   Life in the City   Life In The City   Life Is Better With You   Life Is Better With You (Acoustic Mix)   Light Up Ya Lighter   Long Ride Home   Love Don't Wait   Love Invincible   Love Is Da Shit   Love Kamikaze   Love Me Unique   Love Will Find A Way   My Favorite Wine Is Tequila   My Lord   Never Too Late   Nobody Right Nobody Wrong   Nobody Right Nobody Wrong   Oh My God   On And On   Once A Day   Once A Day [feat. Sonna Rele]   One Minute's All I Need   One Steop Closer to You   One Step Closer To You   People In Tha Middle   Piece O' Peace   Positive   Pray for Grace   Red Beans & Rice   Rude Boys Back In Town   Runfayalife   Say Goodbye   Say Hey   Say Hey (I Love You)   Say Hey (I Love You) Radio Disney Edit   See You In The Light   Shake It   Show Me A Sign   Sometimes   Soulshine   Soundsystem   Stay Human (All the Freaky People)   Stay Human Remix   Still Standing   Summertime Is In Our Hands   Sweet Little Lies   Tha Payroll (Stay Strong)   Thank You   The Future   The Future   The Only Thing Missing Was You   The Sound Of Sunshine   The Sound Of Sunshine Going Down   The Thing That Makes Me Get Through   Time To Go Home   Tolerance   Water Pistol Man (Chocolate Remix)   We Are All Earthlings   We Do This Every Day   We Don't Stop   What Happens Next   What I Be   What I've Seen   Wherever You Are   Yell Fire   Yell Fire!   Yes I Will

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