[Mos Def:]
Bright moments...
Bright moments always come back vivid
The fifth great was epic citywide test pressure
The pre-crack era
Mr. Schulman, what a prick
Attitude matches wardrobe, uglier than sin
This is Bed-Stuy eighty-two
Ninth floor, three tiny rooms, one view
Bucktown, Roosevelt House
Their green grass is green, our green grass is brown
Shots rang, my phone wasn't touchtone
Were heavy beef in the street, E.T. had to flee
Great heavens, good grief
Hungry bellies, bright gold on they teeth
The windows on the Ave look like sad eyes
They fix their sharp gaze on you when you pass by
And if you dare to stand, you can see 'em cry
You can watch 'em scowl, feel 'em prowl
While they're steady sizing every inch about you
Fast math measuring what you amount to
The laughter, the screams
The numeral, the soul of songs, the book of dreams
Ends don't meet where the arms can't reach
Mean streets, even when it's free it ain't cheap
On-going saga, terminal diagnosis
Basic survival requires super heroics
No space in the budget for a cake
It's when you gotta fly by night to save the day
Crash-landings routinely happen
Some survive, others never rise from the ashes
Watching asphalt and observing the Sabbath
Creates an Ecstatic and there you have it
From teenage love praying in tongue
Strange fruit, batty boots and native drums
From hence I come, so here we go
Signs and wonders all along the road
Some lies open, some lies closed
Some stretchers role with no lies at all
Some riders don't know what they riding for
Hands on the wheel and their mind is gone
Wherever you ride, whatever your name
This raw cold life is a beautiful thing
And we are alive in amazing times
Delicate hearts, diabolical minds
Revelations, hatred, love and war
And more and more and more and more
And more of less than ever before
It's just too much more for your mind to absorb
It's scary like hell, but there's no doubt
We can't be alive in no time but... NOW!
It's just another shot to the heart
It's just a sure shot in the dark
It's just another place in the stars...
Wonders on every side, life in marvelous times
Life in marvelous times...
Hey! The Ecstatic
The temperature's rising everywhere
All over the world, you can feel it
All over the world, feel it
Spirits rise everywhere
It's just a sure shot to the heart
It's just a sure shot in the dark
It's just another place in the stars
Wonders on every side, life in marvelous times
Life in marvelous times
Now... always...