Dedicated (1999 Demo)

[Verse 1: Mike Shinoda] I have a dream of a scene between the green hills Clouds pull away and the sunlight's revealed People don't talk about keeping it real It's understood that they actually will And intoxicated and stimulated MCs Staring in the trees, paranoid, are gone in the breeze Watch them flee, hip-hop heads Take a walk with me and what you'll see Is a land where the sand is made up of crushed up wax And the sky beyond you is krylon blue And everybody speaks in a dialect of rhyme And MCs have left materialism behind them [Pre-Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Meanwhile, I just grip my mic And hope me and my team make it through alright Because say what you will and say what you might But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Because this is dedicated to the kids Dedicated to wherever music lives Dedicated to those tired of the same ol' same And dedicated to the people advancing the game What's real is the kids who know that something's wrong What's real is the kids who think they don't belong What's real is the kids who have nowhere to run Who are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the sun [Verse 2: Mike Shinoda] I've seen a lot of ****, I've talked to a bum Out on Sunset Strip, he asked me, "How would you feel If everybody acted like you didn't exist? You'd lose your grip, probably eventually flip" So let it be known, the only reason that we do this Is so you can pick it up and just bang your head to it While MCs fight to see who can be the commonest Be floating overhead like a space odyssey monolith Over seeing the game, over being part of the same old thing It's all gonna change in a hurricane of darkness and pain And acidic rain and promises that you won't do it again [Pre-Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Meanwhile, I just grip my mic And hope me and my team make it through alright Because say what you will and say what you might But don't ignore who it's for at the end of the night [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] Because this is dedicated to the kids Dedicated to wherever music lives Dedicated to those tired of the same ol' same And dedicated to the people advancing the game What's real is the kids who know that something's wrong What's real is the kids who think they don't belong What's real is the kids who have nowhere to run Who are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the sun [Bridge: Mike Shinoda] Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide Pulling me close, the shadow is warm inside This is where I feel at home, this is my place to hide [Chorus: Mike Shinoda] This is dedicated to the kids Dedicated to wherever music lives Dedicated to those tired of the same ol' same And dedicated to the people advancing the game What's real is the kids who know that something's wrong What's real is the kids who think they don't belong What's real is the kids who have nowhere to run Who are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the sun This is dedicated to the kids Dedicated to wherever music lives Dedicated to those tired of the same ol' same And dedicated to the people advancing the game What's real, everybody who doesn't feel safe What's real, everybody who knows they're out of place What's real, anybody with nowhere to run Who hides in the shadows, waiting for the sun