Arrested in Shanghai

They assured me I was guilty but I committed no crime

They said confessions bring lenience so they put me on the line

So I protest the massacres at the Tiananmen Square

My friends said, "Yo, stay away man, you better not go fuckin' back there"

Wouldn't let me write about my opinions about the state

And the freedom of expression they would never tolerate

And the military secrets that I never did steal

I didn't start no violence, no, there was nobody that I killed, no

So I had a clear account of all the abuses of power

And the memories of homeland now gone sour

And I only got one weapon, it's so plain for me to see

My only weapon I call poetry

[Chorus]

And I don't even know why

The truth seems like a lie

In my cell there is no sky

When I was arrested in Shanghai

Now, into wealth and privilege I was not born

But a devotion to freedom and liberty I was sworn

So every emotion is studied, watched and controlled

Who gets paid, who gets disciplined, who gets rolled

So transmitter beams my coordinates anywhere on earth

And as radio waves surveillance, satellite burst

Open up your skull and let some knowledge come in

Crack open the cranium and let awareness begin

[Chorus]

And I don't even know why

The truth seems like a lie

In my cell there is no sky

When I was arrested in Shanghai