A Few Words for the Firing Squad (Live at Holy Calamavote)

[Verse 1: El-P]

I woke up early once again, that's four days straight

I didn't wake you, baby, I just watched you lay

In the radiation of the city sun

I am in love with you, it is my only grace (Woo)

You know how everything can seem a little out of place?

All of my life, that seemed to be the only normal state

So feelin' normal never really meant me feelin' sane

And bein' clear about the truth and bein' sane have never really been the same

I used to wanna get the chance to show the world I'm smart (Ha)

Isn't that dumb? I should've focused mostly on thе heart

'Cause I seen smarter pеople trample life like it's an art

So bein' smart ain't what it used to be, that's fuckin' dark

You ever notice that the worst of us have all the chips?

It really kinda takes the sheen off people gettin' rich

Like maybe rich is not the holy, ever-lovin'

King of nothin' fuckers, know we know you're bluffin'

You are dealing with the motherfuckin' money-money runners

[Verse 2: Killer Mike]

It'd be a lie if I told you that I ever disdained the fortune and fame

But the presence of the pleasure never abstained me from any of the pain

When my mother transitioned to another plane, I was sitting on a plane

Tellin' her to hold on, and she tried hard, but she just couldn't hang

Been two years, truth is I'll probably never be the same

Dead serious, it's a chore not to let myself go insane

It's crippling, make you wanna lean on a cup of promethazine

But my queen say she need a king, not another junkie, flunky rapper fiend

Friends tell her, "He could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin"

She told her partner, "I need a husband more than the world need another martyr"

Made in Atlanta, Georgia, where I use to ride the MARTA

With a empty .22 in the front pocket of my Braves Starter

Tryin' to make it out the mud as a baby father is much harder

The same children that you love and adore, the court'll use to break and rob ya

Circumstance woulda broke a weaker man, but I put it on my mama

I'm a man of honor and the hardship made me a better money runner

[Verse 3: El-P]

This is for the never heard, never even got a motherfuckin' word

This is for my sister, Sarah, honey, I'm so sorry you were hurt (Ayy)

This is for the dawn, mama took a knock, had to change the locks

Dusted up and brushed off and I watched, talk about a boss

For the holders of a shred of heart even when you wanna fall apart

When you're surrounded by the fog, treadin' water in the ice cold dark

When they got you feelin' like a fox runnin' from another pack of dogs

Put the pistol and the fist up in the air, we are there, swear to God

[Verse 4: Killer Mike]

Black child in America, the fact that I made it's magic

Black and beautiful, the world broke my mama heart, and she died an addict

God blessed me to redeem her in my thoughts, words, and my actions

Satisfaction for the devil, goddammit, he'll never, ever have it

This is for the do-gooders that the no-gooders used and then abused

For the truth tellers tied to the whippin' post, left beaten, battered, bruised

For the ones whose body hung from a tree like a piece of strange fruit

Go hard, last words to the firing squad was, "Fuck you too"

[El-P]

We're Run the Jewels, and we wanna thank you for watching. We believe the last thing that they want you to do is get out of your house and march down in person, mask on, and cast your ballot for what you think this country is supposed to be, for what you think this country is supposed to reflect. We want you to go down there, and when you get there, tell 'em Run the Jewels sent you

[Killer Mike]

Vote local, vote down the ballot

Vote for your mayor, judges, prosecutors. For the people looking over your life. Vote the bastards out of office and keep the good folks in. Take your neighborhood associations to the polls. Vote, fill out census, make the oligarchs come to their senses

Refuse to lose, refuse to give up. Work everyday to make sure Everybody come up. Healthcare is not wellfare. We got the share America. This is R-T-J