[Verse 1] They handed us invoices in a silver frame Said, “Work real hard, you’ll earn your place” So we clocked in early, left with sore hands And watched the ladder turn into sand Every raise gets swallowed by the rent Groceries climb like they never meant To let a paycheck touch the end of month Now we count out change and call it lunch [Pre-Chorus] And the math looks cursed When the bill gets first You can hustle till you break Still the floor gets worse [Chorus] Can’t own nothing, pay for breath Rent, the car, and the rest Can’t own nothing, sign your name Everything’s a toll on the way We were built to keep on paying While the people at the top keep laughing Can’t own nothing, not yet But we remember, we don’t forget [Verse 2] They bought the soil, they bought the sky Then sold us back the right to try Called it freedom with a monthly fee Like a chain with a pretty key The rich made rules in a private room Then dressed the cage up like a dream come true Told us patience is a noble plan While they bought the future hand over hand [Pre-Chorus] So don’t call it fate If the game is rigged When the table’s theirs And the crumbs get big [Chorus] Can’t own nothing, pay for breath Rent, the car, and the rest Can’t own nothing, sign your name Everything’s a toll on the way We were built to keep on paying While the people at the top keep laughing Can’t own nothing, not yet But we remember, we don’t forget [Bridge] If we don’t act now Our kids will learn the trade Of leasing every hour And borrowing each day But action lives in numbers In unions, ballots, streets In showing up together Till the locked doors meet [Final Chorus] Can’t own nothing, pay for breath Rent, the car, and the rest Can’t own nothing, sign your name Everything’s a toll on the way We were built to keep on paying While the people at the top keep laughing Can’t own nothing, not yet So we organize, and we don’t forget
