The Landlord Love It

[Verse 1] Chrome lung, cold gum, ash in the enamel hood rats drum on the bus stop panel brain got scrambled like late-night channels saints wear fake gold dipped in flannel Loose screw theology, soup spoon astrology hoodlum policy mixed with cheap psychology everybody talk tough till the teeth start wobbling then they all vanish conveniently, probably I move sideways, crabwalk cadence half-day drunk in a staircase basement ape-shit patience, pain medication spray-can angels on train-station cages Still smell smoke in the barber-shop towels still hear cops in apartment-house vowels kids play war in the hallways growling everybody king till the rent start howling [Chorus] Bad blood bubbling under the blueprint half of these tough guys softer than pudding rainwater jazz in a busted-up bucket whole block cursed but the landlord love it [Verse 2] Left shoe untied, mind full of sirens night shift tyrants sell dreams by the hydrants white noise riots inside cheap appliances all my role models died from compliance Soup kitchen Caesar with a dollar-store crown fishscale moon hanging over downtown junkyard gospel with the bass turned loud all these clean-cut devils still snake in a crowd Toothpick wisdom in a cracked ashtray dead-end kids making gods from graffiti city stay hungry like wolves in the alley while the mayor shake hands where the lights look pretty And me? I just laugh through the nicotine static stomach acid, black magic, tax bracket tragic everybody want heaven but nobody packing enough soul for the trip when the train starts dragging [Bridge] Mom said: “Boy, don’t trust men with spotless shoes.” Too late. [Final Chorus] Bad dreams swimming around in the tap water broke men dance while the brass band slaughter hope got sold at the pawnshop auction whole damn town still smell like caution [Outro] Vinyl skip. Streetlamp flick. One eye open. Brick by brick.