While Cities Burn (Rap Version) Intro (spoken) Yeah… Lamont, study the fire, While we feel the burn. Listen. Verse 1 They nod in rooms with polished floors, Talking crisis, stalling more, Say they “see us,” say “it’s real,” Then ask the poorest folk to chill. We don’t live in white‑paper plans, We live where layoffs hit the fans, Books gone, staff stretched thin, Budget cuts carved in our skin. Inflation rise, funding flat, Tell me how we’re supposed to act? Can’t run schools on empty praise, Or feed a future with delays. These aren’t numbers, these are names, Kids and workers in the flames, Every pause another loss, Every “study” ups the cost. Hook While cities burn, the microphones shine, Careful words for convenient times, They manage optics, not the hurt, Let the smoke rise, call it “work.” While cities burn, we feel it first— Librarians gone, futures worse, We still here, we still learn, Say it loud—while cities burn. Verse 2 Same Governor, different tone, Depends on where the speech is thrown, In Westport town it’s “schools come first,” “Strong systems,” “invest to burst.” Libraries full, doors stay wide, Support rolls easy when money’s nearby. But step downtown, message flip, Now it’s blame on local ships, “Mismanagement,” “do more with less,” Same crisis, different address. Same state seal, same damn rules, But fairness bends around rich schools, Soft words here, hard blame there— Equity stops at a zip code’s air. Hook While cities burn, the script get spun, Different truth for a different one, Gold Coast calm, city cursed, Same system, unequal thirst. While cities burn, we count the scars— Books boxed up, lost our stars, Don’t say you care if help’s deferred, We hear the switch in every word. Bridge First you starve us, watch us strain, Then you point and say we’re to blame, Cuts make chaos—plain to see, Then chaos “proves” we need you to lead. You step in late, take control, Push voters, boards, and local role, Call it order, call it care, But democracy disappeared there. Breakdown (chant) No more spin. No double talk. No soft lies for wealthy blocks. Fund the schools. Save the staff. Bring back librarians—facts. Verse 3 This ain’t one town, this statewide, Non‑affluent always pay the price, Wealth absorbs what cities can’t, Delay don’t hurt when you’re built to land. But we remember every cut, Every job, every shuttered luck, And ballots come with memory, You can’t outstudy history. You don’t lose cities overnight, You lose ’em when you ignore their fight, When parents plead and get deflection, When votes are met with corrections. We’re not asking sympathy, We demanding equity, Not tomorrow, not “sometime,” Not after another deadline. Final Hook While cities burn, we raise our voice, Truth don’t wait for polite choice, We saw who acted, who adjourned, Who talked different while cities burned. While cities burn, hear this concern: You don’t represent who you don’t serve. Fund the schools. Act fast. Confirm— We’re organized while cities burn. Outro (spoken) No more studying the fire. Put it out. Lamont, We’re watching.
