WHO DO YOU ANSWER TO? Black Quill — Track 3 [Intro — 74 BPM, D minor; distant footsteps on marble, low detuned electric guitar, analog hiss, a slow heartbeat-like kick] [Voice 1 — spoken, weary] I used to think somebody knew. That somewhere behind those doors Someone was trying to make it right. [Two beats of silence] Now I just want to know Who they’re answering to. [Verse 1 — intimate, mournful melodic rap; clean guitar repeating four descending notes] He came into the city With a promise in his hand Said he’d never turn his back On the people of this land He had pictures of his children And a reason to believe Said he’d never take a dollar For a promise he couldn’t keep Then the meetings started coming And the favors came around And the people who had nothing Couldn’t get him on the phone Nobody had to threaten him Nobody had to shout They just showed him how the game was played And who was paying now [Pre-Chorus — bass grows distorted, guitar bends out of tune] Was it always about the money? Did you ever give a damn? Or did you come here wanting change And become another man? [Chorus — Voice 1, wounded melodic hook; Voice 2 answers in low rhythmic phrases] Who do you answer to? Who gets to bend your ear? We sent you there to speak for us But you don’t seem to hear Who do you answer to? When the doors are closing in? If you work for the people Why do the people have to beg? [Instrumental — eight bars; gritty Memphis-inspired drums, distorted bass, mournful guitar countermelody] [Verse 2 — Voice 2, low gravelly rap, dry and confrontational] Another dinner, another donor Another handshake in the hall Another bill with little changes Nobody explains at all There’s a lobby for the money There’s a lobby for the land There’s a lobby for the companies With a checkbook in their hand But who’s lobbying for the mother Working nights to pay the rent? Who’s lobbying for the children Who inherit what we’ve spent? Who’s sitting at the table For the sick and growing old? Who’s making sure tomorrow Isn’t something bought and sold? [Pre-Chorus — drums cut out; guitar and a single bass note] You tell us everything takes time You tell us nothing can be done But somehow there’s always movement When the money starts to come [Chorus — fuller drums, double-tracked melodic vocal] Who do you answer to? Who gets to bend your ear? We sent you there to speak for us But you don’t seem to hear Who do you answer to? When the doors are closing in? If you work for the people Why do the people have to beg? [Breakdown — sixteen bars; kick drum becomes a slow mechanical march; layered whispers of “committee,” “donation,” “amendment,” “delay”; guitar melody gradually swallowed by distorted static] [Voice 2 — spoken, dry] What aren’t you telling us? Why does every answer Need another meeting? Why does every promise Need another election? [All instruments abruptly stop] [Voice 1 — almost whispering] How many childhoods Does it take to change a law? [Bridge — solitary clean guitar, no percussion; Voice 1 fragile, melodic] I don’t need a perfect world I know that can’t be made I just want a little more Than the promises they gave I want my children growing old Beneath a kinder sky Not asking all the questions We were asking all our lives If a good man walks into that room And learns to look away What does it say about the room And why does it remain? [Instrumental — slow rising distorted guitar lead, independent melodic bass, drums return with a heavy half-time pulse] [Final Verse — Voice 2, forceful but clearly articulated] Don’t tell me it’s complicated When the suffering is clear Don’t tell me you represent us If you only come around in years Show us where the money went Show us who was in the room Show us who wrote the language And who benefits when it’s through You don’t have to be a villain To let a rotten system stand You can do a thousand little wrongs With clean and folded hands And if you came to make things better But you can’t remember why Look into your children’s faces And tell them what you tried [Final Chorus — both voices, anguished and defiant; full distorted bass, heavy snare, sustained guitar chords] Who do you answer to? Who gets to bend your ear? We sent you there to speak for us And we’re still standing here Who do you answer to? How much longer must we beg? We’re asking for a future Not another empty pledge [Outro — drums stop; the original four-note guitar motif returns, no distortion] [Voice 1 — spoken, close microphone] I don’t want your power. I don’t want your money. I want my children To have a better world Than the one you left to me. [Final guitar chord — natural decay, complete silence]
