Verse 1 They called her the jewel of the great Northwest, Rain on the bridges, roses on her chest, Steel rails humming through the heart of town, A cop on the corner when the sun went down. You could walk these streets with your head held high, Mt. Hood like a promise underneath the sky, Not perfect, no—but we still had pride, Till the pirates came sailing in from inside. Pre-Chorus No masks, no pistols, no getaway cars, Just polished speeches and bureaucrat stars. They took it by inches, they took it by years, And paid for the robbery with somebody else’s tears. Chorus It was the jewel heist, right before our eyes, They stole the shine and sold us alibis. Integrity, safety, the streets we knew, The trains that ran and the trust we grew. They stripped the setting, left the stone in dust, Called surrender compassion, called neglect “trust.” Then tossed us scraps like pigeons in the square— Said, “Look at all we’ve given you.” But the jewel ain’t there. Verse 2 Now the sidewalks tell you what the slogans won’t, Broken glass preaching what the press releases don’t. Open-air poison underneath the neon glow, People disappearing where the good years used to go. Sirens sing where the streetcars rolled, Small shops shuttered, windows boarded cold, And a man can swing a fist, steal, threaten, run— While the people who obeyed the rules get told, “Nothing can be done.” Pre-Chorus No justice, no peace—painted ten feet high, But justice without courage is another kind of lie. Peace without order, mercy without spine, Turns a beautiful city into somebody’s gold mine. Chorus It was the jewel heist, right before our eyes, They stole the shine and sold us alibis. Public safety, clean streets, a badge on the beat, A city where a family could walk down the street. They stripped the setting, left the stone in dust, Called disorder progress and demanded our trust. Then tossed us scraps like pigeons in the square— Said, “Look at all we’ve given you.” But the jewel ain’t there. Verse 3 They say they’re rebuilding—tell me, building what? Another tent beside a doorway, another storefront shut? Another public meeting where the answers disappear, Another million dollars and another wasted year? Addiction isn’t freedom, a needle isn’t care, Leaving someone dying on the pavement isn’t fair. Compassion means recovery, a door back to a life— Not watching human wreckage grow and calling it “their right.” Verse 4 And God help the citizen who says the wrong phrase, Wrong shirt, wrong bumper sticker, wrong opinion these days. They preach inclusion loudly while they sort us into tribes, Reward the right resentments, punish inconvenient lives. Neighbor against neighbor, color against class, Everyone’s a label and nobody gets a pass. A city once eccentric, stubborn, weird and free— Now asks what team you’re on before you’re allowed to speak. Bridge Where are the beat cops? Where is the pride? Where are the clean trains We once rode side by side? Where is the promise That work would mean a stake? How many things can leaders lose Before we call it what they take? Who stole the jewel? Not one thief in the night. It was cowardice dressed up As moral insight. It was corruption and fashion, Ideology and fear, A thousand little failures Stacked up year after year. Breakdown They didn’t steal the river. They didn’t steal the rain. They didn’t steal Mt. Tabor Or the west hills through the haze. They couldn’t steal the people Who still sweep their own front stairs, Who open up their businesses, Raise kids, work, vote, and care. The jewel is wounded— But it isn’t theirs to keep. Portland still belongs to those Who refuse to let her sleep. Final Chorus Yeah, the jewel heist, we watched it go down, Pirates in offices, chaos in town. They took our confidence, squandered our trust, Turned gold into gravel and called it “just.” But you can’t steal a city if its people still fight, You can’t outlaw memory, you can’t bury right. No more scraps like pigeons in the square— We remember what this city was, And we still live here. Outro Give us back the sidewalks. Give us back the trains. Give us back the courage To call things by their names. Give us law with mercy, Give us help that leads somewhere. Give Portland back her jewel— Or get out of the captain’s chair.
