[Intro: Sneering big-beat male MC, huge breakbeat drums, fat fuzz bass] Same man, same corner, same coat every week Cardboard on a broomstick and he don't even speak [Verse 1: Sneering big-beat male MC, barked big-beat bars, overdriven guitar stabs] First night in Dayton he was out by the gate Big letters in red and the paint running late That ain't music, all caps, on a box from the store Like a strike at the plant, like he's fighting a war Second night, Toledo, same scowl, same coat Same broomstick handle and the same sore throat Third night Detroit and I'm starting to grin 'Cause the line round the block taking photos with him He don't buy a ticket, he don't step in the hall He just stands in the cold with his back to the wall Every kid coming out wants a shot by the sign And he scowls at the flash and the scowl looks fine [Hook: Sneering big-beat male MC, full breakbeat drums, fat fuzz bass] Pick it up, hold it high, every night the same That ain't music, but you're standing in the rain You hate the sound, so why you always pick it First one at every show and you're there to picket [Verse 2: Sneering big-beat male MC, faster sneering big-beat bars, huge breakbeat drums] Week three, Chicago, and the man's on the feed Grown folks wearing his scowl on a shirt in the street Now the kids show up early with signs of their own Cardboard and a marker, that ain't music, full grown It was one, now it's twenty, now it's fifty, it's more All of 'em hollering hate outside of my door And the club man laughing, counting cash at the bar Says that grumpy little picket made you twice the star Then the label gets on the phone at the end of the week Says we found the art for the poster, it's the man and his cheek So his sign's on the poster and the poster's on the train And the name underneath it, baby, that's my name [Hook: Sneering big-beat male MC, full breakbeat drums, fat fuzz bass] Pick it up, hold it high, every night the same That ain't music, but you're standing in the rain You hate the sound, so why you always pick it First one at every show and you're there to picket [Bridge: Sneering big-beat male MC, bass plays the bars, the fuzz bass plays the rap rhythm note for note under every line] Now hear the bass go word for word with me Every hit that I spit, it hits back, see You came to fight it and you carried it instead Thirty cities later, it's the sign in your head So keep the broomstick and keep the red paint I'll keep the poster and the crowd you said it ain't [Final Hook: Sneering big-beat male MC, fuzz bass doubling every bar, huge breakbeat drums, raw full voice] Pick it up, hold it high, every night the same That ain't music, but you're standing in the rain You hate the sound, so why you always pick it First one at every show and you're there to picket [End]
