Feather & Orange

[Intro – spoken] Mamma said: pray. Chicago said: pay. …So I learned to count in bullets. [Verse 1] A feather from Sicilia, in my hair like a vow, Orange on my fingers, I can still smell it now. We crossed that ocean hungry, twenty-five to a pew, Relief coins in the pocket, and the wolves breaking through. No line between saints and sinners in this city of smoke, Every promise tastes like wine and every prayer like a joke. I’m the youngest with a pistol, but I carry them all— Twelve sisters in my shadow when the night starts to crawl. [Pre-Chorus] They want me soft like lace—no, no, cara, I’m steel, I keep a family breathing, I keep the hunger concealed. If the roof is falling down, I don’t wait for a sign… I build a shelter with my name on the line. [Chorus] Feather and orange—amore and war, I dance through the gunfire, I can’t take it no more. Say “Saint,” say “sinner,” I survive either way, I make-a my own shelter in the rubble they made. Feather and orange—my heart on the floor, Chicago keeps the change but I’m still keeping score. If you hear my name, don’t you whisper it low— SCHNEIDER… I’m the spark in the snow. [Verse 2] Ledger on the table: bread, a little white wine, Then pigeons in the night—yeah, “specialty” crime. A donation for a smile, a bullet for “peace,” And the church wants my silence like a sacrament lease. I stopped seven shadows from painting streets red, But the city only clapped when the bodies were dead. So I laugh with my lipstick, I bite back the fear, ‘Cause attention from a father never bought us a year. [Pre-Chorus] They call it destiny—che bugia, what a play, Every halo in this town is just smoke in the rain. If the roof is falling down, I don’t wait for a sign… I build a shelter with my name on the line. [Chorus] Feather and orange—amore and war… (repeat) [Bridge – softer, tragic] If I don’t come home, fold my dress nice and neat, Leave it where the dawn can’t find the blood in the street. Plant an orange tree for me—let it drink the goodbye, Tell my sisters I was brave… even if I had to lie. And if you see my shadow in the orchard’s cold light, Don’t ask God to forgive me— He never paid our rent at night. [Final Chorus – big] Feather and orange—amore and war… I make-a my own shelter in the rubble they made… Feather and orange—remember this part: SCHNEIDER… cara mia… I died with a city in my heart.