[Intro] (Vinyl crackle, smooth upright bassline, boom bap drum loop) (Female R&B Vocals - smooth and soulful) Mmm... dreaming of the Golden Mountain... Yeah. [Chorus] (Female R&B Vocals - soaring, melodic) If we ran the bay... I'd free all my kin, I love 'em, love 'em, baby Gold mountains and jade... Could it be, if the city was mine, we'd both shine... [Verse 1] (Male Rap - laid-back boom-bap flow, clear enunciation) Life... I wonder... will they pull us under? I don't know. Picture walkin' down the ward without the hatchets flashin' Lookin' at the harbor, seeing ships, knowing we the ones who built the tracks and Moved the stone, laid the iron down, Just to get excluded from the heart of our own town. I'd burn down every ledger in the hall, tell the Mayor he could walk, Watch the rival tongs fall, let the silent workers talk. Silk suits in the parlor, smoke clearing from the lungs, Speaking out in English mixed with heavy mother tongues. No more scraping by, paying debts that we don't owe, Just a brand new empire, watching how the lotus grow. [Chorus] (Female R&B Vocals - rich harmonies) If we ran the bay... I'd free all my kin, I love 'em, love 'em, baby Gold mountains and jade... Could it be, if the city was mine, we'd both shine... [Verse 2] (Male Rap - steady rhythmic bounce) It's a trip... the way we gotta scrape just to get a grip, Dodging every itchy onion on the corner with a clip. No more politicians playing chess with a dragon's breath, No more paying tolls to a boss just to cheat our death. I'd take the Hop Wei, and the Long Zii, put 'em at a table, Show 'em how to build a real kingdom if they able. No Irish brawlers in the sandlot, no burning down the factories, Just a brand new coast, wiping out the tragedies. Walking through the alleys like a king, crown made of steel, Making sure my brothers and my sisters get a proper meal. That's the vision, putting all the street wars to rest, Heart of a warrior beating heavy in the chest. [Chorus] (Female R&B Vocals - soaring, melodic) If we ran the bay... I'd free all my kin, I love 'em, love 'em, baby Gold mountains and jade... Could it be, if the city was mine, we'd both shine... [Outro] (Male Rap - spoken word, fading out) Yeah. From the Pearl River to the Barbary Coast. (Female R&B Vocals - vocal riffs) If the city was mine... (Beat slowly fades out) [Verse 3] (Male Rap - deep, poetic, slightly more introspective Kendrick/Nas hybrid tone) Look... I analyze the dynamic, And the way they treat the ward, it got the residents frantic. But consider... if I took Buckley's political ink, Used the quill just to bridge the very racial brink. I'd make the badges in the black hats honor the treaty, No more shakedowns on the street, no more targetting the needy. We'd own the docks, move the commerce without the strife, Toss the opium pipes, give 'em back the dignity of life. No more relying on the middleman just to get the visa, Every worker in the market eatin' good like they in Pisa. A full life, not just the scrapes that they left on the floor, A proper future where the warrior don't gotta go to war. The Unchosen... yeah, that's what they call us in the text, But with the city in my hands, there ain't no telling what is next. Just imagine... yeah, that's the poetry, The dragon rising out the sand to claim sovereignty. [Chorus] (Female R&B Vocals - Full vocal layering, rich harmonies, max emotional power) If we ran the bay... I'd free all my kin, I love 'em, love 'em, baby Gold mountains and jade... Could it be, if the city was mine, we'd both shine... [Outro] (Male Rap - spoken word over fading beat, smooth R&B vocal riffs echoing) Yeah. Pearl River to the Barbary Coast. Still here. If the city was mine... I love 'em, love 'em, baby... Watching the lotus grow... If the city was mine... (Beat fades out)
