[Intro: French banlieue male MC, low over the guitar loop] Twelfth floor, window cracked, the city like a postcard [Verse 1: French banlieue male MC, precise and close] Born outside the ring with the city on a sign Tower in the distance like a needle on a line Mama said the center is a place you visit once Then you take the last train home and keep it in your gut Elevator broken since the spring I turned eleven Twelve floors every night, I was counting steps to heaven Learned to see the corners, learned to read a car Learned which kind of jacket means a badge and which a scar Learned the girl on the platform likes the boy who doesn't stare Learned the best way out a station is the one that isn't there Everybody looking forward, I was looking at the side That's the reason I'm still standing, that's the reason I'm alive [Hook: French banlieue male MC] Corner of my eye, I see it coming every time Twelfth floor, cheap rent, but the whole view is mine You drew a ring around your city just to keep me outside They call me peripheral, but the ring holds the city tight [Verse 2: French banlieue male MC, the sub bass heavier] Now I ride the ring road on a scooter with a box Every exit has a number and I know it like a clock Porte de Clichy, Porte de la Chapelle, Porte d'Italie Every gate into the center has a man that looks like me Cleaning out the offices before the bosses wake Baking every croissant that the tourists love to take Driving every bus and every truck that brings the bread If the ring stopped turning, then the center would be dead So you built it like a wall, but a wall can be a frame Hang the picture on the edge and the picture keeps its name [Hook: French banlieue male MC] Corner of my eye, I see it coming every time Twelfth floor, cheap rent, but the whole view is mine You drew a ring around your city just to keep me outside They call me peripheral, but the ring holds the city tight [Verse 3: French banlieue male MC, panned circle, the drums lap the stereo field like traffic] Round and round, I'm the lap and I'm the lane Round and round, I'm the headlights in the rain You see me when you're turning, never see me when you look That's the way I like it, I'm the margin of the book Every note up in the margin is the one the teacher reads Every kid out in the margin got the city that he needs Twelfth floor, window cracked, still the postcard on the wall But I'm in it now, I'm riding, and the ring is holding all [Final Hook: French banlieue male MC] Corner of my eye, I see it coming every time Twelfth floor, cheap rent, but the whole view is mine You drew a ring around your city just to keep me outside They call me peripheral, but the ring holds the city tight [End]
