Warning. Side effects may include: Evictions, extinctions, and asphalt blues! Build a tower, pave a stream, Call it “vision,” sell a dream. Cut the forest, drain the lake But hey, it’s “jobs,” so it’s a fair trade, right? [sarcastic chuckle] Widen highways, split the town, Paint the sidewalks company brown. Forget the playground, plant a mall, Hike the rent and watch us fall. They call it growth, But it spreads like rash. They say "success" but we're digging through trash. Side effects may include: Smog, floods, asphalt blues! Cancer clusters, rent balloons Try breathing near their boardroom fumes! They yell “progress!” We say “prove it!” They cry “growth!” Who can move through it? Glass-front condos, soul decay, Billboards screaming, “Live this way!” Desert lawns, designer drought, Luxury rising while the lights go out. You call this future? We call it theft. “Smart city” shine, no housing left. Ads say thrive; We swelter in heat. Progress ain’t progress If it can’t feed the street. Side effects may include: Species gone and poisoned food! Priced-out roots, sinkhole dreams, Toxic runoff in your streams! They said “build!” We asked “why?” They cut the sky And made us buy. Ask your developer if displacement is right for you. Side effects may include: Heartbreak, asthma, concrete fatigue, And a lingering hunch your house is collateral for someone else’s dream. Side effects may include: Flood maps, wildfires, vanishing truth! Welcome to your sterile doom Please enjoy the conference room! You wanted growth; this is how it spreads: Through bulldozed roots And boardroom cred. 2025 Lyrics by Nikki H. / GenXDreams
