The island it is silent now
But the ghosts still haunt the waves
And the torch lights up a famished man
Who fortune could not save

Did you work upon the railroad
Did you rid the streets of crime
Were your dollars from the white house
Were they from the five and dime

Did the old songs taunt or cheer you
And did they still make you cry
Did you count the months and years
Or did your teardrops quickly dry

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My boss he's a probable bore.
Put me hands and knees on scrubable floor.
Do it right receive the lions share bliss.
Know all too well just where that ration is.
Learned a lot about the company doe.
Learned less about receiving it though.
Saw how it came to those who always sat pretty.
Don't need it.
Supply and demand.

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Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on that MTV
That ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free
Now that ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb

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When I'm drivin' in my car
And that man comes on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

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Can you loan me 20 dollars
'Till I get my check next week
Said I only got 20 dollars
And me and my baby got to eat

Now I'm suppose to take from the child, oh Lord
Make it harder on me just to make it worth your while
Now honey, I don't think so
Cuz you ain't pay me back the ten-spot
From three weeks ago, no

What do you do when you're through
When you're always helping people and
Nobody's there for you (Tell me)
What can I do or say
When you constantly staring in my face

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A used ... pink bathrobe
A rare ... mint snowglobe
A Smurf ... TV tray
I bought on eBay
.
.
.
I'll buy ... your knick-knack
Just check ... my feedback
"A++!" they all say
They love me on eBay

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Let me tell you how it will be;
There's one for you, nineteen for me.
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don't take it all.
'Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

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Mr. Coke said to Mr. Mayor, "You know we got a process like Ice T's hair.
We put up the fund for your election campaign
And, oh um, waiter can you bring the champagne.
Our real estate firms said opportunities arousing
To make some condos out of low-income housing
Immediately we need some media heat
To say that gangs run the street and then we bring in the police
Harrasing everybody till they look inebriated
When we buy the land mother****** will appreciate it
Dont worry about the Urban League or Jesse Jackson
My man that owns Marlboros
Donated a fat sum"

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Take a look at the horizon
Quiet and still
You know there used to be bison
Gentlemen you may fire at will
They say this land won't go to waste
But you gotta wonder how
You know we're chopping down the air we
breathe
As fodder for the cow

that's right so we can eat well
Yes and starve to death
And say there's nothing we can do

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Hey lil' girl,
You want it all
The furs, the diamonds,
The paintin' on the wall!

CHORUS:
C'mon, c'mon! Love me for the money!
C'mon, c'mon! Listen to the moneytalk!
C'mon, c'mon! Love me for the money!
C'mon, c'mon! Listen to the moneytalk!

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This kind of love is getting expensive
We know how to live baby
We're luxurious like Egyptian cotton

Working so hard every night and day
And now we get the pay back
Trying so hard saving up the paper
Now we get to lay back

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The crops we grew last summer weren't enough to pay the loans
Couldn't buy the seed to plant this spring and the Farmers Bank foreclosed
Called my old friend Schepman up to auction off the land
He said John it's just my job and I hope you understand
Hey calling it your job ol' hoss sure don't make it right
But if you want me to I'll say a prayer for your soul tonight

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Now, this here’s the story about the Rock Island Line
Well, The Rock Island line, she runs down into New Orleans
There’s a big toll gate down there
And, y’ know, if you got certain things on board
When you go through the toll gate
Well you don’t have to pay the man no toll

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Now you can tear a building down
But you can't erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can't see...
This is my neighborhood
This is where I come from
I call this place my home
You call this place a slum
You wanna run all the people out
This what you're all about
Treat poor people just like trash
Turn around and make big cash

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Where I come from isn't all that great
My automobile is a piece of crap
My fashion sense is a little whack
And my friends are just as screwy as me
I didn't go to boarding schools
Preppie girls never looked at me
Why should they?
I ain't nobody
Got nothing in my pocket
Beverly Hills
That's where I want to be
Livin' in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills
Rolling like a celebrity
Livin' in Beverly Hills

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black top, blue skies big town full of little white lies,
everybody’s your friend, you can never be sure,
they'll promise fancy cars and diamond rings and all sorts of shiny things,
but girl you'll remember what your knees are for

Dear Mom and Dad please send money,
I'm so broke that it ain't funny,
well I dont need much just enough to get me through,
please dont worry cause I'm alright,
see I'm playing here at the bar tonight
well in this town I'm going to make our dreams come true.
well I love you more than anything in the world,
love your baby girl

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Delivery truck coming up 'round the bend
Beep, beep, beep, just backing in
Sign here and here and here again
'Cause it's no money down no payments till
Your whole place is cram packed filed with

Stuff (stuff) stack it on stack it on up
(Stuff) never gonna ever get enough (stuff)
Oh it's treasure till it's mine then it ain't worth a dime
It's stuff (stuff) spreading like weeds
Dragging me under in an endless sea of stuff
(Stuff) There ain't no end
Got to get a bigger place so I can move in
More stuff

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When oh when is the bus gonna reach its destination
Question over space and time
Wastin' time
Word up, I can't take this line of nitwits
I'm about to have a fit quick
'Cause this trip here is making me car sick
Check out the brother with the loaded .38
Braggin' to his buddies about the money that he makes
Sellin' crack viles like pancakes
To baseheads just like the one
That's sittin by the window starvin' for a fix
He spent his last 80 cents on fare
He raises up and lets me get in his chair
Then I sit and take a snooze
But I still lose
'Cause I cruise right past my stop
Had to get off and walk 15 blocks. . .

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The Way It Is (1986) – Bruce Hornsby


They say hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do
Said hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules
He said, Son


That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them


and the remake, Changes by Tupac Shakur (1999)


Come on come on
I see no changes. Wake up in the morning and I ask myself,
"Is life worth living? Should I blast myself?"
I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.
My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.
Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare.
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers.
Give 'em guns, step back, and watch 'em kill each other.
"It's time to fight back", that's what Huey said.
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead.
I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes.
Learn to see me as a brother 'stead of 2 distant strangers.
And that's how it's supposed to be.
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids,
but things change, and that's the way it is.


(full lyrics)

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Now I drive my Downeaster "Alexa"
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they tell me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here.

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me

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