Ballots & Bullets

They selling fear in a fresh suit

Same old script with a fresh roof

They shake hands over cheap truth

Smile for the cam while they cut schools

Kitchen table math, bills in a tall stack

Mom got two jobs, still gotta fall back

News man talking in a calm tone

But the storm he describing in my own home

It’s ballots and bullets

Who’s pulling the strings?

You counting our problems

We counting these sins

If power is poison

Why you sip with a grin?

If change is a slogan

Why we stuck where we been? (yeah)

Ballots and bullets

Tell me who really win?

They draw lines like a maze map

Trap you in a box with a name tag

Say “pick a side,” but it feel fake

Two different forks on the same plate

They post “peace” in a long thread

Then vote war for a small check

Say “be proud,” but they hide facts

Whole lotta flags, not enough acts

It’s ballots and bullets

Who’s pulling the strings?

You counting our problems

We counting these sins

If power is poison

Why you sip with a grin?

If change is a slogan

Why we stuck where we been? (stuck where we been)

Ballots and bullets

Tell me who really win?

Grandma prays over headlines

Says “baby, keep your head high”

I just stare at the red lines

Budget cuts on a dead line

If my voice is a small flame

I’ma spark it in broad day

They can’t mute what we all say

Whole block in the hallway (hey!)

It’s ballots and bullets

Who’s pulling the strings?

You counting our problems

We counting these sins

If power is poison

Why you sip with a grin?

If change is a slogan

Why we stuck where we been?

Ballots and bullets

I’m done asking who win

If they won’t open that door up

We kicking it in (kicking it in)