7-14-99.
Yeah, they know the name.
Somerville... y’all been watching me too close.
I got a question for the badge and the blue.
Turn the volume up.
(Chorus)
Joshua Lee Brinkley, yeah the target is on me
They’ve been trying to break me, but they lookin’ real lonely.
Pulled over a hundred times, same faces, same cars
Trying to lock a young legend behind Somerville bars.
I was just a kid in high school when they hit me with the cuffs
Phony charges, set-up plays, yeah they acting real tough.
But that ship has set sail, I’m gone with the wind
Thank God for the strength to lose and then win again.
(Verse 1)
It started in the hallways, yeah, back at the school
They didn’t like a rebel, someone breaking the rule.
Dragging me out in front of everyone I knew
Planting the seeds for the lies that they grew.
Roughed up on the gravel, yeah the pressure was heavy
But I’m built like the steel, I’m as strong as the levee.
A hundred traffic stops, man, I’m sick of the lights
Blue and red in my mirror, ruining my nights.
Same officers, same grudge, same petty-ass games
Trying to smudge a man's reputation and name.
(Verse 2)
They brought out the wires, yeah they tazed me twice
Looking for a reason, looking for a vice.
But let’s talk about the footage, let’s talk about the truth
Show me the body cam, show it to the youth.
Show me where I’m tripping, show me being the threat
Show me being disrespectful—I’ll make you a bet.
If the tape shows the mouth that you claim that I had
I’ll pay double the bail, I’ll even be glad.
But you can’t show the world what didn't exist
Just a man getting tired of the bruise on his wrist.
(Bridge)
(Beat drops out, just the haunting piano)
The charges are phony.
The setups are old.
You can’t cage a spirit that’s made out of gold.
7-14-99... I’m still standing.
(Chorus)
Joshua Lee Brinkley, yeah the target is on me
They’ve been trying to break me, but they lookin’ real lonely.
Pulled over a hundred times, same faces, same cars
Trying to lock a young legend behind Somerville bars.
I was just a kid in high school when they hit me with the cuffs
Phony charges, set-up plays, yeah they acting real tough.
But that ship has set sail, I’m gone with the wind
Thank God for the strength to lose and then win again.
(Outro)
(Heavy bass fades out with a fading siren sound)
Keep your bail money.
The truth is free.
Double the bail? Nah...
That ship has set sail.
Brinkley. Out.
joshua_brinkley
