Sung to "Urge For Going"

once i live in Brooklyn town

i had tallow olive-colored skin

it wasn't easy working things out

so i stayed mostly in

ethnic pride unofficially destroyed

yuppified neighborhoods

 that only outsiders could enjoy

i had the urge for going

and going i did go

 

i had the urge for going when

occupy was dead downtown

and wall street was a holy ground

with sandy closing in

 

once i had a high school job

but teachers just-ice was growing thin

officials closed us down and broke us up

corporate news added to the din

students laughed at teachers' blows

passed the tests despite having

brains the size of lint between toes

i had the urge for teaching

where a chancellor wouldn't thumb his nose

 

i had the urge for teaching where

parents cared what was going down

 learning was the only sound

 and dumbing-down was a sin

 

i used to have a union hall

where workers learned to sink or swim

it was filled with fools so full of fluff

they sat in their offices and grinned

they told us this and told us that

and when we scream they carted out

their giant inflatable rat

so i had the urge for going

and took with me two sabo cats

 

i had the urge for going when

wobs and a-f-hellers held me down

officially silencing the demo sounds

till i knew we'd never win

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