The Boy in Black

I never really fit in much,
I never had any friends.
I never even told a joke,
And I never wore the trends.

Red and Blue are my favorite colors,
Well, at least they used to be,
But now they only bring me dread,
I’m not afraid – I refuse to be.

The first group of friends I ever made,
They promised I’d have fun
They were all a lot older than me,
And they always carried guns.

They took me underneath a bridge,
Around 3:00 A.M.,
They beat me till I couldn’t move
Then I was one of them.

You represent a color,
A name, or neighborhood.
You’re taught to feel inadequate,
Violent, misunderstood.

Red and blue bandanas,
red and blue lights,
red blood blue bruises
and you‘re bleeding through the night.


I’m not sure why I am doing this
But that's the oath I swore.
Now everyday and every night,
I’m a prisoner of war.

We divide the world up into blocks,
And imprison ourselves inside.
And when one of them crosses the street,
That’s when the sides collide

Inside this territorial prison,
You feel no worth for your own soul,
Because you’re locked in here forever,
With no probation or parole.

We’re recruiting people to our side,
One after another.

But yet I pray to God,
That they won’t find my little brother

If one of our men is taken out,
Someone else has got to pay.
And when we show up on their block,
They know they will die today.

Red and blue are the most common,
But after every night’s attack,
If there’s a body in the street,
I see the boy in black.

I’ve never seen his face,
And I hope I never do.
But I have a feeling that he’ll come for me,
Before he comes for you.

I go out around eleven,
I’m in hell another night.
There’s bullets flying everywhere,
Another pointless fight.

I see someone running towards me,
And everything seems to mute.
I pull my gun out from my pocket
I cock it and I shoot.

Another life I’ve taken
I pretend I’m not afraid
But a bullet has no conscience
It’s just another price to pay

I look into the face,
Of the one that I just killed.
My little brother’s lying there,
My soul finally drilled.

The boy in black appears,
A pause in time and space,
The boy in black is me,
And he has my broken face.

I never should have come here,
Now I know I won’t see heaven.
I know don’t belong here,
Because I am only seven.