Burn a Little Brighter

Leather jacket, empty pockets and a mean streak you can see

He's a victim of the system and the academic greed

I remember we were younger when it felt easy to breathe

When Chicago burned a little brighter

I can isolate the moment that we all sought to return

All his teachers and his counselors didn't have time for concern

It was gradual like cancer that you kill but will return

Now Chicago burns a little brighter

Yeah, tonight she burns a little brighter

There's something circling here on our street

Everybody's got a taste for more

It's a rerun, it's no mystery

I've seen this one before

All the uproar and the outrage was a spectacle to find

The pretenders and the grifters, yeah just left me so resigned

Grandma saw this, bought his jacket, said he'd want it to be mine

Now Chicago burns a little brighter

Yeah, tonight she burns a little brighter

There's something circling here on our street

Everybody's got a taste for blood

It's a rerun, it's no mystery

I've seen this one before

And the best times that I remember

Sneaking out the fire escape playing "Never Surrender"

But I'll never forget the officer said

That you didn't come home from school today

And the best times that I remember

Sneaking out the fire escape playing "Never Surrender"

But I'll never forget the officer said

That you didn't come home from school today

And we're standing on this corner alone

Standing on this corner alone

Standing on this corner alone

And we're standing

It was later, on the corner the whole gang was getting high

And when we talked about it, everyone had alibis

Grandma always said there's different ways to say goodbye

Now Chicago burns a little brighter

And I clench my fists a little tighter

There's something circling here on our street

Everybody's got a taste for blood

It's a rerun, it's no mystery

I've seen this one before

And the best times that I remember

Sneaking out the fire escape playing "Never Surrender"

But I'll never forget the officer said

That you didn't come home from school to love

And the best times that I remember

Sneaking out the fire escape playing "Never Surrender"

But I'll never forget the officer said

That you didn't come home from school today