Raised in the Orchestra/ Hazed by the dozens
Mom worked door-to-door/ Pops was a plumber
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime

Sang in the autumn/ Did plays in the summer
Moms looking for a sign/ Pops going under
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime

I used to sing in the choir at church
Bells rang when I hit high notes/ in my throat
You would sit in the back/ and just clap/
Your wild hair pulling stares/ everyone there/ laughed behind your back

Til they smacked my last nerve/
Slashed tires, sugared their tanks, and scratched words into paint/
Smashed stained glass windows and cursed
I went berserk, Mama, cause I was hurt, (I never meant to hurt you)

They took me all the way/ To state on holiday
A juvenile/ so damn small and faraway
In the tank// learned how to spar & flow hard
But once I did my time I was addicted to crime
And never could arise out the demons in my mind
Fiending for the grind/ That phenomenon of crime

Bombing all the lines/ With a racked can of Krylon
Nylon/ stretched over my head with some pipe bomb threats
Don’t cry mom/ I’m coming home to see you
Once I get outside of this evil cathedral

Raised in the autumn/ & blazed in the summer
Moms worked all the time/ Pops crunched numbers
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime

Slang in the autumn/ Did plays in the summer
Moms looking for a sign/ Pops going under
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime


You put your dreams on me/ and set free
Every passion I chose/ basketball to the dance hall
Sacrificing your own/ so I could grow
So fat/ so fast/ & such an asshole

Who never really knew all the little things you’d do
But when I’d see you crying in the middle of the room
I’d scribble little lines, a riddle or haiku
To brighten up your eyes for a minute or two/

Eventually/ I’d fall back in the dirt/ Remember you
calling to work/ faking ill just to pick us up
Robbing liquor stores/ Fuck it, liquor trucks
Or getting beat half-dead, exchanging fisticuffs

Eighteen, angelface, Mama’s little man
Strangling bank clerks, and wrangling sedans
These hands/ used to paint/ beautiful scenes
Of you and me/ Now they break so brutally

Mama see/ You’re a saint/ I seen the halo
It fades when I come round, though/ it’s just a gray glow
I apologize for the drama all the time
I’m trying to leave behind this phenomenon of crime.

Raised in the Orchestra/ Hazed by the dozens
Mom worked door-to-door/ Pops was a plumber
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime

Sang in the autumn/ Did plays in the summer
Mom's looking for a sign/ Pop's going under
Tried to pull me up by the thumbs
But I land in the slammer every time/ the phenomenon of crime

[[[ I was the one/ Inspired/ the son
Baby brother running beside/ we like one lung
til we turned tired from the firing of blunts
Shotguns burning our throats/ crumbling coke/ into

One too many as your sons grew skinny
You’d sit at home/ all alone and rub pennies
Til the face fell off/ and sell off/ your last links
To get my ass out of the clink/ Just think ]]]

I shoulda brought the dream/ to our family
Working on the clean/ have you living like a queen
Instead I fell/ deep under the spell of the streets/ had you
Pulling strings/ out in the sleet/ New Year’s Eve

Hat in your hand/ begging help from the neighbors
With Dad on the lam/ Yeah, he couldn’t stand to stay there
“Say there, could you spare a buck or two for bail?
My boy’s in jail”/ They just stare/ you’re so frail

And pass a party hat ‘round the room/ while balloons
Escape toward the sky while you're shaking in your shoes
Never meant to make you cry, mama, that’s the truth
They closed the door on you/ left you out under the moon

I miss you bad, Mama/ Swear I’m coming home soon
Make the bail somehow/ And vow that I’ll do
Anything/ to bring/ harmony back in your mind
And finally resign the phenomenon of crime