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