Show Lyrics

Mars ILL - Nextdoor
(from the album Backbreakonomics)
© copyright 2003

Verse 1:
If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then the mouth is the door/
Where the pieces exit freely way beyond your control/
And they're not yours anymore. Walk tall in bent stride/
And propaganda lies on the gentle side of genocide/
Words are used, broken, twisted and misquoted/
The gossip was probably true the first time somebody told it/
And slander's just a well-intentioned public exposition/
That should have been handled man to man as something different/
The bum decisions are done and repeated like that/
Bite my tongue in half as an example of how to fight back/
Write raps and raise a family. Build with the like-minded/
Honor hides itself in strange faces. I'm always glad to find it/
I'm reminded of the wonder of this world in which we live/
How we kill ourselves to have but find freedom when we give/
Climb reason and forgive in a quest for all that is/
I'm standing right beside you 'cause this is where I live/

Hook:
I'm the voice in the distance, the image in the foreground/
Don't have much, but what's mine is yours now/
Can't put your finger on it, but you've seen me around/
Wherever you're at, I'm just a couple doors down/
Repeat

Verse 2:
It's like 4 in the morning and I'm still here/
Wasn't 'til 3:45 that I started thinking clear/
Concern, anger, sadness, and now my heart is blinking tears/
Take these necessary steps to my art can reach my peers/
I've abused my voice so much that it's hard to sing this year/
And my own songs can't echo in my set of ringing ears/
Pages filled top to bottom with confidence and stinging fear/
That no one understands what I speak and they can't hear/
So I'll say it twice as loud and I'll mean every word/
Can't keep it in my mouth until their peace is disturbed/
From the least to the first, we can see where you hurt/
And we dedicate this now, every beat, every verse/
Every breath, every thought, every prayer, every stage/
Every show, every moment, every night, every day/
Everything that we say and everything that we do/
It's dedicated to you. It's dedicated to you...

Hook:

Verse 3:
The moments that I'm walking through affect the way I talk to you/
And this is what I'm called to do. It's almost like I'm stalking you/
You're tired of falling through the cracks from all the broken promises/
And it's tough to hear the voice of reason through these busted monitors/
And as honest as I am, I can't hide behind the fade/
I just wanna bring my people a little closer to God/
If I'm martyred on MARTA, it was probably my time/
But we're here now, hands on, transforming your mind/
So if I ask you how you're doing, don't smile and say, "Fine."/
'Cause it's written all over your face honey, and I ain't blind/
Me and mine, we spill our guts, 'cause without it, we'd go nuts/
The music is therapeutic, so just let it pick you up/
And hold you tight. Move a little closer to the light/
Be careful when you listen 'cause it might just change your life/
And when you see me in the supermarket, just smile and say, "Hello."/
And add me to the list of all the people that you know...

Hook: