(Geoff Tate/Michael Wilton)
Last night the word came down
Ten dead in Chinatown
Innocent, they're only crime was
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time
Too bad, people say, what's wrong with the kids today?
Tell you right now they've got nothing to lose
They're building EMPIRE!
Johnny used to work after school
At the cinema show
Gotta hustle if he wants an education, he's got a long way to go
Now he's out on the street all day
Selling crack to the people who pay
Got an AK-47 for his best friend, business the American way
CHORUS
Eastside meets westside downtown
No time the walls fall down
Can't you feel it coming? EMPIRE!
Can't you hear it calling?
Black man trapped again, holds his chains in his hand
Brother killing brother for the profit of another
Game point, nobody wins
Decline, right on time
What happened to the dream sublime?
Tear it all down we'll put it up again
Another EMPIRE?
CHORUS
Can't someone here stop it...?
----------------------------------------------------------------------