N.Y.C. (Can You Believe This City?)

I was hanging out on Joy's front steps
It was the summer of love
We were in New York City
Vibe was cool with the radio on
I think it was Sly singing "Que Sera Sera"
My mother kept saying you're wastin' your life
Sittin' here watching the world go by
Why don't you guys get out there and do something
We did, we became brothers that night
Sharing our lives over a bottle of Ide's
But that was fine with me
There was some kind of riot on the lower
East Side
Some rich man shot some homeless guy
He thought he was being robbed

(chorus)

You can hear him say…
Can you believe this city

Didn't get much sleep staying out all night
Soul kitchen was hoppin'
We'd sneak in the side and dance
Smash was spinnin' some whack new song
We was all snappin' hard on his moms
But he was cool
That shit was funky
That shit was funky
Teachers were quittin' their jobs by the ton
Every kid in the school was totin' a gun
And they were just too scared

You can hear them say…
Can you believe this city

Ran into C on the E train
Had a brand new copy of Marvin Gaye's
"Trouble Man" I couldn't help thinkin' coming home that day
Is it New York City or back to L.A.