[Verse 1]
They tell me land of brave is home of free
But all I see is barbed wire staring back at me
Left the dust, the drone hum, the blood-soaked street
For a concrete cage where fear and hopeless meet
My name's a number, my story, a lie they tell
Traded my heaven for a brand new hell
From a war zone's fury to a silent scream
Chasing the tatters of a busted-up dream
Yeah... just a busted-up dream.
[Chorus]
Running from the shadows, living in the night
ICE trucks on the corner, feeding on the fright
Work for cash, sleep in shifts, always on the move
Got nothing in this world left for me to prove
They built a wall around the promise, tall and grim
They don't see a person, they just see a sin
This ain't the freedom that I crossed the desert for
Just a different kind of war, yeah, a different kind of war.
[Verse 2]
One wrong turn, a flash of lights, it's done
The cold steel cuffs, they glint in the sun
No lawyer call, no rights, no kindly face
Just a boot, a baton, to keep me in my place
They call me "illegal," like I'm less than dirt
Every insult and bruise, a fresh and burning hurt
Threw me in a cell, cold and stark and gray
Waiting to be shipped, like trash, back to the fray.
[Chorus]
Running from the shadows, living in the night
ICE trucks on the corner, feeding on the fright
Work for cash, sleep in shifts, always on the move
Got nothing in this world left for me to prove
They built a wall around the promise, tall and grim
They don't see a person, they just see a sin
This ain't the freedom that I crossed the desert for
Just a different kind of war, yeah, a different kind of war.
[Bridge]
I close my eyes, I see the sun back home
The smell of jasmine, soil I used to own
My mother's laughter, a memory so bright
Extinguished now by this eternal night
I didn't come for pity, or a handout's shame
I came for peace, I came to say my name
But in their eyes, I'm just a problem to erase
A forgotten face in a forgotten place.
[Outro]
So I take this sheet, this final, frail design
A twisted rope to make their border line
A final exit from their cold, unfeeling hands
Back to the dust and ashes of my lands
I sought a refuge, I fought to be so bold
But all I found was a story left untold...
A story left... untold.
