[Verse 1] Sun climbs slow on the water tank I’m up here with my notes and my lamp Below me, the buses start to yawn Rolling my city into dawn Newsstand man with his paper stack Corner kid with a backpack cracked I see the steam rise off the grates I hear the world before it waits I’ve lied to myself, I won’t lie to you I know what a hungry block can do So I write with my window open wide And I put my fear on the other side [Pre-Chorus] If I’m gonna speak, I’m gonna speak clean No borrowed shine, no polished sheen Let the hard truth ring, let the soft truth stay I’ll carry both in the same breath today [Chorus] I speak for the block below I speak what the silence knows From the rooftop, I swear it true If I don’t say it, who will do? I speak for the block below I speak for the block below Honest words in the morning glow That’s the only way I know [Verse 2] Storefront shutters, a paint-flaked row Lady with flowers and a face lined slow Delivery bike cutting through the smoke One more shift for the ones who broke I know shame got a heavy hand It can turn your spine to sand But I’ve seen pride in a lunch pail grin And grace in a building caving in So I take the hurt and I shape that sound Like a brick laid flat, like a seed in ground Not to make it pretty, not to make it small Just to tell it straight when the daylight calls [Pre-Chorus] If I’m gonna speak, I’m gonna speak clear For the ones who work and the ones who fear Let the hard truth ring, let the soft truth stay I’ll carry both in the same breath today [Chorus] I speak for the block below I speak what the silence knows From the rooftop, I swear it true If I don’t say it, who will do? I speak for the block below I speak for the block below Honest words in the morning glow That’s the only way I know [Bridge] And if my name fades off the page Let this city still have a stage For the broken laugh, the tired prayer The kid with fire in the open air I’m not above you, I’m with you here Same long road, same salty tear When the sun hits first, I’ll make it plain I was made to carry your name [Final Chorus] I speak for the block below I speak what the silence knows From the rooftop, I swear it true If I don’t say it, who will do? I speak for the block below I speak for the block below Honest words in the morning glow That’s the only way I know [Outro] Sun is up and the page is warm I write the good, I write the storm Below me, the city wakes and grows I spoke the truth the whole world knows