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 uright 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...?

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