"My Philadelphia: A 3-part Ode"

Yall know this is my Philadelphia

They know this is my Philadelphia

I know this is my Philadelphia

But it can be yours too

 

You can’t stop me

I’m runnin to the top like Rocky

Balboa, no other city couldn’t even copy

T’all know that Philly is the place to be

You can’t hate P-H-I-L-L-Y, forget NY

And LA, and Boston Massachusetts.

What city was it where they wrote the constitution?

What city gave birth to the revolution?

In the Hall of Independence, tall and splendid

The Liberty Bell let freedom ring, free to do all things

Like if I wanna go to Broad and Market

See City Hall, William Penn stands tall over all of yall

Watch him gaze north standing strong, he will never fall

It’s a city so historical, its sounds so audible

So many things about Philly are applaudable

It’s a shame that its condition is now deplorable

The question is, what we call can do?

Got on the sub, went to South Philly, brought me a sub

So I can grub, except one thing: we call em hoagies

But I can’t eat straight without a cheesestake

Extra cheese, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise please, thanks

And you can find me at Citizens Bank Park

Rootin for the Phillies from the bottom of my heart

But things are the best during football season, why?

Cause that’s when I see the birds. Fly, Eagles, Fly

This is my Philadelphia

But it can be yours too.

 

Tragedy

Agony

Adversity

Calamity

Catastrophe

Misery

Family

Amity

Unity

Honesty

Love for a brother, see…These are the things that make up Philly…

I love you but I hate you

I shun you yet I embrace you

I’m conflicted and twisted because some of the things that make you, they defame you.

If there were a picture that I could paint you

Your description would be a depiction of something that taints you.

What colors would I use to describe you?

Would I paint your sky blue so that peace and tranquility would belie you?

Would I paint the sun black so that its rays would hide you?

Would I paint your waters brown to show the filth that’s inside you?

Would I paint your riches invisible, the color of clear instead of green, they’re never seen, they always seem disappeared.

And how much red paint would I need to draw the rivers of blood

That have been spilled in the city called “Brotherly Love”?

And where’s the love, all I see is hate.

When there’s conflict we retaliate,

Doing nothing but inflating the murder rate.

A life get’s taken day in and day out

But when it’s night out and the light’s out,

We can be sure that somebody else’s life’s out.

It’s crazy how they mock you by calling you “Philthadelphia”

If they’re not careful, they’ll get killed in Delphia.

Blood that was spilled in Delphia cries out to deaf ears

Remove the guns and spare the ones who shed innocent tears!

Tragedy

Agony

Adversity

Calamity

Catastrophe

Misery

Family

Amity

Unity

Honesty
Love for a brother, see…These are the things that make up Philly, good and bad

Part III
As I wake up in the morning, the things I hear
The birds in the trees singin in my ear
The people outside they are goin to school
And work, they all got up first, I’m still laying here.
Traffic gets louder, I hear a bus pass
Put in my token and ask for a bus pass
Look out the window and see all the stuff pass
What I’m lookin at is Philadelphia
I see a building or two, mostly old, some new
Potholes in the street like a giant walked through
Used to be a lot but now its only few
Exhaust in the air but I can still smell the dew
The mayor says that we need the stop and frisk
But I really really hope it doesn’t come to this
Livin in a city with potential for greatness
Spread love to all my people who shaped this