Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Community Song Post: "This City"


"This City" by Patrick Stump ft. Lupe Fiasco 


Now, what if I told you my city was the best?
And my city was a threat to the rest?
And my city was a threat to the rest?

This city is my city
And I love it
Yeah, I love it
I was born and raised here
I got it made here
And if I have my way I'm gonna stay

From every corner to every block, yeah
Whether it's warm or stormin' or down right stupid hot, hot
From the problems all the way to the solutions, yeah
Forget all the drugs and gang corruption and pollution, no

'Cause this city is my city (oh)
And I love it
Yeah, I love it
I was born and raised here
I got it made here
And if I have my way I'm gonna stay here

For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh

Now what if I told you my city was the best?
That my city was a threat to the rest?
But you can't rest inside my city
My city so cold if you ain't dressed
And what they accept, better have the right address
Parts of my city, certain colors can't step
And sadly, I'm talkin' bout the color of your skin
Sorry, my brother, can't let you in
'Cause the property value might go down
To a level that's economically unacceptable
And socially taboo for us to live around you
Is this what it's down to?
Root for the same team, maybe have the same dream
Not the same reality
Actually, mine is a bad education and gentrification
Despite all the above I love

This city is my city
And I love it
Yeah, I love it
I was born and raised here
I got it made here
And if I have my way, I'm gonna stay here

For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh
For life, uh huh

You can take my picture
You can take my name
But you're never gonna take my city away
'Cause you, you burn it to the ground
Oh, you let it flood
But it's in my blood

'Cause this city is my city
And I love it
Yeah, I love it
I was born and raised here
I got it made here
And if I have my way, I'm gonna stay here for life

Patrick Stump and Lupe Fiasco are both from the Chicago area and teamed up to record a song about their home sweet home . Both artists describe their urban community as "a threat to the rest", suggesting that they believe there is no other place like it. They later go on to describe the Windy City's weather perfectly, saying that it can either be really cold or ridiculously hot. They both support the city, stating how they love it and how it's in their blood, but they do mention a few negative things from home. Some of those things include drugs, gangs, and pollution. They don't mention how they wish to change these things, but they do recognize that they are not great, stating: "From the problems all the way to the solutions, forget all the drugs and gang corruption and pollution, 'Cause this city is my city and I love it". Considering that they are talking about a "corrupted" community, they still love Chicago because it's their home. It's their city.

1 comment:

  1. I really liked how I was able to tell this was your writing, your voice came through. I love the quote choice; it fit perfectly in your response and showed that you really dissected the lyrics for their meaning. It was nice how you were able to choice a song with both positive and negative aspects of the artist's community because you were able to attack it from both ways. Your ending sentence was very nice because it stayed in my head and made its impact. Very nice job.
    Word count: 89

    ReplyDelete