Ebxny - We Built This City Lyrics

You chained our ankles and we worked to the beat
Pained with ulcers and infections, we stepped with rhythm in our feet
To substitute for abolishment, for petty crimes and ones we didn't commit
Pipelined us through a system society would soon forget
Convict leasing, clever way to make us slaves again
Snatch our aspirations, have our confidence cave again
You didn't anticipate that it would
In turn manifest a brotherhood
Bound by chains at dusk - at dawn
But your Black Codes couldn't suffocate this Black man's song
Gandy Dancers and Line Bar Gangs
Erected your highways, assembled railroads for your trains
Humming melodies that caught the white man's eye
Had them craving the sounds that kept our spirits high
Bill Haley songs sound a lot like the chain gang
And "Jailhouse Rock" bore the sentiments of our pain
But there was no "rock" in jail
We were made to "rot" in jail
Under conditions you couldn't fathom
Your roads, bridges and highways-you wouldn't have 'em
So "I-Don't-Know-What-You-Been-Told"
But WE built this city, AND Rock and Roll