In the coldness of the city    Where the neon sleeps    The streets show the pity    And the nights run deep    And every shadow seems to hold a hidden story    And every heart, oh, is a refugee       And the old ones hope    And the lost ones scream    The hustlers float    And the young ones dream    In the city    Livin' in the soul of the city      And the streets cry freedom    Do you stand or retreat    As you stare by the neon gods above    While you bask in the heat       And the streets cry freedom    As the blood runs cold    As you stare into the eyes of the walking ghosts    Who've lost their souls      In the summer's heat I'm weary    In the soul of the city    Potential's burning bright    In the Harlem halls    Have you ever lived looking down a shotgun barrel   When they said hey boy, this ain't your home      There ain't no cure for the bleeding heart    `Cause when you fall    There's no second start in the city    There'll always be the soul of the city      And the streets cry freedom    As it burns in the heat    As you stare by the neon gods above    While you bask in the heat       And the streets cry freedom    As the blood runs cold    You stare into the eyes of the walking ghosts    Who've lost their souls      (Solo)      There is no reason    For livin' in sin    I don't believe when they say hey boy, you better give in   You know I'll fight for what I know    Till the day that I die    `Cause I'm better off dead    Then buried along with my pride      And the streets cry freedom    Till the day that I die, yeah   Till the day that I die    And the streets cry freedom    Till the day that I die, yeah    Till the day that I die, yeah    Till the day that I die    Till the day that I die, die, die, die, die, oh    Streets cry freedom       Potential's burning bright       Ohhh, oh    Till the day that I die   Till the day that I die   Till the day that I die   Till the day that I die