[Verse 1: Common]
Wa-da-da, wa-da-da-da-da
Cassius Clay and The Potter
Shape my mind, the shape of things, the trap, the grind
Escape the dream, shooting star, my aim supreme
Pops said, "If you gon' aim for king, claim the king
My brainstorm reign supreme
Black superhero with a cape and wings
Still I'm a G like a Mason ring
Build with gods and gangstas whose scars and faces
Traces of racist snakes that debased us
Tried to freebase us, mark of the beast, erase us
But we raised up from East Asia
Children of Mother Nature
The minority report said that we major and we made ya
I seek grеater 'til the fire nеxt time
It's burning down, there's a riot in my mind

[Chorus: Lenny Kravitz]
It's a war outside
When it's quiet, it's a riot in my mind
It's a war outside
Won't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
Gotta get ready, saddle up
If you really 'bout it, we gon' see, oh yeah
Gotta get ready, time is up
If you been 'bout it, we gon' see, oh yeah
It's a war outside
Can't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
[Verse 2: Common]
Paraphernalia I wear like songs by Mahalia
Soldier, Buffalo, Griselda
Held the scroll that told us seven bowls and seven plagues
Babylon, dread the days when the dead are raised
Escapades of the everlasting
Where the ghetto praise for compassion, no longer masking
Where Black men and Black women have been
Art, culture, fashion, the science and mad bling
Kemetic attraction, we live for action
Moral arc backbend, our spirits attacking
To the, to the, tick-tick-tick top
You can lick shots, strange fruit get cropped
Get land, get stores, kick doors, ensure
Your fam' is good, plus the people next door
Some are tired about the times, some inspired about the times
It's where power is refined, it's a riot in my mind

[Chorus: Lenny Kravitz]
It's a war outside
When it's quiet, it's a riot in my mind
It's a war outside
Won't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
Gotta get ready, saddle up
If you really 'bout it, we gon' see, oh yeah
Gotta get ready, time is up
If you been 'bout it, we gon' see, oh yeah
It's a war outside
Can't be quiet, it's a riot in my mind
[Outro: Common & Lenny Kravitz]
Nation against nation
Simulation, indication (It's a war)
Uh, yo (It's a war)
Nation against nation
Simulation, innovation (It's a war, ow!)
Generation, vindication
Vindication, vindication, ahh!