[Verse 1]
There's blacks with knives and whites with clubs fighting in Howard Beach
There's no such thing as human rights when you walk the New York streets
A cop was shot in the head by a 10 year old kid named Buddha in Central Park last week
The fathers and daughters are lined up by the coffins by the Statue of Bigotry, hey

[Chorus]
You better hold on, something happening here
You better hold on, well, I meet you in Tompkins Square

[Verse 2]
The dopers sent a message to the cops last weekend, they shot him in the car where he sat
And Eleanor Bumpers and Michael Stewart must have appreciated that
There's a rampaging rage rising up like a plague of bloody vials washing up on the beach
It'll take more than the Angels or Iron Mike Tyson to heal this bloody breach, hey, hey

[Chorus]
You better hold on, something's happening here
You better hold on, I'm gonna meet you in Tompkins Square

[Verse 3]
A junkie ran down a lady a pregnant dancer, she'll never dance but the baby was saved
He shot up some China White and nodded out at the wheel
And he doesn't remember a thing
They shot that old lady 'cause they thought she was a witness to a crime she didn't even see
Whose home is the home of the brave by the Statue of Bigotry, hey
[Chorus]
You better hold on, something's happening here
You better hold on, there's a riot in Tompkins Square

[Verse 4]
You got a black .38 and a gravity knife, you still have to ride the train
There's the smelly essence of New York down there, but you ain't no Bernard Goetz, ah
There's no Mafia lawyer to fight in your corner for that 15 minutes of fame
The have and the have nots are bleeding in the tub, that's New York's future, not mine, oh

[Chorus]
You better hold on, something's happening here
You better hold on, you better, something's happening here
Hold on, ooohhh, babe