[Intro]
"What'd you do last night?"
"We did, umm, two whole cars
It was me, Dez, and Mean Three, right?
And on the first car, in small letters, it said 'All you see is'
And then, you know, big, big, you know, some block silver letters
That said 'crime in the city', right?"
"It just took up the whole car?"
"Yeah, yeah, it was a whole car and shit..."
Escúchela, la ciudad respirando
Escúchela, la ciudad respirando
Escúchela, la ciudad respirando
Escúchela...

[Verse 1: Mos Def]
The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis
Shinin', like "Who on top of this?"
People was tusslin', arguin' and bustlin'
Gangstas of Gotham hardcore hustlin'
I'm wrestlin' with words and ideas
My ears is pricked, seekin' what will transmit
The scribes can apply the transcript
Yo! This ain't no time where the usual is suitable
Tonight alive, let's describe the inscrutable
The indisputable (What!)
We New York, the narcotics, draped in metal and fiber optics
Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips for profits
Thirsty criminals sic pockets
Hard knuckles on the second hands of working-class watches
Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of livin' is preposterous
Stay alive? You pay or die, no options
No Batman and Robin
Can't tell between the cops and the robbers
They both partners, they all heartless, with no conscience
Back streets stay darkened
While unbeliever hearts stay hardened
My eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbin'
You either make your way or stay sobbin'
The shiny Apple is bruised but sweet, and if you choose to eat
You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat
Nightly news repeat who got shot down and locked down
Spotlight the savages, NASDAQ averages
My narrative rose to explain this existence
Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance
[Chorus: Mos Def & All]
So much on my mind that I can't recline
Blastin' holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine
Breathe in — inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out — weed smoke retrace the skyline
Heard the bass ride out like an ancient mating call
I can't take it, y'all! I can feel the city breathin'
Chest heavin', against the flesh of the evenin'
The sigh before we die like the last train leavin'

[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
Breathin' in deep city breaths, sittin' on shitty steps
We stoop to new lows, Hell froze the night the city slept
The Beast crept through concrete jungles
Communicatin' with one another and ghetto birds
Where waters fall from the hydrants to the gutters
The Beast walk the beats, but the beats we be makin'
You on the wrong side of the track, lookin' visibly shaken
Takin' them plungers, plungin' to death that's painted by the numbers
With Krylon applied pressure
Cats is playin' God, but havin' children by a lesser baby mother
But fuck it! We played against each other like puppets
Swearin' you got pull
When the only pull you got is the wool over your eyes
Gettin' knowledge in jail like a blessin' in disguise
Look in the skies for God, what you see besides the smog
Is broken dreams flyin' away on the wings of the obscene
Thoughts that people put in the air
Places where you could get murdered over a glare
But everythin' is fair
It's a paradox we call reality
So keepin' it real will make you a casualty of abnormal normality
Killers Born Naturally like Mickey and Mallory
Not knowin' the ways will get you capped like an NBA salary
Some cats be emceein' to illustrate what we be seein'
Hard to be a spiritual being when shit is shakin' what you believe in
For trees to grow in Brooklyn, seeds need to be planted
I'm askin' if y'all feel me, and the crowd left me stranded
My blood pressure boiled and rose
'Cause New York n***as actin' spoiled at shows
To the winners, the spoils go
I take the L, transfer to the 2, head to the gates
New York life type trife, the Roman Empire state
[Chorus: Common, Mos Def, all]
So much on my mind, I just can't recline
Blastin' holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine
Breathe in — inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out — weed smoke retrace the skyline
Yo, don't the bass ride out like an ancient mating call?
I can't take it, y'all! I can feel the city breathin'
Chest heavin', against the flesh of the evenin'
The sigh before we die like the last train leavin'

[Interlude: Spanish-speaking woman]
¡Escuchela... Respirando como yo…
Ojos sinceros, escondiendo pena y temor…
El silencio de mentira, tocando al hogar escapando sentimientos entre ella y yo…

[Verse 3: Common]
Yo, on The Amen corner I stood, lookin' at my former hood
Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good
Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it
Mixin' down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered
I choreograph seven steps to Heaven
In Hell, waitin' to exhale and make the bread leaven
Veteran of a cold war; it's Chica-I-go for
What I know or what's known
So some days I take the bus home, just to touch home
From the crib, I spend months gone
Sat by the window with a clutched dome
Listenin' to shorties cuss long
Young girls with weak minds but they butt strong
Tried to call or at least beep the Lord but didn't have a touch-tone
It's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush on
Some of this land I must own
Outta the city, they want us gone
Tearin' down the 'jects, creatin' plush homes
My circumstance is between Cabrini and Love Jones
Surrounded by hate, yet I love home
Asked my guy how he thought travelin' the world sound
Found it hard to imagine he hadn't been past Downtown
It's deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep
Deep, I heard my man breathe in his sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep
[Chorus: Mos Def, Mos Def & Talib Kweli, all]
So much on my mind, I just can't recline
Blastin' holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine
Breathe in — inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out — weed smoke retrace the skyline
Yo, how the bass ride out like an ancient mating call?
I can't take it, y'all! I can feel the city breathin'
Chest heavin', against the flesh of the evenin'
Kiss the odds goodbye, I'm on the last train leavin'