[Intro]
Another night of rioting in England
As police clash with youths in several cities
You went to the stores that you had applied for a job at?
Yeah, I went across, like, I went to Clapham, yeah
To go where I handed out a CV, I was like, yeah
You didn't want to reply back to my e-mail?
Well I was like, yeah, this is payback innit! Payback, man!
And what about you? Any bad feelings at all?
Have you ever thought about it at night when you've been
Sleeping in your bed?
No, cause I'm watching my plasma that I just got
Seems like Christmas came early (came early)
Payback innit

[Verse 1]
Heavy is the hand
Pressing down again and again
Some things free, some things get chains
We all came to play the game

Will tomorrow come
For the men stuck in the line
There's a rumor circling
London's burning from within
[Chorus, backup vocals]
Hey, London's burning
And it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, there's no future in sight
Hey, London's burning
No, it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, everything is nothing

[Verse 2]
Ideology
Isn't nothing on the streets
No one cared and no one looked
Til she threw the judge's book

Now who's the one to blame
When the children go insane
Dancing on their broken dreams
While London's burning from within

[Chorus, backup vocals]
Hey, London's burning
And it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, there's no future in sight
Hey, London's burning
No, it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, everything is nothing
[Bridge]
Good morning, I've come straight from a meeting of the government's COBRA committee
This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be defeated

The streets are burning up from end to end
(Err, yeah, this is payback innit? Payback man)
Climb each other and we'll fall again
(This is criminality, pure and simple and it has to be defeated)
The streets are burning up from end to end
(Err, yeah, this is payback innit? Payback man)
End to end

[Chorus, backup vocals]
Hey, London's burning
And it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, there's no future in sight
Hey, London's burning
No, it doesn't matter how hard we try
Hey, London's burning
Everything is nothing, everything is nothing
Everything is nothing, everything is nothing