When Detroit Was Burning

There was a fire in the sky over Gratiot
You could see it all the way from Springwells
Standing on the front lawn in the blackness
Holding fast to mama's knees
The whole block on the street
When Detroit was burning

Dad said this had been coming for sometime
The black guys on the line had told him so
The city of the ghettoes burned on fire
There was nothing on the news
But all the neighbors knew
When Detroit was burning

When Detroit was burning, burning down
When Detroit was burning, burning down

There were no kids in the park on Saturday
The Guardsmen set up tents under the swings
They drove their jeeps around Vernor Highway
Then they'd go downtown at night
And shoot everything in sight
When Detroit was burning

I was just a little girl playing with my friends
I didn't know what it meant to live in a black kid's skin
I'm older now and there's still so much I don't understand

The farmer's market's thriving down on Gratiot
But there's fire in the night around Springwells
Detroit wasn't reborn from the ashes
It's been nearly thirty years
And hate's still living here
Where Detroit was burning

When Detroit was burning, burning down
When Detroit was burning, burning down
Our hometown burning down