My Cup Empty

Sirens on a Tuesday, then again on Wednesday,

Mama on the news tryin' not to break.

Another baby gone, another woman gone,

And the block just keeps on scrollin' away.

When did we get numb? When did we get used to it?

When did heartbreak turn to "that's just how it is"?

But I'm so Shreveport I can't just bounce,

I can't pack up and leave.

I was left here paralyzed, 35 years ago,

It was front page then - now you barely grieve.

You call it desensitized, I call it defeated,

No hope left in their eyes.

But this broken heart inside me just got activated,

So I'ma pour it out 'til my cup runs dry.

I got sons who wanna leave, and I don't blame 'em,

No work, too much crime, too many graves.

But somebody gotta stay, somebody gotta be invested,

Somebody gotta show another way.

It ain't the preacher, it ain't the teacher,

It's the kid next to you in the hallway.

Peers are the biggest influence.

So young people, rise.

Rise.

If you're hurt, don't hurt people.

If you're grieving, say it.

If you're angry, use it.

We are not hopeless - we are just unhealed.

I'm so Shreveport I can't just bounce,

This is my home, this is my street.

You can call me defeated, but I'm still believin'

That this neighborhood can be a neighborhood again.

My heart was broken, now it's activated,

Every tear is fuel, every scar is proof.

When I leave this earth, let my cup be empty,

Let it mean I gave it all to you.

Let it mean I gave it all...

Let my cup be empty.