Apr 2015
By: Cedric McClester
If we burn it down tonight
Leave nothing standing within sight
Will the ashes make things right
Or just make us contrite
After we realize our worst fears
And Judgment Day suddenly nears
Could it be worst than it appears
After the smoke finally clears
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
When civility erodes
It’s hard to say what that bodes
Should we start speaking in codes
Until the powder keg explodes
It’s a brand new frontier
But now we find ourselves here
And to rebuild will take years
After the smoke finally clears
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
Burn baby burn
A battle cry from long ago
But what have we learned
That before we didn’t know
Tempers need to cool
Or eventually they’ll blow
And if they do
What will we have to show
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
Will we ever learn
The places that we choose to burn
Aren’t the places that we yearn
But that doesn’t cause concern
Are you listening to me
We’re not thinking rationally
The end result’s no mystery
For those who study history
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
If we burn it down tonight
Leave nothing standing within sight
Will the ashes make things right
Or just make us contrite
After we realize our worst fears
And Judgment Day suddenly nears
Could it be worst than it appears
After the smoke finally clears
(c) Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester. All rights reserved
If we burn it down tonight
Leave nothing standing within sight
Will the ashes make things right
Or just make us contrite
After we realize our worst fears
And Judgment Day suddenly nears
Could it be worst than it appears
After the smoke finally clears
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
When civility erodes
It’s hard to say what that bodes
Should we start speaking in codes
Until the powder keg explodes
It’s a brand new frontier
But now we find ourselves here
And to rebuild will take years
After the smoke finally clears
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
Burn baby burn
A battle cry from long ago
But what have we learned
That before we didn’t know
Tempers need to cool
Or eventually they’ll blow
And if they do
What will we have to show
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
Will we ever learn
The places that we choose to burn
Aren’t the places that we yearn
But that doesn’t cause concern
Are you listening to me
We’re not thinking rationally
The end result’s no mystery
For those who study history
After the smoke finally clears
And we’re left with just the ashes
How do we shift gears
When our anger eventually passes
If we burn it down tonight
Leave nothing standing within sight
Will the ashes make things right
Or just make us contrite
After we realize our worst fears
And Judgment Day suddenly nears
Could it be worst than it appears
After the smoke finally clears
(c) Copyright 2015, Cedric McClester. All rights reserved
After The Smoke Clears was inspired by Ferguson, Missouri in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting and other similar instances that unfortunately seem to keep occurring.
