Shots Fired

Am G Am 2x Am Jamal called Denise said he'd be home late G Earning money on the side to put food on their plate F Only trying to provide but it sealed his fate E Selling bootleg tapes by the subway train Am When the cops came through in an hour or two G They unloaded hot lead through his valid excuse F Proving black and blue can mean more than a bruise E Am Now there's one less seat at a table for two F Am The officers stood trial E Am G Crippled justice let them walk F Am They'll hide behind a badge E That let's them live above the law Am Dm And it's shots fired in the city streets Am Dm Across the color line E Shots fired through concealment Am G Am Of the power structures crimes Am Dm Shots fired at the courthouse Am Dm Where corruption wears the crown E Shots fired when the crooked gavel Am G Am Comes a crashing down Am G Am 2x Am Billy's father raised him tough told him "be a man" G With a Bible and a rifle for aluminum cans F Sent him off to fight a war came back lost in his head E With a vengeance toward the system that he fought to defend Am Brought a semi automatic to a southern church G Now the congregations leaving in the back of a hearse F Then he took his own life cause the truth can hurt E Am When you trust in God and your country first F Am A casualty of liberty E Am G With landmine mental health F Am He"s daddy's little hero E But he couldn't save himself Am Dm Cause it's shots fired on the battlefield Am Dm What are we fighting for? E Shots fired through the smiles Am G Am Of the profiteers of war Am Dm Shots fired in the classrooms Am Dm By the twisted poisoned mind E Shots fired for the answers Am G Am That we seek but cease to find Am G Am 2x Am When Omar's face flashed on the TV screen G For a massacre, the likes of which we'd never seen F Some reporters called him crazy others blamed his beliefs E His religion or conflicting sexuality Am But it doesn't really matter when push comes to shove G Cause he aimed a loaded weapon at a Florida club F Taking 49 lives hated how they loved E Am Left a shadow on a rainbow drenched in blood F Am The politics of ignorance E Am G Will lie and generalize F Am It spreads the thread of prejudice E To widen the divide Am Dm So it's shots fired at extremists Am Dm And their blatant bigotry E Shots fired for communities Am G Am In fear of the police Am Dm Shots fired at the government's Am Dm Who orchestrate the fight E Shots fire on the left Am G Am And then shots fire on the right Am G Am 2x Am Hear the thunder as it echoes all across the land G From the fire arms the trigger happy hold in their hands F Some will call it patriotic others want them banned E And attempt to put the genie back inside the lamp Am It's a matter of opinion if it's wrong or right G It depends, cause' they can end or they can save a life F Its the edges of perspective where our views collide E Am Or the center of the target where we compromise F Am So think it through, this much is true E Am G Whatever you decide F Am You're bound to find a paradox E In every paradigm Am Dm Shots fired throughout history Am Dm A chapter in decline E Shots fired at the barricades Am G Am That block the changing times Am Dm Shots fired for the victims Am Dm Sweating bullets on the run E Shots fired cause were looking down Am G Am The barrel of a gun Am G Am 2x