Well the nation is in trouble boys And word has it on these city streets That you owe some big man, 50 grand They say you just let the money slip right through your hands They say they hired you to move four "keys" To some businessman downtown And he in-turn is going to take that disease And poison every week soul he sees Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain And a nation in pain Black money leaves a stain Well there's rock cocaine in harlem Seems they're powerless in dc 'cause the sickness goes much deeper Than any naked eye will ever see So you're listenin' to your rock-and-roll radio While you're watching your heroes Up and drop like flies Was it morrison, or was it hendrix, joplin or james dean Presley or munroe? such a pretty way to go Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain And a nation in pain Black money leaves a stain Well i have a vision That tomorrow's gonna come And find us all sleepin' in the Heat of the sun They're gonna cancel all of our tickets And leave us for dead While movies of our failures Dance on in our heads So lose all of those needles And kill all your snakes Burn all of your demons You'd better dance on their graves, 'cause Cool is a word, that can never described The pain that you see in a smack junkie's eyes Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain Black money leaves a stain And a nation in pain Black money leaves a stain You better think about it