If you're from the N.O. feel this with me and if "ya aint"; Welcome to my City. I remember Second lines and penny candy Project block parties and St. Mark's dances Corner stores and corner whores Ducking out the back door To skip chores And G-Nikes and street fights And street lights would keep night From beating us home Home grown on neck bones and collard greens Cat fish, fried chicken, and red beans With rice, it was nice But at what price My rights? My lights? My life? Now I'm trife cuz a hurricane took away my property One stormy Monday I remember Fat Tuesday and Super Sunday Funeral processions on Burgundy Fish plates from Broadmore Po-boys on Chef Menteur Making groceries at Schwegman's store And calling out your ward Like, "five, four" I remember Opened flood doors Were way more than what they bargained for like Swollen doors and mold up from the floors Inflated bodies Too many casualties And all they wanted was a little more money But it's too many dying Too many crying And not enough lying I remember The Joy and Eastlake Motor bikes on the Lake Talent shows at St. Mary's High school sororities and fraternities And Gregory D! Davy D, Lonnie and Mannie Rob Fresh and Raj Smoove Big Cheese krushin' groove DJ, DJ Money Fresh, Wop and Jubilee, Dynamite Dave Soul, Captain Charles And ya boy, Wyld Weezy! Club Big Easy and Prime Time Rumors, Nexus, Velocity and The Bottom Line, on Monday Whispers on Thursday And House of Blues every Sunday I remember Riverboat Hallelujah and Bonaparte Place Dooky Chase and fat shoe laces Monogram name plates and apple rings These are more than just a few of my favorite things More than just a fading memory Cuz see, when I say "Stop. Pause." If you aint from where I'm from Not even Anthony Hamilton can sing you a clue So I'mma "make it do what it do" and tell you noboby knows what it means To miss New Orleans like I do Cuz this is more than just a city Where my house sits It's, my heart beat and even the pot holes in the streets are sweet And just like "You can't beat Wagner's Meat" You can't take the N.O. From the soul of me See, I'm a Uptown soldier Little bit of a hard head From being 7th ward bred And just enough of that nine In my spine So, I don't mind dyin' But, "aint no love In the heart of city" With no culture And no people This is gospel I'm saying a mouthful But my heart is empty Cuz, I remember July and November Frankie Beverly, Southern and Grambling State University Black people in unity Dressed to impress And putting all kinds of money Back into the community Cuz aint nothing greasy About this Big Easy but the chicken See, we family We got NanNans, Parans and play cousins School kids on corners playing dozens And "n**** knockin" And only when the gumbo pot thickens Do you know your Grandma done put her foot in it Yes, I remember The joy and the pain The sunshine and the rain And no hurricane will take the main vein from the artery of this country So please, save the babies! Raise the levee My heart's so heavy But my pen stay steady So, I'mma "get it ready Get it ready Get it ready, ready" So we can all come home Cuz, I remember the Dome And the Convention Center The French Quarter and the FEMA water And I don't want my daughter or son, to be To only have that image of my city I want them to create their own memories So that they may grow Grateful to be from the N.O. And quick to let anyone know From the Square in the Congo To the Indian battles outside of Joe's We are a special kind of people Born under the Cajun moon Lullabies sung to voo doo blues toons Sons of Moses Daughters of Oshun From the Beignet to the Etoufee Flora's and the Hardrock Cafe Fridays at True Brew the Square on Sunday And the jockamo fe fi na ne Come soon, come soon that day Cuz, I remember

>Author Unknown > > > > Props to my bruthas and sistahs from Nawlins...Yall are the flavor in our > Lousiana Gumbo!