Gil Scott-Heron - Washington, D.C. lyrics

Symbols of democracy
Pinned up against the coast
Outhouse of bureaucracy, surrounded by a moat
Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight
Overlords escape in the evening with
People of the night
Morning brings the tourists
Peering eyes and rubber necks
To catch a glimpse of the cowboy
Making the world a nervous wreck
It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC

It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC
(mmmm hmmm)
May not have the glitter or the glamour of LA
May not have the history or
The intrigue of Bombay
But when it comes to making music
And sure enough making news
People who just don’t make sense
And people making do
Seems a ball of contradictions
Pulling different ways
Between the folks who come and go
And one’s who’ve got to stay
It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC

It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC

Seems to me, it’s still in light time people
Knifed up on 14th street
Makes me feel it’s always the right time for
Them people showing up and coming clean
Didn't make the one second to none

It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC
(mmmm hmmm)

Symbols of democracy
Pinned up against the coast
Outhouse of bureaucracy, surrounded by a moat
Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight
Overlords escape in the evening with
People of the night
Morning come and bring the tourists
Craning rubber necks
Catch a glimpse of the cowboy making
The world a nervous wreck
It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC
It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital
It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington DC
It’s the nation’s capital
Got you feeling capital
Punishment is capital in Washington DC