“Empire”

Queensrÿche, 1990 (album: Empire)

Last night the word came down, ten dead in Chinatown.

Innocent, their only crime was being the wrong place, at the wrong time

Too bad, people say what's wrong with the kids today

I’ll tell you right now they've got nothing to lose

They're building empire.

Johnny used to work after school

At the cinema show.

Gotta hustle if he wants an education

Yeah, he's got a long way to go.

Now he's out on the streets all day

Selling crack to the people who pay.

Got an AK-47 for his best friend

Business the American way.

Eastside meets Westside downtown.

No time, the walls fall down

Can't you feel it coming? (Empire.) Can't you hear it calling?

Black man, trapped again. Holds his chains in his hand.

Brother killing brother for the profit of another,

Game point, nobody wins. Declines, right on time.

What happened to the dream sublime?

Tear it all down, we'll put it up again. Another empire?

Eastside meets Westside downtown.

No time, no line, the walls fall down.

Can't you feel it coming? (Empire.)

Can't you hear it calling? (Empire.)

Can't someone here stop it...

(Spoken)

In fiscal year 1986-87, local, state, and federal governments spent a combined total of $16.6 billion on law enforcement. Federal law enforcement expenditures ranked last in absolute dollars and accounted for only 6% of all federal spending. By way of comparison, the federal government spent $24 million more on space exploration and 43 times more on national defense and international relations than on law enforcement.