This Justice

(Modern blues/neo-soul – that slow, dripping groove hits different now. Heavy bass like a chained heartbeat, piano weeping through the smoke, horns moaning low and distant. Soulful, smoky female vocals delivering it raw – raspy edges cutting deep, velvet pain wrapping around every word, building into one fierce, unhinged howl for every broken soul out there.) [Verse 1] She woke up in these invisible chains, baby, Ink on her record like a brand on her skin. They took her wheels, said “Walk it out, sinner,” But how the hell she s’posed to chase a job that don’t want her in? Filling out them applications, heart in her throat, “Felony disclosure” – watch the door slam closed. She ain’t the devil, just a girl who fell hard, Desperation whispered lies in the dark. [Chorus] This justice ain’t justice, it’s eternal night, Punish forever, never see the light. Rehabilitation? That’s a pretty word they sell, While she’s out here drowning in a private hell. Second-class citizen, ghost in her own town, Can’t drive, can’t work, can’t lay her weary head down. They look at her like she’s already dead, But she got a soul that’s still bleeding red. [Verse 2] Some of them was kids when the world went wrong, Upbringing twisted, desperation strong. Self-defense turned deadly in the only way she knew, Or caught in a cycle, mostly hurting herself, not you. Non-violent heart, but they say she can’t protect her own, Neighbors avoiding eye contact, sticks and stones Housing denied, privacy stripped bare, She’s begging for mercy to a world that don’t care [Chorus] This justice ain’t justice, it’s eternal night, Punish forever, never see the light. Rehabilitation? That’s a pretty word they sell, While she’s out here drowning in a private hell. Second-class citizen, ghost in her own town, Can’t drive, can’t work, can’t lay her weary head down. They look at her like she’s already dead, But she got a soul that’s still bleeding red. [Bridge] (vocals cracking open, beat drops to raw heartbeat bass and echoing piano) Yeah… a lot of them good people, just lost in the storm, One bad night, one wrong turn, one desperate swarm. And the ones pointing fingers, throwing stones from glass homes, They done the same dirt, just ain’t been caught, that’s all they know. Shame on this system, shame on the game, Turning broken souls back to the flame. Defeated, disheartened, back to the streets she roams… ‘Cause survival’s the only language she’s ever known. [Verse 3 / Outro] Modern day blues, parolee misery, Felons with dreams still fighting to break free… She’s screaming in the silence, can you hear her plea? She ain’t a monster, she’s the wreckage of what y’all refuse to see. Give her a real chance, not this life sentence in disguise, Or watch her fall right back where the system institutionalized. This justice ain’t justice - “time served”, my ass Just Set ‘em free but clip their wings and keep ‘em chained to their past.