ZONING VARIANCE

[Verse 1]
(A cappella)
Last Tuesday in July, up on the American River Viaduct steel,
Watchin' the signal lights on the I-5 change, none of it felt real.
(Beat drops)
I bought the lot, Antoine, the one off MLK where we used to climb the fence,
Scraped it clean of the star-thistle, started makin' sense.
Drew the plans on a napkin from Cookies, two-story with a porch out front,
A quiet place for Mama's gardenias, a victory after the hunt.
It's just an empty patch of dirt for now, a promise under all the dust,
But the architect said the grade is solid, it's a matter of trust.

[Chorus]
Got the keys, got the deed, got the zoning variance.
Told the whole block we escapin' this inheritance.
Got the keys, got the deed, yeah the zoning variance.
Wipe the rust off the future, ain't no comparison.

[Verse 2]
I showed her the picture, the 3D render, she didn't even make a sound,
Just stared at the screen with that empty look, feet planted on the ground.
She said, "Jamal, don't you promise me things you can't build with your two empty hands."
Funny how a memory's a load-bearing wall 'til you don't understand
The physics of the damage, the shear force of a Tuesday afternoon.
This digital roof, this JPEG window lookin' out at a cartoon moon.
This empty space on the countertop where your keys were supposed to be
Is the only real estate that was ever handed down to me.

[Chorus]
Got the keys, got the deed, got the zoning variance.
Told the whole block we escapin' this inheritance.
Got the keys, got the deed, yeah the zoning variance.
Wipe the rust off the future, ain't no comparison.

[Bridge]
The banjo sounds so hollow tonight, it's a sound I recognize.
This whole damn blueprint's just a story I been tellin' my own eyes.
The page is empty, the check ain't cleared, the silence is a lien,
Just me and this empty promise, you know exactly what I mean.

[Outro]
Yeah. The whole damn thing is... empty.
Just air where the studs should be.