You know I was in New York City a few months ago And the garbage and the trash men were on strike I'm tellin', the maintenance people of the city What they were tryin' to do was
They were tryin' to get a little more money You know, get a little raise in pay But at that particular time the city was broke They were about ready to declare default
I tell you, the garbage in some places Was stacked up two, three stories high At night, ha ha, boy, at night it weren't even safe to walk the street 'Cause they caught the rats, the roaches and the water bugs I mean they were hustlin', baby, tryin' to get somethin' to eat, see?
And let met tell you somethin' it was stinkin' And it was all kind of diseases in there, you know? But it only brought to mind the fact that You can no longer depend on the man downtown To take your business like he's supposed to When he's supposed to
If all of us would get it like it's supposed to be As far as cleanliness, you know and safety We gotta get together and do it for ourselves That's the only way it's gonna be done And you know what I'm talkin' about? Let me tell you what I mean
Clean it up, clean it up, well, y'all Clean it up, clean it up, you gotta get it Clean it up, clean it up, yes, gonna get it Clean it up, clean it up Ghetto, talkin' 'bout the ghetto, ghetto is our home That's where we live, where we live
Get your paint, fetch your hammer, your nails Get your brooms, your mop and your pail We're gonna wash it, polish and make it all clean
Let's wash away all of the sins Time for a new life to begin in the ghetto I said clean it up, clean it up I said we're gonna clean it up, clean it up Because the ghetto, I said the ghetto, ghetto is our home That's where we live, where we live
Let's paint the signs everybody can read Let's get rid of everything we don't need Pushers, the dealers The pocket book snatchers and thieves, aha
Let's make the streets safe for women to walk Let's get rid of all the foul talk We gonna do it and all of us shall survive
I said we're gonna clean it up, clean it up, do it We, we got to clean it up, clean it up, hey Ghetto, said the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto is our home That's where we live from day to day, where we live, where we live
All of your brothers that live on the mainline You lived in the ghetto once upon a time We need everybody to lend a hand
Now you've helped everybody else Now's the time for you to help yourself We can't depend, depend on the people, no, no Well, well, get it up, get it up
Clean it up, clean it up, well, well, ya Clean it up, clean it up, hey, hey, hey Ghetto, ghetto, ghetto is our home Yeah, that's where we live, where we live, well
I said clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up
Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up I said, come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up
Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up
Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's clean it up, clean it up Come on, y'all, let's