| I got pulled over in west Texas | 
| so they could look inside my car | 
| he said are you an american citizen | 
| I said | 
| yes sir | 
| so far | 
| they made sure I wasn’t smuggling | 
| someone in from Mexico | 
| someone willing to settle for america | 
| 'cause there’s nowhere else to go and every state line | 
| there’s a new set of laws | 
| and every police man | 
| comes equipped with extended claws | 
| there’s a thousand shades of white | 
| and a thousand shades of black | 
| but the same rule always applies | 
| smile pretty, and watch your back | 
| I broke down in Louisiana | 
| and I had to thumb a ride | 
| got in the first car that pulled over | 
| you can’t be picky in the middle of the night | 
| he said | 
| baby, do you like to fool around | 
| baby, do you like to be touched | 
| I said | 
| maybe some other time | 
| fuck you very much | 
| and every state line | 
| there’s a new set of laws | 
| and every police man | 
| comes equipped with extended claws | 
| there’s a thousand shades of white | 
| and a thousand shades of black | 
| but the same rule always applies | 
| smile pretty, and watch your back | 
| I’m in the middle of alabama | 
| they stare at me where ever I go | 
| I don’t think they like my haircut | 
| I don’t think they like my clothes | 
| I can’t wait to get back to New York City | 
| where at least when I walk down the street | 
| nobody ever hesitates | 
| to tell me exactly what they think of me and every state line | 
| there’s a new set of laws | 
| and every police man | 
| comes equipped with extended claws | 
| there’s a thousand shades of white | 
| and a thousand shades of black | 
| but the same rule always applies | 
| smile pretty, and watch your back | 
| a little town in pennsylvania | 
| there was snow on the ground | 
| a parked in an empty lot | 
| where there was no one else around | 
| but I guess I was taking up too much space | 
| as I was trying to get some sleep | 
| 'cause an officer came by anyway | 
| and told me I had to leave | 
| and every state line | 
| there’s a new set of laws | 
| and every police man | 
| comes equipped with extended claws | 
| there’s a thousand shades of white | 
| and a thousand shades of black | 
| but the same rule always applies | 
| smile pretty, and watch your back |