The rent comes up and the hammer down
There'll be no reprieve
The artists and the working class are quietly urged to leave
It's the dawn of a brand new prohibition
And there's no place for you
Pack up!
Move out!
They'll beat you black and blue

Urban decay!
New shades of grey
Urban decay!
Throw the culture away
Urban decay!
Make the poor man pay
Urban decay!
If they had their way there'd be new homes for the poor
At the bottom of the East River
Their urban renewal is our urban decay

What once were family neighbourhoods or back streets full of dangerous hoods
Now one and all are shopping malls
Parking lots with disco balls
Bring me your tired, hungry, and meek yearning to breathe free
Now S.O.D.! Diversity! Is Starbucks and a Burger King

Urban decay!
New shades of grey
Urban decay!
Throw the culture away
Urban decay!
Make the poor man pay
Urban decay!
If they had their way there'd be new homes for the poor
At the bottom of the East River
Their urban renewal is our urban decay

You can whitewash the halls and lock all the doors
But there'll be rats in the walls and roaches under the floors
Sanitize and eradicate
This dirt ain't gonna wash away
Those who thankless run the cities names and faces will be known
For those from who there's been no pity there'll be no mercy shown

Out of sight and out of mind but the problems only grow
Heads up! Hit the deck!
The whole damned thing's gonna blow

Urban decay!
New shades of grey
Urban decay!
Throw the culture away
Urban decay!
Make the poor man pay
Urban decay!
No fuckin' way

Still dirty after all these years
Still scary after all this fear
Still dirty after all these years
This dirt won't wash away