I asked my mother, why do you cry?
She said your brother he just died
Well I told him not to go outside
He said he had to fight for his country's right
But don't you know that mo-mother

Don't you know that we can't stop the violence, no
Because the war is not over
Until you can feel love, peace, and hear silence
But I smell gunpowder (pow)

My brother's been dead ever since
I didn't beleive it, but when I saw him I was convinced
Two shots to the head he was already dead Lord
I headed for revenge in the city of Port Au Prince
Screaming bro-brother

Don't you know that we can't stop the violence, no
Because the war is not over
Until you can feel love, peace, and hear silence
But I smell gunpowder (pow)

Zion's gunpowder (pow) L.A.'s gunpowder (pow)
I wanna know why Christians pray for a new day
(We don't need no, we don't need no, we don't need no)
But its still the same way
I wanna know why ghetto people pray for a new day Hey, hey, heeey
And its still the same way
But the preacher man told me
Good things come to those who wait (Do good things come to those who wait?)
I wanna know tell me
Good things come to those who wait (Do good things come to those who wait?)
We wanna know, we wanna know, we wanna know
Pe-people

Don't you know that we can't stop the violence, no
Because the war is not over
Until you can feel love, peace, and hear silence
But I smell gunpowder (pow)

Brooklyn's gunpowder (gunpowder) Shaolin's gunpowder (gunpowder)
Uptown's gunpowder (gunpowder) Jersey's gunpowder (gunpowder)
Even New Zealand's gunpowder (gunpowder) Australia's gunpowder (gunpowder)
Brixton's gunpowder (gunpowder) Even in New Haven's gunpowder

Copyright: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Writer(s): WYCLEF JEAN