The Neighbourhood

A song about people and money

Hello again,

Last week I released a video for the third song from Juma, “The Neighbourhood.” It was written in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal. It used to be five different songs, but it came together as one.

At a glance it’s about gentrification, but really, it’s about people and money.

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You can listen to Juma on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever else is reasonable to imagine.

Here’s an interview I did on CKCU which discusses the album, as well as some of my earlier projects. Thanks to Muddy for inviting me to the show, and for doing way more research than I expected. This was a three hour conversation.

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THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

(1)

I see resentment in your eyes
When we pass each other on the street
I can't begin to know how hard you've worked
Or what your children eat for dinner
When you're on the evening shift

You did it for them, so they could be born here
Go to college, get a job, make some money
Settle down and never have to fear
Of being broken by a dream

(2)

We're dressed in white
We sip champagne
We care for nothing but the status
Of our own names

We sell the land
We sell the sea
We sell our hearts and minds
Our daily lives
Our human energy

And we're the ones who pay the cost
We're the ones who pay the rent
We pay for nothing with a million dimes
That we've already spent

We pay for nothing
And nothing lasts
We pay for nothing but the future
And we'll end up in the past

Yeah, we'll end up in the past

(3)

It was hanging in the back room
Of the store for twenty years:
The first dollar that you ever truly made appear

And it came to you with promises
That money can provide
But the currency of promises
Exchanges into lies

And you knew that

(4)

It said:
I want to control you
For only minutes at a time

All your friends and family
Think we're such a lovely guise
To hide behind

If they knew the truth about it
I would surely die

I'd like to see them try
I said I'd like to see them try
Oh, yes I would
Yes I would

(5)

Even though you've got a plan
Even though you've got a dream
Even though every day the bastards
Steal the air from inside you

You try to fight it, you try your very best
But there are a million drunks
And they're dressed in white
And they're jacking up the rent

So much you'll pay for nothing
And it won't be cheap
You pay for nothing, you get nothing
And you'll end up on the street

(6)

And when they see that vacancy
They can hardly see what you can see
The floors you scrubbed down on your knees
The afternoon deliveries

The neighbour children getting older
The winters when the pipes were frozen
Put the "out for lunch" sign on the counter
Go grab a coffee around the corner

But when you come back
The door won't open for you
Anymore

(7)

The time has come
You can't afford to sign the lease
The neighbourhood kept swinging
'Till it knocked you off your feet
You're looking at the people
Passing by on the street

And you wonder if one day you'll feel
The way their faces say they feel
They sleep at night without the nightmares
They spend their days without the fear

Of bringing hunger home for dinner
Of debt so deep you break your fingers climbing
Couldn't keep the family business thriving
Now you're on the evening shift
Diving for dishes, dish diving

When you miss a spot
The guests complain
They sip champagne
They sip champagne

(8)

Avez-vous, avez-vous?
Ave Maria, avez-vous?
Déjà vu, déjà vu
Déjà Maria, déjà vu