[Verse 1]
In my father's shop, neon signs flicker like lies
Grease-stained hands speak better English than I
Customer walks in with that look in his eyes
Papi switches tongues like changing gears, it's do or die
[Pre-Chorus]
They want papers, want proof, want us to explain
Why we breathe their air, why we carry their shame
But in the darkness of the garage at night
We are more than what they want us to be, alright
[Chorus]
Neon lights don't care about your papers
They shine on saints and sinners just the same
Neon lights don't care about your papers
In this fluorescent hell, we're all to blame
[Verse 2]
2007, I watched him swallow his pride
While some pendejo spat words that cut deep inside
Seventeen and angry, I learned to wear two faces
One for their comfort, one for our sacred spaces
[Bridge]
The accordion screams like sirens in the night
Mixed with static from the radio, telling us to hide
But we've got motor oil in our veins
And revolution in our brains
F*ck their systems, f*ck their games
[Chorus]
Neon lights don't care about your papers
They shine on saints and sinners just the same
Neon lights don't care about your papers
In this fluorescent hell, we're all to blame
[Verse 3]
Now I sell these stories to their hungry ears
Package trauma in three-minute souvenirs
They bob their heads to the sound of our pain
While papi's still switching tongues in the rain
[Outro]
The machines keep humming their violent song
The border runs through my veins, where I belong
But under these lights, we're all just ghosts
Dancing to the rhythm of what hurts the most
Neon lights don't care, no they don't care at all
Neon lights don't care when empires fall