Wind In My Sails

Lyrics

[ETHAN, spoken] I was standing on Monmouth Street in Jersey City In the middle of a frigid February night Waiting to meet an unelected, off-the-books Political operative named Willis Taylor— The man connected to a thousand local conspiracy theories And, in this case, the key to perhaps finally bringing down The notoriously corrupt and famously resilient mayor [WILLIS] Let's say you were me Hypothetically But instead of your fancy degree You've been learning at the feet of the local sages Whose names and ages Ain't in your white pages [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] Uh uh uh [WILLIS] But you got this far By knowing where you are And how to strike a bargain And play the margins And take the measure And knowing some people pay extra For their private pleasure [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] Uh uh [ENSEMBLE] You get some information [WILLIS & SOME MEN] That could damage a certain someone's reputation [WILLIS] Yeah, so you commence a negotiation To get some compensation And raise up your station But just when the parties have reckoned on terms He has second thoughts and the gentleman squirms Now you're abandoned You're left high and dry With only the silence he failed to buy [WILLIS & SOME MEN] Now what do you do in the face of defeat? [WILLIS] Do you attack? Do you crack? Do you backtrack to your shack on the street? [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] Uh uh uh [WILLIS] Or do you say information has its price? If they won't play nice You can roll the dice When discussion fails You can balance the scales With some well-placed sales Of a couple details, and now: I got the wind in my sails Got the wind in my sails, little brother [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] I got the wind in my sails [WILLIS] Got the wind in my sails, little brother Who's gonna fall? Who's gonna stand? Who's got the upper hand? And who's got supply to meet the demand And the wind [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] The wind, the wind, the wind in my … [WILLIS] Uh uh uh [ENSEMBLE] Uh uh uh [WILLIS] Unh unh [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] You start to spread the word [WILLIS] Maybe mention some things you heard About the man of the hour The man in the tower The man with his feet on the pedals of power The man who was elected to stem the tide of crime Has been pursuin' some ruinous doings with his time The brother spends his day with the PTA [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] But at night he gets tight at Monmouth and Bright [WILLIS] So you think the voters will understand If he's seen with some teen between his knees And a crack pipe in his hands? Ha! I don't think so I think the boys from Channel 4 Will be linin' up out my door When they see it ain't just talk It ain't just trash It's the truth, I got proof if y'all got cash And now, I got the wind in my sails Got the wind in my sails, little brother [ENSEMBLE] Dot dot dot dot! [WILLIS] I got the wind in my sails Got the wind in my sails, little brother [ENSEMBLE] Dot dot dot [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] Who's making threats? (Dot!) [WILLIS] Who's making waves? Who's digging up the graves? And who can survive The closest of shaves with the wind [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] The wind, the wind, the wind The wind in my...? [WILLIS] Oh oh oh [ENSEMBLE] Oh oh oh [WILLIS] Afraid? Fuck that! I ain't afraid! I've seen how the sausage gets made I'm gonna get paid before I get played Or end up on the business end of a blade See—it's not a story 'bout right or wrong I said all along it's about who's strong And who can handle a little pressure— Sit down, son, I'ma give you a refresher A is the mayor, C is the people B is the man in between A plays unfair, C's unaware B calls your magazine A gets defensive, B gets expensive C starts to fear the worst So C puts the pressure on A puts the pressure on B, ha! Who's gonna crumble first? [WILLIS & SOME MEN] You want the tape? You write the story [WILLIS] I can show what he did with the kid in the video But I'm keepin' it hid, yo, ha! [ENSEMBLE] Hey! [WILLIS] You want the tape? You write the story The only leverage I got In this whole plot The reason I ain't been shot You can guess Is a VHS of the whole damn mess And the fact that I'm still alive is 'cause I've [WILLIS & ENSEMBLE] Got the wind in my sails Got the wind in my sails, little brother [ENSEMBLE] Dot dot dot dot dot dot! [WILLIS] I got the wind in my sails Got the wind in my sails, little brother [ENSEMBLE] Dot dot dot dot! [WILLIS] Who's gonna fall? Who's gonna stand? Who's got the upper hand? And who's gonna earn a hundred grand With the wind, the wind, the wind The wind in my…