Yo, I hear them talking

Yo, I hear them talking

Things are quiet now, it was making me insane

Do my best with the details, forget about my name

It was chance, I'm no man to be admired

I just took a stance, wouldn't say I was inspired

Kept to myself in every situation prior

Used to work with computers but was forced to retire

Fled my homeland in a swift act of bravery

For now, we'll say the full story is escaping me

Either way it came to be

Caught a plane to the states free, so it's plain to see

I don't need attention, I try to be neighborly

But this guy across the hall is making it hard

I hear dishes being broken, doors being slammed

The screams carry through the walls, the echoes expand

His wife and her son, and that half of a man

Then there's me, feeling powerless, creating a plan

Yo, I hear them talking

The voice in my head, is saying use caution

These walls are too thin, they leave me no option

Now I hear them yelling

Fend for themselves, well there's no telling

God help us, maybe I can help them

One day in the hallway, here's where the story's from

In a zone, sitting all alone is the son

A look of hope from the code that he talks about

I could tell that he knows that he's found his way out

We spent months online showing all the tricks I knew

From SQL injection to overflows and roots

And exploit development, encrypted tunnels too

The kid was a natural, he knew just what to do

The student passed the teacher, admiring his hacks

Formed a common bond, he confided in our chats

He told me he would run if he had no other way

And that he got hit for anything, even bad grades

So he stayed, he endured things people shouldn't

Stayed safe in his brain with his bones beaten crooked

No idea how he took it, and he just played along

I'll always remember, their son's name was John

Yo, I hear them talking

The voice in my head, is saying use caution

These walls are too thin, they leave me no option

Now I hear them screaming

Continued in the morning what had started in the evening

Everybody trapped, meaning nobody's leaving

Now, on that day, there's no return from school

Turn the TV on and there's John on the news

He and two friends got caught up in their haste

To attack the school's database and get grades replaced

John's friends took their sentence from the state

But the judge thought he was lenient in giving John his fate

They gave him house arrest in the verdict that was published

But John was well aware of the extent that he'd be punished

His parents took custody, basically a curse

After that he disappeared, had me fearing for the worst

The father was the suspect, convicted in the end

Saddened and assumed we'd never hear of John again

Months turned to years and the odds grew further slim

Then yesterday I got a note, I knew it was from him

The normal stack of mail but this one card differed

It had two words and they said: Thanks Viktor

Yo, I hear them talking

The voice in my head is saying use caution

These walls are too thin, they leave me no option

Now I'm hearing nothing

The burden of the silence and the memories it summons

Another satellite liberated by a Russian

If you ever ask why

If you never say die

Please let me see you put your fist up

When determined not to give up

I gotta make them proud

Out when I'm waving to the crowd

Let me hear you say it now

Please let me see you put your fist up

Always farewell when determined not to give up