[Verse 1]

Red light, green light in the yard

I run faster than my dad's new car

Halloween last week got me some candy bars

Neighbour said I made a great Captain America

I'm the hometown hero, or I wanna be

So I'll earn straight A's and eat my greens

I'm kind to everyone I meet

And I respect authority

[Chorus]

Like when my mama tells me

"Baby, you should stay away from unmarked vans"

That the strangers inside are always dangerous men

If they offer you glitter, or sweets, or their dogs

Baby, run back to school or find somebody's mom

So I stay aware, and I tell all my friends

That no one should touch you without your consent

Unless he's got the password

Stay a sidewalk away

And know about stranger danger, and it isn't a game

[Verse 2]

Headlights stop me on the street

They came up so fast, and swept me off my feet

I wonder if they know it's not still Halloween

But the masks they wear are scaring me

Screaming, "Where's your passport, where you from?"

And they grab so tight, it hurts my arms

Put me in their car

Can't I call my mom?

They don't know where I am, I was on my way home

[Chorus]

Guess my mama warned me

"Baby, you should stay away from unmarked vans"

But the stranger in this one's got a government badge

Glitter in the air now my eyes are on fire

Why did school never teach me the numbers to memorise?

I can't make a sound with his knee pressing down

I guess bullies don't only exist on the playground

The grown-up in charge told them it was okay

Stranger danger's a new all-American game

[Bridge]

I think we read a book like this

When kids like me hid in the attic

I still don't know what they did wrong

Guess I'll never learn because the book is gone

When did today and history blur?

I thought we were supposed to love our neighbours

But mine just dragged me from my home

The only one I've ever known

[Outro]

Don't know where they took me in that unmarked van

There's a bag on my head and zip ties on my hands

They said they'll give us colour-coded uniforms

Now, where have I heard that before?

Must have left the Midwest, that's the ocean, I guess

All because I'm not white enough for the US

'Least that's what I heard, our POTUS say

I guess stranger danger's just a power play