Hey Mr. Death

Hey Mr. Death,
My old and fated friend,
I greet you with a welcoming denial,
I felt you once before, your frosted breath
And your dark face at many murder trials
That followed countless victims to their end.

Hey Mr. Death,
When love is such that we
Yield to a sudden urge to kill our mate,
When you can turn around and find hate
Inside the eyes of someone next to you,
When wealth’s to be enjoyed but by a few,
Who wouldn’t give you anything for free,
You come, my friend, and take it all away.

Hey Mr. Death,
I laugh as if I fall
Into the graveyard of the living dead,
Where the insurance clerks have made their bed
With sickness covers and malpractice sheets
That cushion every blow that you deal,
Yet deep inside I know, I can feel
My heart that’s pounding, with every beat
It’s getting closer to your final call.

Hey Mr. Death,
I want to say good-bye
To those who somehow have been wronged,
I’ve heard their death throes, their final cries
That rose like a question mark in pain,
But there’s no answer, what remains
Is life without answers and sad songs.


   April 3, 1995
--Alexander Shaumyan

“I Can't Breathe” is an emotional protest rock single about a tragedy that sparked public debate about justice, police conduct, accountability, and equal treatment under the law.

This song is not about politics.
It is about a human life.
It is about the moment when a cry for help goes unanswered.
It is about questions that remain long after the headlines disappear.
 

I Can't Breathe by Man Down Alert

A summer night beneath the lights,
A thousand voices filled the air,
No one knew what waited there,
No one saw the devil stare.

Steel flashed cold without a sound,
A stranger's anger cut so deep,
He fell bleeding to the ground,
While the city stayed asleep.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Hear the sirens, hear my cry,
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Left in handcuffs there to die.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Truth was lying in plain sight,
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Yet they chose the other side.

Hands were shaking, strength was gone,
Blood was staining every breath,
Still they forced the handcuffs on,
Standing face to face with death.

One more word, one desperate cry,
One last call for help to hear,
But the truth was left behind,
Drowning somewhere in the fear.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Hear the sirens, hear my cry,
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Left in handcuffs there to die.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Truth was lying in plain sight,
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Yet they chose the other side.

Tell me why the victim pays,
Tell me why the guilty hide,
When the story fits the script,
Truth is pushed and cast aside.

Different name and different face,
Yet the words remain the same,
If a life is worth a life,
Why don't all receive the same?

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
I was crying in the rain,
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Still they chained me through the pain.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Can you hear my final plea?
I can't breathe, I can't breathe,
Why was no one seeing me?