Jaqueline Woodson - Brooklyn, new york lyrics

We did not stay in the small apartment my mother found on Bristol Street, Brownsville, Brooklynn, USA. We did not stay because the dim bulb that hung from a chain swung back and forth when our upstairs neighbors walked across their floor, casting shadows that made my brother cry and s** hard on his middle fingers. We did not stay because the building was big and old and when the bathroom ceiling fell into the bathtub, my mother said, I am not Henny Penny and that is not the sky! So she called Aunt Kay and her boyfriend, Bernie, they borrowed a truck and helped us pack, bundled us up in winter coats turned off that swinging light and got us out of there!