Facedown at the end of another’s hand
iPhone video, who ya gonna call
When it’s divided we stand
And united we fall
It’s not enough to lie dreaming
Two Parties got blurred lines scheming
When the shots ring out in the cool of the day
Chain gang demons gonna come out to play
Bright Blue shackles of this systemic knee
Take it to the streets, son, won’t know until we see
Glowing embers of oppression giving way
Out here shootin’ and lootin’ you think they care what we say?
The fractured allies become all lies
When they tell us we are untied
Divided and separate, all from one another
The color of your skin is just the blood of your brother
What’s the word gonna be?
Keep on saying ‘Ah-ha, hush that fuss’
Forget it, boy, you best bend that knee
In the back of this bus
She knew why the Caged Bird Sang
Why the unheard cry through generations rang
When the I Have a Dreams all seem to shatter
Dirty done deals cuz the White Lies Matter
How does one win in this finish line Race?
Never gonna happen, boy, stay in your place
Media playin’ hard, no mask on this face
Selling fear cheap, oh look, now they in space!
Liked choked leash dogs
Who is that ready, set, attack
Girl, what were you gonna tell’em
‘Birdwatching While Black’??
To protect and serve with fierce dedication
The blemish of an honor, to be called a cop
We gotta open up the churches, we selling salvation
Get it while it’s hot, only ten percent off the top
Get’em in quick now
Gotta make’em pay
Tell’em pretty boy Floyd sent ya
Lawd have mercy, He know the way!
We got a twenty-dollar bill
What’s the price for one’s life?
We got EIGHT WHOLE MINUTES
What’d you tell your own wife?
Old hearts die hard
Have you seen the news lately?
Time to pick up this cross
Start dying on the daily
Where can I go without a plank in my eye?
Tryin to get it out, but ain’t no good in the try
Where is the fault, who is to blame?
I am
It’s me
Just say my name
We can’t breathe
From Bay Street to Bay Area
We can’t breathe
From sea to shining sea
We can’t breathe
From the projects to the rejects
We can’t breathe
From last day death row to newborn Jim Crow
We can’t breathe
From Brown vs. Board to Glory of the Lord
We can’t breathe
In the chains of these blood-soaked Roots
We can’t breathe
On a wild wild west Georgia jog
We can’t breathe
In the brambles of Central Park
We can’t breathe
When a (hu)man can’t go for a walk
We can’t breathe
We can’t breathe
He said it hurts everywhere
We can’t breathe
It hurts in the rivers and streams we call freedom
It hurts in the cities we built to burn
It hurts in the souls that live by fear and know no peace
It hurts in the fractured rearview of a nation’s history
It hurts in the streets where Justice has no name
Where once school kids were taught that She has no eyes
That She blind
But no eyes are just more lies
She sees
And She sees through glasses…Darkly
How long will this lack of Empathy
Reveal this lack of Humanity?
We can’t breathe here anymore
We can’t breathe here
We can’t breathe
We can’t
We