Black Candles
On the corner where little Nathan got swept away
we lit black candles, people stood in a circle;
They had pictures , him with his kinfolk;
I read every line of his poetry.
On that street I couldn’t gather my thoughts at all;
Can’t say I felt sorry, yet sorrow shook my concrete walls
Now is he gone for good? We lay him down way too deep;
I’m hearing echoes of his favorite song, I hear it in my sleep.
How can we grow old, when we burning slow
Can we grow old when we burning slow
These friends of mine, they never read the signs
I say they going the wrong way;
They had me accused, they say I take myths to be true
when I say theres only one way;
And when bloodstained hands leave death marks on your pages
when you got no new leaf to turn over, turn over, turn over
How can we grow old, when we burning slow
Can we grow old, when we burning slow
Can we grow old, when we burning slow
On the corner watching our future drift away
we lit black candles, we lit black candles.
Blow at the stars
Are you hearing those voices singing to inspire?
They say heartache like this cannot be justified,
And a man without a shadow is a man without a conscience,
everything he touches he wishes to own. Don’t you know the
Lord’s ways, they’re never my ways, He’s numbered my days with his hidden
hand, and we will see what love brings when finally love reigns over you and I
but honey until then again
Won’t you blow at the stars and make them shine a little brighter, if at all
possible thats all I need. Blow at the stars and carry me over as the nights grow colder
thats all I need.
These lessons that I learned, I wrote them on my heart and once I took that step forward believe I
never looked back. If only I knew, everything that time knows, revealing my hidden motives, I’m
taking my daily doses of reality , I throw them in my song and my prayer is to do you know wrong baby as long,
As you blow at the stars and make them shine a little brighter, if at all possible thats all I need
blow at the stars and carry me over as the nights grow colder, thats all I need.
Free
So then what’s freedom? When nothing in world can stop you, reach for the stars but the height alarms you
Speak on the Law , when the law despise you, running from free speech with bullets for liberty;
What’s love? You lied in the name of love and eye for an eye, tooth for tooth is new recruits in dusty boots,
they know not truth, signed up for the action, now they dead before the enemy shoots;
What’s a slum? the city is a state of mind, blind and I can’t see a need for time, I’m on the verge of reality
I live there, twice as often as any artist should be there; Crime, prison industrial complex, now that the empire’s crushed
what’s the context? Do the math when the math is done is black, white agreeing see every race wants to be free.
It’s what it is and what it can never be
See I’m living to be free,
What I’m , what i was born to be.
My poetry will off course, break slave chains live Wilburforce ;
And when the morning comes, I put Nat Turner on my banner, runaway rebel king for your honor
By all means in musical notes, see I found my freedom in them biblical quotes and it was written
Love the lord with your mind, heart and soul, I love ‘till my casket closed. So what’s poverty?
when your soul is the property, penny for your thoughts , quarter for your destiny and they
say the souls of young folk was sold on cheap hope now our corners hold an act of worship.
The music of this generation, pornographic theme songs for masturbation, so I analyze the situation
let my pencil do the talking found me some heavenly wings, man I’m free.
t’s what it is and what it can never be
See I’m living to be free,
What I’m , what i was born to be
Here we are, wanting to be free. Not sure which way to go now.
How Long
How long shall we wait,wait for justice to reign free?
How long shall we stand by, watch our children believing the lies?
Mental enslavement, incarceration, how long shall they cry?
Pictures of sorrow, stories falling on deaf ears, no truth in these times
just the blind misleading the blind, how long?
How long shall they cry?
How long shall we wait
For how long will we stand by?
Four hundred years and it’s the same philosophy
Blood, sweat and tears still my people can’t be free
Now wont you come set us free my Lord, how long?
Will you set us free, how long?
Now wake me up in the morning, keep me pressing on
will the ground stop shaking under my feet, what did I ever do wrong?
Papa, why they want us all gone, when clearly this is our home
Stolen land of foreign people, built of the backs of some stolen people
Knows no justice, knows no peace; Feels she can do no wrong, how long?
Won’t you look how long , wont you look how long
Won’t you ,
Free, free Zimbabwe
Now won’t you
Free, free Somali
Won’t you,
Free, free Darfur
Now won’t you free free
Humankind,
Free, free
Humankind
Now How long will we stand by?
For how long will we cry?
Lion On A Leash
They wait till we dead before they honor us
I guess they tried to put some fear in us
Can’t keep a king in a cell, can’t hold a lion on a leash;
Brave, brave hearted people, speak on all they see thats evil
speak when some not treated equal, oh yeah , yeah
and wise grow wiser, strong grow stronger, declare righteousness over yonder;
Don’t let them mould your mind, cause they can’t hold a lion on a leash
Sleep walkers walk on,
Day dreamers , day dream on.
You put the fuel to the fire; know that these times they may require
Those who seek to serve mankind in every way, loving everyday
Hear what the father says, don’t take the mark of the beast, don’t
take the mark of the beast, don’t
And some will knock you down and try to trample you
Guess they try hardest just to conquer you.
They try to take a sage for a fool, they try to steal the dreams of our youth now.
They try to steal the dreams of our youth. Yes they try, I guess try, I guess they try now.
And even when we fall, we rise and carry on
Through the highs and the lows
Where ‘eve the wind may blow
Where ‘eve the wind may blow
Lord.
Too Young, Too Soon
Seed of struggle and warfare
bloodshot eyes and untold despair;
Hands that never learned to reach for another’s, they bearing arms,
barely holding on;
They say keep running, keep jumping, keep ducking, keep dodging
victims of child’s play they never lay in no coffin;
Live on, grow up, be bolder be stronger but these brothers of mine, they just
had too much to lose.
Too young, too soon
Too much to lose
They say the world is watching.
These weapons wont heal us no they got no feelings
They wont fix this village and they surely wont raise our babies;
And I find it funny some say, money is all we need but empty handed we were born
and with nothing we’ll soon be leaving;
We can’t keep, reaching for love from a distance
Can’t keep putting up walls of resistance and masking our hearts
we got too much to lose,
Too young, too soon
Too much to lose, they say the world is watching.
