Fight the power – public enemy 1989 the number another summer (get down) Sound of the funky drummer Music hittin' your heart cause I know you got sould (Brothers and sisters hey) Listen if you're missin' y'all Swingin' while I'm singin' Givin' whatcha gettin' Knowin' what I know While the Black bands sweatin' And the rhythm rhymes rollin' Got to give us what we want Gotta give us what we need Our freedom of speech is freedom or death We got to fight the powers that be Lemme hear you say Fight the power Chorus As the rhythm designed to bounce What counts is that the rhymes Designed to fill your mind Now that you've realized the prides arrived We got to pump the stuff to make us tough from the heart It's a start, a work of art To revolutionize make a change nothin's strange People, people we are the same No we're not the same Cause we don't know the game What we need is awareness, we can't get careless You say what is this? My beloved lets get down to
business Mental self defensive fitness (Yo) bum rush the show You gotta go for what you know Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be Lemme hear you say... Fight the Power Chorus Elvis was a hero to most But he never meant ---- to me you see Straight up racist that sucker was Simple and plain Mother---- him and John Wayne Cause I'm Black and I'm proud I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps Sample a look back you look and find Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check Don't worry be happy Was a number one jam Damn if I say it you can slap me right here (Get it) lets get this party started right Right on, c'mon What we got to say Power to the people no delay To make everybody see In order to fight the powers that be
Talkin’ ‘bout a revolution – Tracy Chapman Don't you know They're talkin' bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper Don't you know They're talkin' about a revolution It sounds like a whisper While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment lines Sitting around waiting for a promotion Poor people gonna rise up And get their share Poor people gonna rise up And take what's theirs Don't you know You better run, run, run... Oh I said you better Run, run, run... Finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution
Fight for your right – Beatsie Boys Kick it! You wake up late for school man you don't wanna go You ask you mom, "Please?" but she still says, "No!" You missed two classes and no homework But your teacher preaches class like you're some kind of jerk You gotta fight for your right to party You pops caught you smoking and he said, "No way!" That hypocrite smokes two packs a day Man, living at home is such a drag Now your mom threw away your best porno mag (Busted!) [repeat chorus] Don't step out of this house if that's the clothes you're gonna wear I'll kick you out of my home if you don't cut that hair Your mom busted in and said, "What's that noise?" Aw, mom you're just jealous it's the Beastie Boys!
Dear Mr President – Pink Dear Mr. President, Come take a walk with me. Let's pretend we're just two people and You're not better than me. I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly. What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street? Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep? What do you feel when you look in the mirror? Are you proud? How do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye? How do you walk with your head held high? Can you even look me in the eye And tell me why? Dear Mr. President, Were you a lonely boy? Are you a lonely boy? Are you a lonely boy? How can you say No child is left behind? We're not dumb and we're not blind. They're all sitting in your cells While you pave the road to hell. What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away? And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay? I can only imagine what the first lady has to say You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine. How do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye? How do you walk with your head held high? Can you even look me in the eye? Let me tell you 'bout hard work Minimum wage with a baby on the way Let me tell you 'bout hard work Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away Let me tell you 'bout hard work Building a bed out of a cardboard box Let me tell you 'bout hard work Hard work Hard work You don't know nothing 'bout hard work Hard work Hard work Oh How do you sleep at night? How do you walk with your head held high? Dear Mr. President, You'd never take a walk with me. Would you?
Beds are burning – Midnight Oil Out where the river broke The bloodwood and the desert oak Holden wrecks and boiling diesels Steam in forty five degrees The time has come To say fair's fair To pay the rent To pay our share The time has come A fact's a fact It belongs to them Let's give it back How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning The time has come To say fair's fair To pay the rent, now To pay our share Four wheels scare the cockatoos From Kintore East to Yuendemu The western desert lives and breathes In forty five degrees The time has come To say fair's fair To pay the rent To pay our share The time has come A fact's a fact It belongs to them Let's give it back How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning The time has come To say fair's fair To pay the rent, now To pay our share The time has come A fact's a fact It belongs to them We'r gonna give it back How can we dance when our earth is turning How do we sleep while our beds are burning
Get up, stand up – Bob Marley Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight! Preacher man, don't tell me, Heaven is under the earth. I know you don't know What life is really worth. It's not all that glitters is gold; 'Alf the story has never been told: So now you see the light, eh! Stand up for your rights. come on! Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight! Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight! Most people think, Great god will come from the skies, Take away everything And make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth, You will look for yours on earth: And now you see the light, You stand up for your rights. jah! Get up, stand up! (jah, jah! ) Stand up for your rights! (oh-hoo! ) Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! ) Don't give up the fight! (life is your right! ) Get up, stand up! (so we can't give up the fight! ) Stand up for your rights! (lord, lord! )
Get up, stand up! (keep on struggling on! ) Don't give up the fight! (yeah! ) We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, lord. We know when we understand: Almighty god is a living man. You can fool some people sometimes, But you can't fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light (what you gonna do?), We gonna stand up for our rights! (yeah, yeah, yeah! ) So you better: Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up! ) Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights! ) Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight! (don't give it up, don't give it up! ) Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! ) Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up! ) Get up, stand up! (... ) Don't give up the fight! (get up, stand up! ) Get up, stand up! (... ) Stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight! /fadeout/
The Message – Grandmaster Flash It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder How I keep from going under Broken glass everywhere People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care I can't take the smell, I can't take the noise Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice Rats in the front room, roaches in the back Junkies in the alley with the baseball bat I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far Cause a man with a tow-truck repossessed my car Chorus: Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head, ah huh-huh-huh [2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh] [4th: say what?] It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder How I keep from going under Standing on the front stoop, hangin' out the window Watching all the cars go by, roaring as the breezes blow Crazy lady livin' in a bag Eating out of garbage pails, used to be a fag-hag Said she danced the tango, skipped the light fandango The Zircon Princess seemed to lost her senses Down at the peepshow, watching all the creeps So she can tell the stories to the girls back home She went to the city and got social security She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own [2nd Chorus] My brother's doing bad on my mother's TV She says: "You watch it too much, it's just not healthy!" "All My Children" in the daytime, "Dallas" at night Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight The bill collectors they ring my phone And scare my wife when I'm not home Got a bum education, double-digit inflation I can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station Neon King Kong standin' on my back Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacrophiliac A mid-ranged migraine, cancered membrane Sometimes I think I'm going insane, I swear I might hijack a plane My son said: "Daddy I don't wonna go to school Cause the teacher's a jerk!", he must think I'm a
fool And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper I'll dance to the beat, shuffle my feet Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps Cause it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey They pushed that girl in front of the train Took her to the doctor, sewed her arm on again Stabbed that man right in his heart Gave him a transplant for a brand new start I can't walk through the park, cause it's crazy after dark Keep my hand on my gun, cause they got me on the run I feel like a outlaw, broke my last glass jar Hear them say: "You want some more livin' on a seesaw?" [4th Chorus] A child is born with no state of mind Blind to the ways of mankind God is smiling on you but he's frowning too Because only God knows what you'll go through You'll grow in the ghetto, living second rate And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate The places you're playin', where you stay Looks like one great big alley way You'll admire all the number book takers Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens And you wanna grow up to be just like them, huh, Smugglers, scrambles, burglars, gamblers Pickpockets, peddlers even panhandlers You say: "I'm cool, I'm no fool!" But then you wind up dropping out of high school Now you're unemployed, all non-void Walking 'round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd Turned stickup kid, look what you've done did Got sent up for a eight year bid Now your manhood is took and you're a may tag Spend the next two years as a undercover fag Being used and abused to serve like hell Till one day you was found hung dead in a cell It was plain to see that your life was lost You was cold and your body swung back and forth But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song Of how you lived so fast and died so young Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under
The revolution will not be televised – Gil Scott Heron
You will not be able to stay home, brother. You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out. You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip out for beer during commercials, Because the revolution will not be televised. The revolution will not be televised. The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox In 4 parts without commercial interruptions. The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams and Mendel Rivers to eat hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary. The revolution will not be televised. The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia. The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal. The revolution will not get rid of the nubs. The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner, the revolution will not be televised, Brother. There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mays pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run, or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance. NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32 on reports from 29 districts. The revolution will not be televised. There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers in the instant replay. There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being run out of Harlem on a rail with a
brand new process. There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving For just the right occasion. Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction will no longer be so god damned relevant, and women will not care if Dick finally screwed Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day. The revolution will not be televised. There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news and no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose. The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash or Englebert Humperdink. The revolution will not be televised. The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people. You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl. The revolution will not go better with Coke. The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath. The revolution will put you in the driver's seat. The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised. The revolution will be no re-run brothers; The revolution will be live.
Sunday bloody Sunday – U2 Tonight...tonight... I can't believe the news today Oh, I can't close my eyes And make it go away How long... How long must we sing this song How long, how long... 'cause tonight...we can be as one Tonight... Broken bottles under children's feet Bodies strewn across the dead end street But I won't heed the battle call It puts my back up Puts my back up against the wall Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday And the battle's just begun There's many lost, but tell me who has won The trench is dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters Torn apart Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday How long... How long must we sing this song How long, how long... 'cause tonight...we can be as one
Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Wipe the tears from your eyes Wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) And it's true we are immune When fact is fiction and TV reality And today the millions cry We eat and drink while tomorrow they die (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) The real battle just begun To claim the victory Jesus won On... Sunday Bloody Sunday Sunday Bloody Sunday...
From little things big things grow – Paul Kelly Gather round people let me tell you're a story An eight year long story of power and pride British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiarri Were opposite men on opposite sides
Then Vincent Lingiarri boarded an aeroplane Landed in Sydney, big city of lights And daily he went round softly speaking his story To all kinds of men from all walks of life
Vestey was fat with money and muscle Beef was his business, broad was his door Vincent was lean and spoke very little He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
And Vincent sat down with big politicians This affair they told him is a matter of state Let us sort it out, your people are hungry Vincent said no thanks, we know how to wait
From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rations Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter Gurindju decided they must make a stand
Then Vincent Lingiarri returned in an aeroplane Back to his country once more to sit down And he told his people let the stars keep on turning We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns
They picked up their swags and started off walking At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking Back at the homestead and then in the town From little things big things grow From little things big things grow Vestey man said I'll double your wages Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand Vincent said uhuh we're not talking about wages We're sitting right here till we get our land Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow Vince said if we fall others are rising From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting Till one day a tall stranger appeared in the land And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony And through Vincent's fingers poured a handful of sand From little things big things grow From little things big things grow That was the story of Vincent Lingairri But this is the story of something much more How power and privilege can not move a people Who know where they stand and stand in the law From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
Mr Wendal – Arrested development Here have a dollar In fact now brotherman, here have two Two dollars means a snack for me But it means a big deal to you Be strong, serve God only Know that if you do, beautiful Heaven awaits That's the poem I wrote for the first time I saw a man with no clothes, no money, no plate Mr. Wendal, that's his name No one ever knew his name 'cuz he's a no one Never thought twice about spending on an old bum Until I had the chance to really get to know one Now that I know 'em, to give him money isn't charity He gives me some knowledge, I buy him some shoes And to think blacks spend all their money on big colleges Still most of you come out confused Go ahead Mr. Wendal Go ahead Mr. Wendal Mr. Wendal has freedom A free that you and I think he's dumb Free to be without the worries of a quick to diss society For Mr. Wendal's a bum His only worries are sickness and occasional harassment By the police and their chase Uncivilized we call him but I just saw him Eat off the food we waste Civilization, are we really civilized? Yes or no, who are we to judge When thousands of innocent man could be brutally enslaved And killed over a racist grudge Mr. Wendal has tried to warn us about our ways But we don't hear him talk It's not his fault when we're goin' too far and we got too far 'Cuz on him we walk Mr. Wendal, a man, a human in flesh but not by law I feed you dignity to stand with pride Realize now that all in all we stand tall Go ahead Mr. Wendal Mr. Wendal Mr. Wendal Mr. Wendal