I take the needle off the record
and shove it in my arm
whenever I feel life is comin' on too strong
they left me in a clinic fulla
cynical motha fuckin' bureaucrats
and other kinda ding bats
Livin' on the tracks
the tracks in my arm
said it all depends which side the tracks your on.
tellin' me what to wear
tellin' me cut my hair
and tryin' to convince me that they really really care
All about my health and about my wealth
but still they built the Stealth
'cause everybody's just lookin' out for they self
So then I ask 'em can I have a clean needle
"Hell no that's illegal!"
'Cause it's a crime
to be broke in America!
And it's a crime
to smoke dank in America!
"Yeah hit those drums now"
They lockin' brother's in the poorhouse
who can't afford Moorhouse
politicians nervous
it's the only free service they provide
you want to go inside there's a hot meal waitin' for ya
a deal we can score ya
on a bed for a night or two
or three or four months.
They say they lockin' us up in cells
to protect us from ourselves
it smells like they got another plan in store house
or should I say – warehouse fulla niggas and other misfits
that couldn't turn tricks in the courthouse
it's a justice whorehouse
And it's a crime
to be broke in America!
and it's a crime
to be Black in America!
"Come on"
But there's a mutiny on the Bounty
in ever single county
we remember Attica
but don't forget to pat a few
other on the back
as a matter of fact
sister Asatta Shakur
and Geronimo Pratt
'cause Amnesty international
is fightin' for political
but if your analytical
you know it's much more critical
than that percentages
black is really, really whack
can I kick a few facts yes?
Six percent in college
from livin' on the block
twenty five percent in prison
the school of hard knocks
fifty percent in poverty
is livin' on the rocks
five hundred brothers on a death row box..
The punishment is capital
for those who lack in capital
because a public defender
can't remember the last time
that a brother wasn't treated like an animal.
They say they blame it on a song
when someone kills a cop
what music did they listen to
when they bombed Iraq?
give me one example so I can take a sample
no need to play it backwards
if you want to hear the devil
cause music's not the problem
it didn't cause the bombin'
but maybe they should listen
to the songs of people starving…
'Cause it's a Crime
to be broke in America!
it's a crime
to smoke dank in America!
it's a crime
to be black in America!
it's a crime
to be black in America!
"C'm on now"
It's a crime
to be Puerto Rican…
It's a crime
to be African…
…Native American
…Asian Hatian
…a Woman
and shove it in my arm
whenever I feel life is comin' on too strong
they left me in a clinic fulla
cynical motha fuckin' bureaucrats
and other kinda ding bats
Livin' on the tracks
the tracks in my arm
said it all depends which side the tracks your on.
tellin' me what to wear
tellin' me cut my hair
and tryin' to convince me that they really really care
All about my health and about my wealth
but still they built the Stealth
'cause everybody's just lookin' out for they self
So then I ask 'em can I have a clean needle
"Hell no that's illegal!"
'Cause it's a crime
to be broke in America!
And it's a crime
to smoke dank in America!
"Yeah hit those drums now"
They lockin' brother's in the poorhouse
who can't afford Moorhouse
politicians nervous
it's the only free service they provide
you want to go inside there's a hot meal waitin' for ya
a deal we can score ya
on a bed for a night or two
or three or four months.
They say they lockin' us up in cells
to protect us from ourselves
it smells like they got another plan in store house
or should I say – warehouse fulla niggas and other misfits
that couldn't turn tricks in the courthouse
it's a justice whorehouse
And it's a crime
to be broke in America!
and it's a crime
to be Black in America!
"Come on"
But there's a mutiny on the Bounty
in ever single county
we remember Attica
but don't forget to pat a few
other on the back
as a matter of fact
sister Asatta Shakur
and Geronimo Pratt
'cause Amnesty international
is fightin' for political
but if your analytical
you know it's much more critical
than that percentages
black is really, really whack
can I kick a few facts yes?
Six percent in college
from livin' on the block
twenty five percent in prison
the school of hard knocks
fifty percent in poverty
is livin' on the rocks
five hundred brothers on a death row box..
The punishment is capital
for those who lack in capital
because a public defender
can't remember the last time
that a brother wasn't treated like an animal.
They say they blame it on a song
when someone kills a cop
what music did they listen to
when they bombed Iraq?
give me one example so I can take a sample
no need to play it backwards
if you want to hear the devil
cause music's not the problem
it didn't cause the bombin'
but maybe they should listen
to the songs of people starving…
'Cause it's a Crime
to be broke in America!
it's a crime
to smoke dank in America!
it's a crime
to be black in America!
it's a crime
to be black in America!
"C'm on now"
It's a crime
to be Puerto Rican…
It's a crime
to be African…
…Native American
…Asian Hatian
…a Woman
Contributed by giorgio - 2009/12/27 - 20:47
...quindi è da questa canzone che viene la famosa citazione di Michael Franti, “Quando qualcuno uccide un poliziotto dicono che è colpa di una canzone. Che musica ascoltavano quando hanno bombardato l'Iraq?".
Tenterei una traduzione completa ma sono un po' spaventato dallo slang
Tenterei una traduzione completa ma sono un po' spaventato dallo slang
Lorenzo - 2009/12/27 - 22:38
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Songwriters : Tyler/Franti/Harris
Album: Home