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Stolen Dreams (a Ballad for Michael Stewart)

Serious Bizness
Language: English


Serious Bizness

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Canzone dedicata a Michael Jerome Stewart (1958-1983), un giovane afroamericano che fu arrestato il 15 settembre 1983 per aver prodotto alcuni graffiti a spray all'interno della stazione di First Avenue nella metro di New York City. In custodia della polizia, il giovane venticinquenne fu pestato a sangue e morì 13 giorni più tardi senza mai riprendere conoscenza...



I poliziotti assassini – in tutto 6 – furono tutti dichiarati innocenti da una giuria composta da soli bianchi. Nel 1990 la famiglia di Michael Jerome Stewart ha ottenuto per via stragiudiziale un risarcimento di 1.7 milioni di dollari dalla città di New York.
Young Black Man-Child
you only stayed for a little while
It was much too soon for you to go
Whey they killed you, we've just gotta know

Young Black Man-Child
You only stayed for a little while
It was much too soon for you to go
Why you had to die, we've just gotta know

They say you committed a crime
cause you created beauty out of the grime
They say you committed a crime
but you created a rainbow out of the grime

With every stroke, with every spray of paint
the gloom seemed to disappear
You colored a canvas out of despair
The gloom seemed to disappear

You washed away some of the misery
and they took you away in cold brutality
You washed away some of the misery
and they took you away in cold brutality

Who are these messengers of death
who tried, convicted, and sentenced you
Who are these messengers of death
who laid to rest dreams you tried to make true

Just a young Black Man-Child
You only stayed for a little while
It was much too soon for you to go
Why you had to die, we've just gotta know

The evidence is in
It was the blue-suited men
who murdered you without a cause
and they're protected by the law
yes they're protected by the law

When we think of you
we're filled with rage
and we gotta take a stand
When we think of you
we're filled with pain
cause this can never happen again

Young Black Man-Child
You only stayed for a little while
It was much too soon for you to go
Why you had to die, we won't stop until we know...

Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2020/4/4 - 15:57




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