Uh, uh
Uh uh, uh, uh
Born in troubled water
Every stroke is war
They drowned the ones before us
But we’ll make it to shore, uhh
Message in this hammer
Is coming down on you
Message in a gun
Aiming at your head
Message in this hammer (Message in this hammer)
Coming down on you (Coming down on you)
Message in this gun (Message in this gun)
Aiming at your head (Ahh)
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
I have seen the future
In the future you won
We are being reborn
To build, we must destroy (Mhh)
I don’t want peace oh
We don talk 'til we tire, uh
I won’t say please oh
We fight fire with fire, uh
We are the people
We won’t sit down and be quite
Government devils (Devils)
All of them liars (Liars)
All of them liars (Liars)
All of them (Thief)
President (Thief)
Governor (Thief)
Senator (Thief)
Commissioner (Thief)
Ambassador (Thief)
Minister (Thief)
Treasurer(Thief)
Advisor (Thief)
Judge oh (Thief)
Army (Thief)
Policeman (Thief)
S.A.R.S oh (Thief)
Inspector (Thief)
General (Thief)
All of them murderers
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
Ooh
Message in a hammer
Burning down the order
Tearing down the walls for a new day
A new breath
I can feel the tide turn
Let the fire pour
Can’t you see it’s time for a new day
New dawn, new dawn
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me (Thief), shoot me (Thief), kill me (Thief), throw me in jail (Thief)
You can strip me (Thief), use me (Thief), abuse me (Thief) 'til nothing remains (Thief)
We won't take it kindly (Thief), take it smiling (Thief, thief, thief)
We won't take it kindly (Thief), take it smiling (Thief, thief, thief)
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
Uh uh, uh, uh
Born in troubled water
Every stroke is war
They drowned the ones before us
But we’ll make it to shore, uhh
Message in this hammer
Is coming down on you
Message in a gun
Aiming at your head
Message in this hammer (Message in this hammer)
Coming down on you (Coming down on you)
Message in this gun (Message in this gun)
Aiming at your head (Ahh)
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
I have seen the future
In the future you won
We are being reborn
To build, we must destroy (Mhh)
I don’t want peace oh
We don talk 'til we tire, uh
I won’t say please oh
We fight fire with fire, uh
We are the people
We won’t sit down and be quite
Government devils (Devils)
All of them liars (Liars)
All of them liars (Liars)
All of them (Thief)
President (Thief)
Governor (Thief)
Senator (Thief)
Commissioner (Thief)
Ambassador (Thief)
Minister (Thief)
Treasurer(Thief)
Advisor (Thief)
Judge oh (Thief)
Army (Thief)
Policeman (Thief)
S.A.R.S oh (Thief)
Inspector (Thief)
General (Thief)
All of them murderers
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
Ooh
Message in a hammer
Burning down the order
Tearing down the walls for a new day
A new breath
I can feel the tide turn
Let the fire pour
Can’t you see it’s time for a new day
New dawn, new dawn
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
You can beat me (Thief), shoot me (Thief), kill me (Thief), throw me in jail (Thief)
You can strip me (Thief), use me (Thief), abuse me (Thief) 'til nothing remains (Thief)
We won't take it kindly (Thief), take it smiling (Thief, thief, thief)
We won't take it kindly (Thief), take it smiling (Thief, thief, thief)
You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail
You can strip me, use me, abuse me 'til nothing remains
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
We won't take it kindly, take it smiling
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The song is a protest against state corruption, and in particular, the carnage wrought by SARS, a Nigerian special police force that has come under scrutiny for the violence it has inflicted on young Nigerians. Obongjayar has spoken out against their brutality before, and he calls them out by name here. Over thumping drums, he delivers a lacerating diatribe, angrily reciting the titles of his country’s politicians—“President (thief), governor (thief), senator (thief)”—and declaring all of them murderers.
Pitchfork
Obongjayar referring to the Lekki toll gate massacre that occurred in Lagos Nigeria on 20th October 2020 and how the government tried to cover up the killing of innocent civilians during the #ENDSARS protests
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La canzone protesta contro la corruzione dello Stato e, in particolare, contro il massacro causato dalla SARS, una squadra speciale della polizia nigeriana finita sotto accusa per la violenza contro giovani nigeriani. Obongjayar ha già denunciato in passato la loro brutalità e qui li chiama direttamente in causa. Su un beat martellante, lancia una diatriba tagliente, recitando con rabbia le cariche dei politici del suo paese—“Presidente (ladro), governatore (ladro), senatore (ladro)”—e dichiarandoli tutti assassini.
Obongjayar si riferisce in particolare al massacro del casello di Lekki, avvenuto a Lagos, in Nigeria, il 20 ottobre 2020, e al successivo tentativo di copertura da parte del governo della polizia responsabile della morte di civili innocenti durante le proteste #EndSARS.