as I lie against the hard and cold ground
my face expresses my despair
showing nothing but a hard and cold frown.
i'm haunted by this screechingly uneasy and evil sound.
i hear the pleas---
screams of MY woman echoing all throughout the darkness of the night.
being beaten,
raped,
tortured and tormented
made helpless- unable to fight by
that no good massa so-and-so!!
hell, he think just cause he white
that he can take MY woman
and hell he think just cause he white that he can rape MY woman.
taking her from my arms at all hours of the night
and i cant even protect her from harm
cause in my heart, i know im afraid to fight.
breaking her down
opening her two knees
so that she may give pleasure to and please...
that no good massa so-and-so!!
the way he always making me look down.
the way he always making me look like a fool,
treating me like a clown.
always making me crawl beg and plead for his little bit of mercy.
secretly crying at night
cause he makes me bleed,
ooooooh it hurts me
it hurts me so deep,
deep inside.
remembering i watched as my father cried.
and i wondered
'why daddy,
why wont you save us from this beast?
why daddy,
why wont you stand up like a man so that we,
your family can have peace?'
and now i see that same look in my sons eyes.
living the life of a slave,
you're nothing but despised.
and i am as my father before me
reminded 'why?' daily!
that answer races through my head
with every lash of the whip...
i wish i were dead!
that no good massa so-and-so!!
i wanna wrap my black hands around his scrawny white throat
and shake and shake until i feel his neck break!
and squeeze the very breath of life from his thin-lipped face
as i watch and listen to him gasp and beg
and his eyes rolled back into the center of his head!
i wanna kill him!
i wanna see him dead!
cause HE made me this way!
a boy,
a fool,
a nigger,
a slave!
a slave to work the fields all day and all night
and all night and all day!
HE made me ashamed!
and if anything goes wrong, im always the one to be blamed!
he made me afraid to look him in his cold,
ugly, blue eyes.
cause he knew i would see straight through all of his little white lies!
massa soandso told us, us slaves were here to fulfill HIS every wish and to do HIS will.
i see now he told us that just to make us better slaves and easier to kill.
that no good massa so-and-so!!!
he sold my first two children as soon as they were born;
a son and a daughter.
from my and my wives arms,
they were stolen, torn.
the look in their eyes was as lambs being led to their slaughter.
and when i pray to the good massa jesus,
i ask him please massa please free us!
unanswered go my prayers.
makes me wonder if the good massa jesus even cares.
makes me wonder if the good massa jesus even hears...
when i awaken all i see is that no good massa soandso living out my hearts greatest fears!
i dare not speak any of my inner-most thoughts of hatred and anger to one single soul.
my fear, my despair, my anger,
my hatred
make my heart grow cold.
and now my souls' cry for freedom shows in my eyes.
i hate, no, I DESPISE
that white beast!
that savage!
as he now looks at my baby daughter with thoughts in mind to ravage!
i vow i will not sentence my children
or my childrens' children to this life of suffering death!
i will fight with all of my strength
and until my last breath that
no good massa so-and-so!!
and finally i see what must be done.
a voice came with the answer
as blinding as the light of the sun.
the god of my ancestors whispered divine words into my minds inner ear:
'my son, you are a king, a black god!
stand and fight the dragon, have no fear!
I'll show you the reward of your toil on this foreign soil
in cotton and corn dripping in the blood of your open enemy!
Now that you know,
Stand Up!
STAND UP!!
You, not he,
control your destiny!
My son, in the winter of your discontent,
when my peoples' dissatisfaction reaches 100%,
I will command you,your nature will command you ...
rise,
Rise,
RISE UP AND SLAY THE SERPENT!!
THAT NO GOOD MASSA SO-AND-SO!!
