John D. Cundle, Oct 12, 2025
#PoliticalSatire #MusicalTheatre #FoundingFathers
🎶 “No Kings (Again!)” is
a revolutionary musical number, reimagining the Founding generation rising from
parchment and history to join the modern No Kings Protest.
Featuring Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, and Angelica in a powerful Pixar-style cinematic world, this anthem blends hip-hop, gospel, and orchestral fire to remind us:
🕯️ Liberty was written in ink and blood — not in gold and crowns.
✨ ABOUT THE SONG:
“No Kings (Again!)” was written as a satirical, theatrical, and educational piece — celebrating the spirit of democracy and freedom from tyranny.
🎠Musical Style: Hamilton-inspired hip-hop theatre, gospel chorus, and cinematic orchestra
🎥 Animation Style: 3D Pixar realism — historical figures reimagined in modern protest settings
🎙️ Message: Democracy lives through courage, unity, and the voices of the people
⚖️ DISCLAIMER:
This musical work is a fictional and artistic satire created for educational and entertainment purposes.
It does not depict or endorse any real person, organization, or political group.
All characters are stylized, historically inspired figures representing ideas, not individuals.
The song advocates peaceful civic engagement and freedom of expression.
💬 Join the Movement:
Share your own “No Kings” moment in the comments — what does liberty mean to you today?
Use the hashtag #NoKingsAgain to show support for democracy and freedom of thought.
This video follows all YouTube Community Guidelines and advertiser-friendly standards.
It contains no hate speech, graphic imagery, misinformation, or targeted political content.
🕊️ “No Kings, No Crowns — Forever Free.”
#NoKingsAgain#Satire#Democracy#Freedom#Revolution#Liberty#AmericanHistory#PoliticalSatire#BroadwayStyle#NoKingsProtest#EducationalMusic#FoundingFathers#MusicalTheatre
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcase the videos and the auto-generated transcript of the lyrics for the animated musical "No Kings (Again)".
The content of this post is presented for historical, political, socio-cultural, and motivational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to John D. Cundle and all those who are associated with this powerful and creative song and video.
**** LYRICS FOR "NO KINGS (AGAIN) FROM THE AUTO-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT
"No kings! — we said it once before! We bled on the floor for
that score! Now I wake from the grave, and I can’t ignore— The crown’s
back knocking at democracy’s door!
I wrote the papers, fought
the war, built the banks, Now I’m watching monarchists rewriting thanks. See,
tyranny’s trending, truth’s on decline, They’re selling red coats on a party line. We drafted the covenant — liberty’s clause, But now every
con-man thinks he is the laws.
I fought King George III so you’d never kneel, Now wannabe
emperors make freedom a deal. I picked the pen for the people’s creed, But power’s a weed
— it feeds on greed. You crown one man “divine” again? Then light the fuse, my
fiery friend.
Checks and balances? They’re bounced like cheques! And the
throne’s in gold with a news-feed neck! If “we the people” forget to shout, Then history’s whisper
will fade right out!
No kings, no crowns, no golden rings! We built this house on
mortal things! Ink and blood, our sacred mix, Don’t trade it back for
politics!
No kings — we mean it still, Freedom ain’t a tax write-off
on the hill! I walked away from power when I could’ve stayed.
That’s the oath of a patriot, not a trade. So hear me,
citizens — don’t be afraid, When tyrants tweet, march
louder than they parade.
I warned them — faction is the monarch’s twin! The mob gets
drunk, the tyrant walks in! History loops like a chorus line, So sharpen your quills —
it’s protest time!
You want immunity? Nah, accountability! A president’s just
temporary civility! “Divine right” don’t trend in a republic feed — We spilled
our blood so you’d read, not kneel!
No kings! No crowns! We stand unbowed! Raise your voice,
raise your flag, raise it LOUD! Liberty’s heartbeat drums again, The people rise where
monarchs end!
No kings — our anthem’s still alive, Democracy ain’t a thing
to survive — it thrives! No kings! No crowns! Forever free! From Yorktown to D.C.!
From Boston tea to you and me! NO KINGS — THAT’S THE LEGACY! History repeats when courage sleeps. Awaken, Republic —
liberty keeps."
This post presents historical information about the song "We Shall Overcome" and features six video examples of that song. One news article with a photograph of United States representatives of Congress singing "We Shall Overcome" is also featured in this post along with standard lyrics for that song.
"We Shall Overcome" not only represents the 1960s United States civil rights movement, but, judging from internet articles and videos, "We Shall Overcome" may be the only civil rights song or one of a very few songs from the African American civil rights movement that is still sometimes sung nowadays during protests and/or during community vigils that are held because of racial causes.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, inspirational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who composed and popularized "We Shall Overcome" as a song sung during protests and otherwise. Thanks to all those who are featured in videos that are included in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
THE HISTORY OF THE PROTEST SONG "WE SHALL OVERCOME"
From http://www.npr.org/2013/08/28/216482943/the-inspiring-force-of-we-shall-overcome The Inspiring Force Of 'We Shall Overcome' August 28, 2013 6:19 PM ET
"It is not a marching song. It is not necessarily defiant. It is a promise: "We shall overcome someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe."
It has been a civil rights song for 50 years now, heard not just in the U.S. but in North Korea, in Beirut, in Tiananmen Square, in South Africa's Soweto Township. But "We Shall Overcome" began as a folk song, a work song. Slaves in the fields would sing, 'I'll be all right someday.' It became known in the churches. A Methodist minister, Charles Albert Tindley, published a version in 1901: "I'll Overcome Someday."
The first political use came in 1945 in Charleston, S.C. There was a strike against the American Tobacco Co. The workers wanted a raise; they were making 45 cents an hour. They marched and sang together on the picket line, "We will overcome, and we will win our rights someday."
In 1947, two of the union members from South Carolina traveled to the town of Monteagle, Tenn., for a workshop at the Highlander Folk Center. Blacks and whites had been meeting together about labor issues at the Highlander for many years. It was believed at Highlander that the people who have the problems are the ones who have the answers. It was important to talk together, and especially to sing. The tobacco workers brought their song to Tennessee, and Zilphia Horton, Highlander's music director, started using it in workshops in Tennessee and beyond.
In 1947, Horton went to New York City as she did every year, to raise money for Highlander. She sang the song there for Pete Seeger, who adopted it and added his own touches...
[Pete Seeger speaking]
I remember teaching it to a gang in Carnegie Hall that year, and the following year I put it in a little music magazine called People's Songs," Seeger adds. "Over the years, I remember singing it two different ways. I'm usually credited with changing ['Will'] to 'Shall,' but there was a black woman who taught at Highlander Center, a wonderful person named Septima Clark. And she always liked shall, too, I'm told."
"Electrifying Feeling"
In Southern California in the early 1950s, the song reached Guy Carawan. He was finishing graduate work in sociology at UCLA and doing some singing himself. He also learned about the Highlander Center in Tennessee, and that's where he ended up. Candi Carawan and her husband have been teaching together at Highlander for many years now. They met as the center's focus was shifting to civil rights, and "We Shall Overcome" was about to become an inspiring force."...
Pete Seeger, in a conversation with Tim Robbins for Pacifica Radio, talks about the history of the song "We Shall Overcome" (2006)*
..."We Shall Overcome", most of us thought that it had been put together in 1946 because that's when the slow version was made up, sung by tobacco workers. And a Black tobacco worker by the name of Lucille Simmons, would come out to the picket line and it was winter time. They probably had a fire in a big fifty five gallon drum, and they'd say "Oh, here comes Lucille. Now we'll hear that song sung slower than anybody sang it before...[Seeger sings a line and says] No rhythm. It's call 'long meter style.' And later on figured to give it that slow tempo. [Seeger sings the line and says] "so called twelve eight time".
-snip-
* This is my partial transcription of that YouTube video.
Seeger continues by sharing that four years ago [2006] he learned that "We Shall Overcome" could actually be traced much earlier to striking Black union workers and White union workers in Alabama in 1909. The letter that was quoted in a book published by the University of Pennsylvania indicated that the union workers indicated that they started every meeting with a prayer and singing "that good old song "We Will Overcome"...
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
Isaias Gamboa, 2015
"We now live in the age of information. Empirical research has uncovered and proven the following facts:
Sometime between 1932 and 1942, an African American woman named, Louise Shropshire composed and published a sacred hymn entitled, "If My Jesus Wills". Her lyrics:
"I'll Overcome, I'll Overcome, I'll Overcome Someday
If My Jesus Wills, I Do Believe, I'll Overcome Someday".
Sound familiar?
"If My Jesus Wills" was performed all over the country during the 1950's and 60's including the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. It was copyrighted in 1954--six years before "We Shall Overcome". We Shall Overcome was copyrighted as a derivative work with no original author listed.
As a copyright claimant, Pete Seeger's "story" of the song's origin must be considered objectively.
in 2012, after studding Louise Shropshire's hymn in detail, Pete Seeger admitted (on film) that it's very probable that Louise Shropshire's hymn was the song from which We Shall Overcome was derived. What more is there to speculate on?
More facts:
Filmed interviews and photographic evidence confirm that since 1951 and until his assassination in 1968, Louise Shropshire was a close friend and mentor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was very familiar with Mrs. Shropshire's, "If My Jesus Wills" long before Pete Seeger sang We Shall Overcome for him.
Could her song and her affiliation with Dr. King have all been a mere coincidence? Of course not?
Its 2015. We need to wake up and share all the facts. Let the world decide what to believe."
-snip-
Given Pete Seeger's information about "We Will Overcome" being sung by protesting Alabama mine workers in the early 1900s, Louise Shropshire's 1932-1942 song "If My Jesus Wills" couldn't be the original source for the "We will overcome" line. The earliest known source for that line remains Rev. Albert Tindley's 1901 song "I'll Overcome Someday.
Unlike that previous post, most of the videos in this post feature examples of "We Shall Overcome" in which the singers either lock arms and sway from side to side while singing this song, or hold hands and stand still or sway from side to side while singing this song. This has become the signature way that "We Shall Overcome" is sung. To my knowledge, no other protest song or civil rights song has this or any other signature movement style.
It's possible that the locked arm style of singing "We Shall Overcome" came from the verse "We'll walk hand in hand". Or that locked arm style may be a way of expressing the unity that the people feel when they are singing this song. Locking arms also shows the resolve of the protesters. Such a stance would also have made it more difficult for the police to arrest individuals, although the police would have eventually succeeded in separating people from those they had locked arms with.
I'm interested in reading your views about why (and when) this custom started and continues of singing "We Shall Overcome"
this way.
I decided to publish this post after reading that the University of Missouri Black students (and their allies) who are protesting racial conditions at the university sang "We Shall Overcome" as part of their celebration after learning that their protests led to the resignation of that University's president. (November 9, 2015). I haven't found a stand alone video of the students singing that song yet. However, the Addendum to this post includes a video of University of Missouri protestors singing "We Shall Overcome".
****
LYRICS - WE SHALL OVERCOME*
1.
We shall overcome.
We shall overcome.
We shall overcome someday.
(Oh-oh) deep in my heart
I do believe.
We shall overcome some day.
2.
We are not afraid.
We are not afraid.
We are not afraid today.
(Oh-oh) deep in my heart
I do believe.
We shall overcome some day.
3.
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand today.
(Oh-oh) deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
4.
We will all be free.
We will all be free
We will all be free someday.
(Oh-oh) deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
[End with the first verse.]
*These are the standard lyrics for "We Shall Overcome" that I learned during the United States civil rights movement in the 1960s. Judging from YouTube videos that I've watched in 2013-2015, verses 1, 2, and 3 appear to be the verses that are most often sung now. Another frequently sung verse was:
Black and White together
Black and White together
Black and White together today
(Oh-oh) deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order according to their publishing dates on YouTube with the oldest dated example given first.
Example #1: [President Barack] Obama at Ebenezer - We Shall Overcome
Stand with Obama, Uploaded on Jan 20, 2008
This is the conclusion of Obama's speech at the church on Martin Luther King on King's Birthday in 2008, when the congregation sings "We Shall Overcome."
-snip-
Ebenezer Baptist Church is in Atlanta, Georgia.
All those in attendance sing “We shall overcome” with locked arms.
****
Example #2: We Shall Overcome in Madison
Emily Grams, Uploaded on Feb 19, 2011
This is what is actually happening in Madison!
-snip-
This was during protest demonstrations in Madison, Wisconsin. The singers are swaying from side to side.
****
Example #3: Firefighters and crowd sing "We Shall Overcome" - Feb. 1th 2011, Madison Wisconsin Capitol Protest
Hinckley Video Productions Uploaded on Feb 18, 2011
-snip-
I'm not sure about what they are chanting (in unison). It may be “[name] must go”.
"We Shall Overcome" begins at 1:18 in this video. Someone sings the first line of the verse (or begins that first line) and all others join in.
Verse #1: We will overcome...
Verse #2: We’ll walk hand in hand...
Verse #3: We are not afraid...
Verse #4: We Will overcome...
-snip-
I noticed a few people in the video swaying from side to side, but most people are standing without moving. Also, I didn't see anyone linking arms while singing.
Everyone in the video appears to be White. Here's one comment exchange from that video's discussion thread:
Bob Javis, 2012
"Song is completely inappropriate for a budget protest."
**
Hinckley Video Productions, 2012
in reply to Bob Javis
"@JMB177 Also, you may only be familiar with this song in a civil rights context, but its just as deeply rooted in the labor movement, just do a simple search on the song."
****
Example #4: March on Washington - 50 Years Ago
Wazee Digital, Published on Aug 28, 2013
Civil Rights March 1963. We shall overcome. March at Washington Monument. National Mall protests. Civil rights leaders. Civil rights activists. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking.
-snip-
Protestors march while singing this song.
****
Example #5: Watch Flint community sing 'We Shall Overcome' during prayer vigil
MLive.com Staff, Published on Jun 19, 2015
The Quinn Chapel AME Church in Flint held a prayer vigil Friday, June 19, to remember the victims of a shooting at a Charleston, S.C. church.
-snip-
Singers hold hands with people standing on each side of them. Singers also sway side to side a little while singing "We Shall Overcome".
****
Example #6: 'We Shall Overcome' rings out at Charleston vigil
The solemn verses of "We Shall Overcome" rings out in a college basketball arena at a vigil for the nine victims of a massacre at a historic African-American church.
-snip-
This is an integrated group of people. Everyone locks arms with the person standing on either side and sways from side to side while singing "We Shall Overcome".
**
Lauren Petterson @laurenamandaaa
[video]
#concernedstudent1950 is singing and dancing to music from a loud speaker @mutv23
**
12:42 PM - 9 Nov 2015
KCOU News @kcounews
[video]
#ConcernedStudent1950 Allies and MSA president Payton Head lock arms and sing we shall overcome *
11:39 AM - 9 Nov 2015
-snip-
*Italics added by me to highlight that the students locked arms while singing "We Shall Overcome".
ConcernedStudent1950 = the group of Black Mizzou [University of Missouri] students which led the protest against racism at that university...1950 was the year that the first Black student was admitted to the University of Missouri
MSA = Missouri Student Association
[correction 11/11/2015] I previously gave this as "Minority Student Association"
This post showcases five arrangements of the song "Guide My Feet" (While I Run This Race). This song is generally considered an African American Spiritual, but I've not found any collaborating documentation for that. "Guide My Feet" is also considered a Gospel song. In the 1960s, "Guide My Feet" was sung as a United States civil rights protest song.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thank to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
STANDARD LYRICS FOR "GUIDE MY FEET"
(African American Spiritual, composer unknown)
1. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
2. Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
3. Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
4. I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
5. Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
6. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!
Source: http://www.hymnsite.com/fws/hymn.cgi?2208
-snip-
One of the characteristics of African American Spirituals is that the lyrics, the order of verses, and the length of the song's performance weren't fixed. Therefore, renditions of that song were likely never the same.
I've also heard choirs sing "Guide my tongue while I run this race"."
****
COMMENT ABOUT THIS SONG
From http://wgbhnews.org/post/guide-my-feet-while-i-run-race
"Guide My Feet" is a staple of church choirs, folk and gospel artists because of its message — a humble plea for divine guidance during the race of life...
Some few days after the [Boston, Massachusetts] bombing two local ministers led an informal service at the makeshift memorial in Copley Square. They led the gathering crowd in singing the "Guide My Feet" spiritual. Suddenly I realized that all these years I’ve been singing the wrong words. They sang the right words, “Guide my feet, I don’t want to run this race in vain” versus my version, “Guide my feet, I don’t want to run this race alone.” But, whatever the words, "not in vain" or "not alone," I think both sentiments capture the spirit of this year’s marathoners, focused on the journey and not the destination. So when the runners begin their 26-mile trek, I’ll be singing my song for them in full-throated fervor. And celebrating a Boston Stronger."
-snip-
"Guide My Feeet" is also listed as a freedom song (a civil rights protest song) in http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=17300 Lest We Forget, Vol. 3: Sing For Freedom
Various Artists FW05488
"Songs played a large role in the movement to close the racial divide in America during the 1960s, and prayers, chants, sermons, and shouts were also fundamental to this task. This collection of freedom songs was recorded during "The Sing for Freedom Workshop"—a remarkable event that brought together the best of freedom singers to share the history of this tradition, better organize the freedom song movement, and enrich an already powerful repertoire of song.
Year of Release 1980
Record Label: Folkways Records
Source : Archive Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Credits Produced by Guy Carawan ; Produced by Highlander Research and Education Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)"
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest dated posts presented first.
Example #1: lord guide my feet while i run this race(mom&sisters)
.
Ronald Dennis, Uploaded on Apr 11, 2008
My two sister and mom,soon to you tube will be my whole family
****
Example #2: Guide My Feet
LukusJerrod, Uploaded on Mar 8, 2009
First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn Choir at NYU, 2009
****
Example #3: First Bethany MBC; 'Lord Guide My Feet, While I Run This Race"...Rudy Copeland
firstbethanyMBC, Uploaded on Jun 21, 2009
First Bethany MBC; Gregory D. McClain Sr., Pastor
****
Example #4: "Guide My Feet"- MBC Men's Chorus
MBCWorshipService, Uploaded on May 1, 2010
Calvin M. Blackwell, Sr., Michael E. Cundiff, Sr. and Thomas Powell- Soloists; The MBC Music Ministry Honors the Memories of Mrs. Inez M. Holley; Friday, April 30, 2010; Messiah Baptist Church, 210 Congress Street, Bridgeport CT, Jonathan Q. Berryman, Director of Music. Visit us at www.messiahbaptist-ct.org;
****
Example #5: Guide My Feet, Lord
Lyric Fest, Published on Nov 12, 2013
Guide my feet, Lord - Arr. Jacqueline Hairston
This is Part VI of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".
This post showcases Public Enemy's 2012 rap "Get Up Stand Up". The lyrics of this rap are given with some explanatory comments.
Although it isn't mentioned in the song, theere's no doubt that the title and phrase "Gt Up Stand Up" is a nod to Bob Marley and Peeter Tosh 's 1971 Reggae Song with that title.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Public Enemy for their musical leegacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.
I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.
Part III of this series includes more comments about this subject.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALBUM WHICH INCLUDES THIS SONG
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_of_My_Heroes_Still_Don't_Appear_on_No_Stamp
"Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on July 13, 2012, by Slam Jamz. It was sold exclusively at the iTunes Store before its release to other retailers.[2] It was released on CD on November 6. The album is the first of two albums that Public Enemy released in 2012, which Chuck D described as "fraternal twins",[3] along with The Evil Empire of Everything, which was released on October 1, 2012.[4] The album features guest vocals from Brother Ali, Bumpy Knuckles, Cormega, and DMC.
Upon its release, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and found its political lyrics relevant to contemporary times...
Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four out of five stars and commended Public Enemy for "remain[ing] true to the sounds and sensibilities they laid out back in the late '80s", writing that "the music remains vital and vibrant, possibly because, despite some progress, things still haven't changed all that much and, in some respects, have gotten worse"....
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Public Enemy - Get Up Stand Up Featuring Brother Ali [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
publicenemy, Published on Mar 10, 2013
The official video from Public Enemy for the song 'Get Up Stand Up' Featuring Brother Ali.
Get Evil vs Heroes now http://j.mp/12GXIKa
Get Up Stand Up
Produced by: Gary G-Wiz
****
LYRICS: PUBLIC ENEMY - GET UP STAND UP
This song don’t give a damn
If the rhymes don’t fit
Beat don’t bounce
If the dj quit
This song
Don’t give a damn
If you can’t sing to dance to it
Can’t romance to it
This song ain’t arrogant
If you don’t try it
Buy it
If your radio deny it
Don’t care bout what who got
What’s cool on tv
Or what spots hot i forgot
I ain’t mad at evolution
But i stand for revolution
Enough is enough
Somebody stand up
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
This track aint asking you a damn thing
Not the brand name bottle with your champagne
Not where you land your private airplane
How many blood diamonds shining in that chain?
How much compromise is tied to that fame?
How many more times we gotta hear that lame
Line im inspiring them
to do what?
Roll better weed and get higher than them?
Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them?
Be the same damn dog but to finer women?
They gonna tell me that im preaching to the choir than im
Sure they right but im trying to light a fire in them
Cause i was raised by the enemy
And ever since then thats been my identity
So im trying to give back whats was given me
Truth told delivery is my tendency
Youth fold to the spirit of my energy
Bottom of my feet is something that youll never see
Thats cause im standing singing the anthem
Fist on my hand, and a list of demands and
When they hear this might piss in their pants and
Try to get the children to not listen to the man
But the mighty pe is what birthed ali
So what you gonna think come after me?
Chuck d
Get up, stand up
Occupy if you denied
Protest songs cause i see wrong
Most of my heroes still dont appear on no stamp
So i rant even when they say i can’t
I rise against
Rage against
Hope i dont end up being the same thing im fighting against
Hence
I wince never on the fence
Since they think the masses powerless
Ain’t on no power list
I ball my fist w my audience
Like this
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
Got so much to shout about
What the 1% is gettin out
Recession depression desperation due
Never have so many been screwed by so few
Cheapest price is to pay attention
No need to dumb down to what i mention
No need to young down how i mention
In spanish portuguese english french and
No satisfaction
Listen to the world reaction
Americas still black and white
Like an old tv set
What we gonna do about it?
Laugh sit back forget & quit?
I get racial
Just talkin about the ratio
People are no longer patient
Now the brown they dont want around
Thats why sammy got that facial
My wife says its spacial
Politics that stick way beyond baseball
I think its self hateful
Anti immigration
Disgraceful
Get up, stand up.
Source:
****
EXPLANATIONS OF SOME OF THE WORDS & PHRASES
Unless another source is cited, these are my explanations of these words & phrases from Public Enemy's "Get Up Stand Up". These explanations are numbered for referencing purposes only. Additions and correctons are welcome.
1. "blood diamonds" - This phrase in this song references the protests against the sale of blood diamonds.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond
"Blood diamonds (also called a conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds) is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity".
2. "How many more times we gotta hear that lame
line" - A "lame line" is a weak line, a statement that has no substance.
3. "roll better weed" - "Weed" means marijuana. "To roll weed" means to make a marijuana cigarette.
4.Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them? - The word "ass" in this line doesn't have any literal meaning, but acts somewhat like an intensifier in that "needy greedy ass fire" conveys more emotions and also conveys more down-home nitty grittiness (soul) than just saying "needy greedy fire".
5. "Be the same damn dog but to finer women" - to continue being a man who treats women badly but doing it to more beautiful women
6. preaching to the choir - talking to people who alreeady agreee wti"th what you are saying (who are already on your side)
7. "im trying to light a fire in them" - "light a fire in them" - motivate, encourage them (even more)
8. "Cause i was raised by the enemy" - "The enemy" may mean the institutional system that creates and maintains unjust laws and inequality. To be raised by the enemy may mean that system's education system and mass media.
12. "Now the brown they dont want around" - This line is adapted from Big Bill Broonzy's song "Black, Brown and White" (also known as "Get Back". The lyrics of that song apeak to the segregationist nature of the United States:
"They said: "If you was white,
You's alright,
If you was brown,
You could stick around,
But as you's black, hmm, hmm, brother,
Get back, get back, get back."
13. "Thats why sammy got that facial" - a reference to Black baseball player Sammy Sousa who has allegedly used skin whitener to lighten his complexion.
This post is Part II of a series that showcases songs about South African activist, humanitarian, and former President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
This post showcases the song "Free Nelson Mandela" by The Special AKA, a trio from the United Kingdom. The lyrics to that song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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SHOWCASE SONG The Special AKA - Free Nelson Mandela - Formel 1 - 1983
mattervalley, Uploaded on Mar 21, 2011
The Special AKA - Free Nelson Mandela - Formel 1 - 1983
Music video by The Special AKA performing Nelson Mandela.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt of an article about this song from http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/06/nelson-mandela-and-the-most-potent-protest-song-ever-recorded/:
"To a generation of British kids who had never heard of him before “Free Nelson Mandela” is all they ever needed to know about the man. Fittingly, Jerry Dammers, who wrote the song, had no idea who he was until he attended an anti-apartheid concert in 1983. Had he then come up with something more hectoring or angry, it’s possible the anti-apartheid movement would have had a very different level of support throughout the 1980s. Certainly in South Africa the song was seized upon as an instant anthem for the African National Congress."
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LYRICS - "FREE NELSON MANDELA"
(Jerry Dammers)
Free Nelson Mandela
Free, free, free, free, free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela
21 years in captivity
Shoes too small to fit his feet
His body abused but his mind is still free
Are you so blind that you cannot see? I said…
Free Nelson Mandela, I'm begging you
Free Nelson Mandela
Visited the causes at the AMC
Only one man in a large army
Are you so blind that you cannot see?
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear his plea?
Free Nelson Mandela, I'm begging you
Free Nelson Mandela
21 tears in captivity
Are you so blind that you cannot see?
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear?
Are you so dumb that you cannot speak? I said…
Free Nelson Mandela, I'm begging you
Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela, begging you, begging you please
Free Nelson Mandela, you got to, you got to, you got to free, you got to free, you got to free
Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela
Free
Free (I'm telling you, telling you, telling you)
Free (You've got to free, yeah, you've got to free)
Free (Yeah, you've got to free, yeah, you've got to free)
Free (Nelson Mandela)
Free
Free (I'm telling you, telling you, telling you)
Free (Free, yeah, you've got to free him now)
Free (You've got to free him now, you've got to free him)
Free (I'm telling you, telling you, telling you)
Free (You've got to free, yeah, yeah)
Free (You've got to free, yeah, yeah)
Free (I'm telling you, telling you, telling you)
Free (Begging you, begging you please)
Free (I'm telling you, you've got to free, yeah
Free (you've got to free)
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Thanks to Nelson Mandela for his positive role modeling & his life work. Thanks to Jerry Dammers for composing this song and thanks to the members of Special AKA for performing this song. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
This post is Part I of a series that showcases songs about South African activist, humanitarian, and former President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
This post showcases two performances of Hugh Masekela's "Bring Him Home" (also known as "Bring Back Nelson Mandela"). English lyrics to that song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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SHOWCASE SONG
Example #1: Bring Him Back Home
axavild, Uploaded on Apr 15, 2009
A concert recorded live in Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa in 1987...
Paul Simon - Graceland (The African Concert )
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Example #2: Bring Back Nelson Mandela (Bring Him Home)
pounjabbi, Published on May 14, 2012
In 1987, Masekela released a tribute to Nelson Mandela even though the mere mention of the name 'Mandela' meant the song would be banned in his home country.
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LYRICS - BRING HIM HOME (BRING BACK NELSON MANDELA)
(Hugh Maskela)
Bring back Nelson Mandela,
Bring him back home to Soweto
I want to see him walking down the streets of South Africa Tomorrow!
Bring back Nelson Mandela,
Bring him back home to Soweto
I want to see him walking hand in hand with Winnie Mandela.
[instrumental]
-snip-
I don't know what the Xhosa [?] phrases are in this song.
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Thanks to Nelson Mandela for his positive role modeling & his life work. Thanks to the South African musician, vocalist Hugh Masekela for composing this song and thanks to Hugh Masekela & the other performers who are featured in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
