Panther Power
Tupac:
As real as it seems the american dream
Aint nuthin but anotha calculated scheme
To keep us locked up and shot up and back in chains
To deny us our future rob our name
Kept our history a mystery but now I see
The american dream wasnt meant for me
cause lady libertys a hypocrite she lied to me
Promised freedom education and ecuality
Never gave be nuthin but slavery
But now look at how dangerous you made me
Callin me a man cause Im strong and bold
With this gumbo of knowledge of the lies you told
Promised me emancipation and a free nation
All you ever gave my people was starvation
The father of our country never cared for me
They kept our ancestors shacked up in slavery
Uncle sam neva did a damm thing for me
Exept lie about the facts in my history
Now Im sittin here mad cause Im unemployed
But the government mad cause they enjoy
When my people are down they just screw us around
Time to change the government now
Panther power
Ray:
Panther powr from the place that resides within
Go to for to with a panther and you just cant win
Self proclaimed best supress the rest
The rich get richer and the poor take less
The american dream was the american nightmare
You kept my people down and refused to fight fair
The ku klux klan tried to keep us out
With signs that state no blacks allowed
With intimidation and segregation
Once would wait for our freedom
But now were impatient
Blacks they others they yell sell out
Freedom equality get out yell out
Dont eva be ashamed of what you are
Its your panther power that makes you a star
Panther power
Tupac:
My mother neva let me forget my history
Hopin that I would set free cahins that were put on me
Wanted to be more than just free
Had to know tha true facts about my history
I couldnt settle for bein a statistic
Couldnt survive in this capitalistic government
cause it was meant to hold us back with ignorance
Drugs and sneak attacks in my community
They killed our unity
But when I charged them they cried immunity
I strike america like a case of heart disease
Panther power is runnin through my arteries
Try to stop me homeboy youll get clawed to death
cause Ill be fightin for my freedom till my dyin breath
Ray:
Do you remember thats what Im askin you
You think youre livin free dont make me laugh at you
Open your eyes realise youve been locked in chains
Said you wasnt civilized and stole your name
cause some time has passed we seem to all firget
Theres no liberty for me and you we aint free yet
Panther power
song performed by by 2 Pac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
5. The Beast
I remember my dad’s big Black Panther
As he kicked it went off with a roar
I remember him saying it’s a strong un
It’s pulling hard asking for more
I remember the sound from a distance
You could tell he was there by the throb
I remember its speed in an instant
From a dot to a great big black blob
I remember him trying to tame it
And the first day he sat on its back
I remember mum looking uneasy
When he said he would just need the knack
I remember the beast being thirsty
Many gallons we all saw it drink
I remember the back of this monster
It gave off a gassy black stink
I remember the awesome black power
Put dad off the road in a dyke
I remember he smiled as he polished
Black Panther one hell of a bike
poem by David Threadgold (2008)
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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History In The Making
history was in the making on this very day
where Barack Obama became the 44th president of the u.s.a.
for two years he campaigned across this nation of ours
and brought to light, graft and political power.
he brought to light that it was 'time for change'
and this country will never be the same.
he tore down the walls of discrimination
and oppression in this land
and told america it was time to take a stand.
he showed the people that freedom can ring
and made this nation stand up and sing.
no other inauguration in the history of man
could compare to this in our promised land.
the world had been watching every move we make
of that there is no mistake.
and the only thing that this world could see
'was abe lincoln sitting in his chair'
happy faces every where.
the dreams of simple men this day came to life
when the first black president
stood there with his wife.
Lincoln, Kennedy, King, to name just a few
have finally gotten to see their dreams come true.
equality is what we sought
and for equality is what we fought.
this was the dream of this nation
this dream is our salvation
so america we stand with pride
for in this land freedom rides.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Can You See the Pride in the Panther
Can You See the Pride In the Panther
As he grows in splendor and grace
Topling obstacles placed in the way,
of the progression of his race.
Can You See the Pride In the Panther
as she nurtures her young all alone
The seed must grow regardless
of the fact that it is planted in stone.
Can You See the Pride In the Panthers
as they unify as one.
The flower blooms with brilliance,
and outshines the rays of the sun.
poem by Tupac Shakur
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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We Are Told
We are told that we have got freedom yet not freedom to do as we like
There are places we are not allowed to walk in or where we cannot ride a push bike
Which means that our freedom is so called since we cannot even walk where we please
Ours is such a limited freedom we are not as free as a breeze.
Without a passport we cannot travel to another Country and that is for a limited time
And if we overstay our visa that is a deportable crime
By the Immigration Department of Government by a Government not blessed with a soul
There is a name for such a practice 'tis known as population control.
Young men in wars fought and died for freedom but was it for freedom they died?
When their Government leader told them they were fighting for freedom to the young and naive troops he lied
They fought for the glory of their leader and risked their lives on a foreign shore
They were used as pawns in a deadly power game just that sad to say nothing more.
We are told that we have got freedom though we have to be careful with the words we say
And if our speech on it has got restrictions then what is freedom anyway?
Young men fought and even died for freedom at least that's what we are made to believe
By so called patriotic politicians people who are known to deceive.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Black Days Of History
(10/25/12)
The black days of history that many do not know
And many refuse to accept - of how the black man
Helped AMERICA to be the greatest country yet.
They was brought here as slaves because the
Color of their skin!
But their minds was never searched to see
What lied within.
Every ethnic group that came to the states
Had many a hardship that they had to face.
Every race that came was given a derogatory name
Which they had to accept and had felt the shame.
But they all contributed to this great nation of ours
Which is now known as the greatest power.
These are just a few facts of what the blacks
Had given to this nation, and many of these
Became part of our salvation.
FACTS :) 1) john love- invented the pencil sharpener in 1897
2) Joseph lee -invented a bread making machine that mixed
The ingredients and kneaded the dough in 1895
3) Thomas l Jennings was the first African American to receive
A patent in 1821 which was for a dry cleaning process.
He used the money earned from his patent to purchase
Relatives out of slavery and support abolitionist causes.
4) madam c.j. walker (1867-1919) daughter of a former slave
Who suffered hair loss in her twenties and created hair care
Products, and allowed her to open a factory and school to
Train hundreds of black women to be economically self sufficient
And become one of the first female millionaires in U.S. history.
There is still something that burns in my heart
And when I think of it -it tears me apart
Of all the people in this great nation
That have been put to the ground
There lies one race that still lives
Way below the poverty line and
The government says there doing fine.
The "AMERICAN INDIAN" who had
Most all treaties broken and of this the
Government hasn't spoken.
Many families of five and more
Living in a shack without a door
Just a blanket to stop the wind
To me this is a crying sin.
The Indian charities having to buy
fifty five gallon drums for water
And many of them on "back order".
I know that I started writing this poem for the blacks
But on the Indian nations - I can't turn my back.
We have to help one another, for we're all
Sister and brother.
GOD BLESS US ALL
© L. RAMS
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Words Of Wisdom
Killing us one by one
In one way or another
American will find a way to eliminate the problem
One by one
The problem is
The troubles in the black youth of the ghettos
And one by one
We are being wiped off the face of this earth
At an extremly alarming rate
And even more alarming is the fact
That we are not fighting back
Brothers, sistas, niggas
When I say niggas it is not the nigga we are grown to fear
It is not the nigga we say as if it has no meaning
But to me
It means never ignorant getting goals acomplishes, nigga
Niggas what are we going to do
Walk blind into a line or fight
Fight and die if we must like niggas
This is for the masses the lower classes
The ones you left out, jobs were givin, better livin
But we were kept out
Made to feel inferior, but were the superior
Break the chains in out brains that made us fear yah
Pledge a legiance to a flag that neglects us
Honour a man that who refuses to respect us
Emmancipation, proclamation, please!
Nigga just said that to save the nation
These are lies that we all accepted
Say no to drugs but the governments keep it
Running through our community, killing the unity
The war on drugs is a war on you and me
And yet they say this is the home of the free
But if you ask me its all about hyprocracy
The constitution, yo, it dont apply to me
Lady liberty still the bitch lied to me
Steady strong nobodys gonna like what I pumpin
But its wrong to keeping someone from learning something
So get up, its time to start nation building
Im fed up, we gotta start teaching childern
That they can be all that they wanna to be
Theres much more to life than just poverty
This is defaintly ahhh words of wisdom
Amerika, amerika, amerikkka
I charge you with the crime of rape, murder, and assault
For suppressing and punishing my people
I charge you with robery for robbing me of my history
I charge you with false imprisonment for keeping me
Trapped in the projects
And the jury finds you guilty on all accounts
And you are to serve the consequences of your evil schemes
Prosecutor do you have any more evidience
Words of wisdom
They shine upon the strength of an nation
Conquer the enemy on with education
Protect thy self, reach with what you wanna do
Know thy self, teach what we been through
On with the knowledge of the place, then
No one will ever oppress this race again
No malcolm x in my history text
Why is that?
Cause he tried to educate and liberate all blacks
Why is martin luther king in my book each week?
He told blacks, if they get smacked, turn the other cheek
I dont get it, so many questions went through my mind
I get sweated, they act as if asking questions is a crime
But forget it, one day Im gonna prove them wrong
Now every brother had to smother on the welfare line
The american dream, though it seems it attainable
Theyre pulling your sleave, dont believe
Cause it will strangle yah
Pulling the life of your brain, I cant explain
Beg as you can obtain from which you came
Swear that your mother is living in equality
Forgeting your brother thats living her apology
Thought they had us beat when they took our kids
But the battle aint over till the black man sings
Words of wisdom
But the battle aint over till the black man sings
Words of wisdom
Nightmare thats what I am
Americas nightmare
I am what you made me
The hate and evil that you gave me
I shine of a reminder of what you have done to my people
For four hundred plus years
You should be scared
You should be running
You should be trying to silence me
Ha ha
But you can not escape fate
Well it is my turn to come
Just as you rose you shall fall
By my hands
Amerika, you reap what you sow
2pacalypse americas nightmare
Ice cube and da lench mob americas nightmare
Above the law americas nightmare
Paris americas nightmare
Public enemy americas nightmare
Krs-one americas nightmare
Mutulu shakur americas nightmare
Geronimo pratt americas nightmare
Assada shakur americas nightmare
song performed by by 2 Pac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Power To Me
Power to me
As I claim my people’s history
Black week I declare
As I stand under the Mopani tree
My people are free
But their minds are chained
Stained memories of freedom less days sustained
In the deep realms of their long lasting sorrow
For their systematic suffering was cold, like lady liberty with no clothes
What a travesty
Hold steady my people for with this newfound power, I am ready
To unleash your mental power, that has been lying dormant for many centuries
So, enter my name in the annals of history
As I precipitate this redemption
For like most redeemers
My time has come to deliver
I’ve been cast forth from the highest precipe
And I possess power like fireballs that destroyed Sodom and Gomorra
I spit forth such prophetic and truthful awakenings
My people follow as sure as the full stop at this sentence.
poem by Tebogo Errol Hlahla
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Power To The People
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Say you want a revolution
We better get on right away
Well you get on your feet
And out on the street
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
A million workers working for nothing
You better give em what they really own
We got to put you down
When we come into town
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
I gotta ask you comrades and brothers
How do you treat you own woman back home
She got to be herself
So she can free herself
Singing power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Now, now, now, now
Oh well, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Yeah, power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people
Power to the people, right on
song performed by by Lennon John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Southern Heroes
One day the South will recognize its real heroes,
Martin Luther King Jr wrote a letter to white men from jail,
Who would rather that the courts settle racial segregation,
Where white judges make sure that they don't prevail.
After years of always hearing the word 'wait',
Which almost always meant never instead,
The bomb that exploded a church filled with children,
All for not being what the white men considered 'purebred'.
One day, the South will have to see the real heroes,
Like the man fresh from war when he took a bus to go home
Corporal Roman Duckworth Jr went to see his sick wife,
Killed because they thought he was a freedom rider who didn’t drone.
A full measure of truth and justice,
Is what they wanted to figure out
So many heroes like Dahmer killed,
Who gave a job to any colour without any doubt.
And what about Mrs Viola Liuzzo?
The amazing woman who was transporting
Those who needed a ride between marches,
Shot for being someone supporting.
Both sides had many supporters
But if the Klan was so good and so great,
And all the blacks wanted was to vote,
Why did they feel the need to retaliate?
They killed innocent kids,
Destroyed families aplenty,
They chose to make examples
Of many more then twenty.
But what good is a group,
Who only live to make the world 'pure',
What's the point of having someone
Who explains how to kill in a brochure.
Would you listen to the men
Who shot Reverend George Lee,
The man who convinced people to vote,
The man whose face became debris.
So why, why did they listen?
To the crazy power hungry Klan,
Turning their backs on the cries
Voiced by blacks when hurt by the white man.
Will one day the South learn of the true heroes?
One day, will they respect and honour the truth?
Will there be justice and peace for the restless souls
Plenty of whom were killed in the bloom of youth.
The true heroes are not the ones still standing,
But the ones who died for their beliefs,
The ones who stood tall like the hat of the KKK,
And didn’t back down from the life-taking sneak thieves.
The leader of the bunch was quite a man of speech,
Dr Martin Luther King Jr had a dream,
With his powerful voice he shared that dream
Let freedom ring, let them scream!
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
A/N: This was for my Writer's Craft final project. I did it on the Civil Rights Movement, against the KKK. Now, it was supposed to be a ballad, but I wanted more of a truthful thing, so I changed it from your typical ballad, and now it's sort of a free verse ballad.
Please review or message me, I'd love to know what you think about this.
Thanks,
Dani
poem by Danielle Schneider
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Set Me Free
There aint no reason why you let me wait
Just give me up and I will go
Lets set it straight
Got a right to who I am
And if I dont fit your plan then set me free
But you refuse to set me free
And you deny me of my needs
You have me under lock and key
Just set me free just set me free
You never cared for what I had to say
Its just because you got to have it all your way
Well I aint no superman
If thats what you demand then set me free
Couldnt you please just set me free
You get your fun just hurting me
If this is how its going to be
Just set me free just set me free
Now I deserve to be as mad as hell because
I just dont get it
I place myself in your hands to fall
But Im not quitting (no)
Feels like the time we spent was going to waste
Sooner or later its goodbye were gonna say
cause you just dont give a damn
So go find some other man and set me free
Just dont refuse to set me free
You cant deny me of my needs
Just turn your head to hear my plea
Just set me free just set me free
Couldnt you please just set me free
You get your fun just hurting me
If this is how its going to be
Just set me free just set me free
song performed by by Utopia
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our Constitution’s Birthday
Our Constitution’s Birthday
(September 17,2008)
In the year, Seventeen eighty-seven
Those thirty-nine, changed our History
They signed that piece of parchment
The Laws of, the Land of the Free.
In more than two hundred twenty years
It has gone through a few changes
That’s not, an easy thing to get done
For, all of our lives, it rearranges.
The First through Tenth Amendments
Are known as our Bill of Rights
And many times, they were in danger
But, the People, usually won those fights.
Sometimes, those people in power
Try to change them, for their gain
Sometimes they will just ignore them
Like we’ve seen, time and again.
They are our only, real protection
With a high and terrible price to pay
If we don’t keep fighting for them
There’s some, would take them all away.
Other Amendments, Thirteen and Fifteen
Abolished Racial Suffrage and Slavery
Supposed to give promised Rights
To all of those promised, Liberty.
The Sixteenth, allowed for Income Tax
And as we know, it has many a flaw
Some say, that it was never Ratified
That, it was never made, a Legal Law.
The Eighteenth, Prohibition of Alcohol
Which was, another legal blunder
With organized crime borne of it
And, the Rule of Law torn, asunder.
The Nineteenth, said Women could Vote
After a very long, contentious fight
Just look at what those Ladies have done
Since, they got their, American Right.
Then, a Repeal of Prohibition
Came with the Twenty-first
In most places, booze flowed freely
To quench America’s, hearty thirst.
The Twenty-second said, Two Terms
Was, all a President could serve
But, as we know, for some, one
Was one more, than they deserved.
The Twenty-sixth said we could Vote
When reaching Eighteen years of age
Since they could fight and die for us
Every time, we had a War to wage.
Those great words of our Constitution
Have served our Country long, and well
Will they withstand the test of time
Or will History show, our Nation, fell?
If we don’t protect them with our life
If we bow to those powers that, be
If we let them twist those words around
One sad day, we’ll be no longer, Free.
We can’t let our precious Bill of Rights
Fail, to protect us all, as they must do
We can’t let one man, or group of men
Twist them into something, they construe.
Though, our Constitution is not perfect
Our Founding Fathers knew, this so
And, “In God We Trust”, is not enough
Our Freedom depends, on where, we go.
We must each, defend those Freedoms
From outside foes, and those, within
It’s, We, the People, wield the power
To lose this battle, which, we must, win.
So, On this Constitution Day
Let’s each, pay the price we owe
To uphold those words of Wisdom
Penned upon that parchment, long ago.
Del “Abe” Jones
09.16.2008
Freedom Dance (Get Free!)
When its time to get up youre gonna know it
You gonna get a feeling inside, you gotta show it
Come on relax and put your mind at ease
And forget all your insecurities
You gotta move, nothing can hold you down
And let nothing turn your move around
You start counting up 1-2-3
Come on people just get free
Get free
In the midst of a trouble love
Get free
Gotta find you another one
Get up - come on people just get free
Theres a chance if you open up
Get free
Freedom dance if you open up
Freedom - come on people just
Youve been holding back to long
Now the feeling is much to strong
Take a look at the other side of your heart
And begin to tear the rules apart
No your momma cant help you now
And your daddy cant show you how
You gotta do it all by yourself
And if you need it heres a little help
Get free
In the midst of a trouble love
Get free
Gotta find you another one
Get up - come on people just get free
Theres a chance if you open up
Get free
Freedom dance if you open up
Freedom - come on people just
People listen to me
You dont have to worry - naw, naw
Just get up when youre down
And the whole world around
Will be a better place for me and for you - oh
We got to tell one another
Tell your sister and your brother that
If the world isnt as free like the world ought to be
That the world would be the sight to see
Written by jones/stewart
song performed by by Vanessa Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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America Is
America is
America is
America is
America is
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
American dream so f-f-full of it
Look at the indians
Look at the blacks
Look at the figures
Look at the facts
Check out the facts
The facts not the lies
When you find out
Big surprise
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
American dream so f-f-full of it
Check out the indians
Check out the blacks
Check out the figures
Check out the facts
Check out some facts
Check out the facts not the lies
When you find out
Its a big surprise right between the eyes
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
America is the home of the hypocrite
American dream so f-f-full of it
American dream is only a dream
No desperation limit
New desperation level
Even though my nose dont work
I smell trouble I smell trouble
No desperation limit
New desperation level
Murder, mureder in the goverment
Say youre sorry
Say youre sorry
No desperation limit
New desperation level
Turn the key
Turn the lock
Nationalism
You can suck my..
No desperation limit
New desperation level
Watch the worls progressin
Everywhere
Aggresion, aggresion
Aggresion, aggresion
Aggresion, aggresion
Gordon gano: vocal, guitar
Brian ritchie: bass, vocal
Victor delorenzo: drums, vocal
Recoded by dave nietzke at midwest records, milwaukee
Mixed by david vartanian at dvs perversion room, milwaukee
*previously unreleased
gorno music reprinted with permission
song performed by by Violent Femmes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Free!
free!
free to be hungry!
free to be homeless!
free to be underpaid!
or worse, free to be unemployed.
free to be sick without care!
free to be the object of racial prejudice.
free to be oppressed by the 'haves'!
free to be subjugated to unholy wars!
free to be lied to!
free to be used!
free to be American!
free!
'freedom's just another word
for nothing left to lose! '
kris kristofferson
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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America s Strength (series #2)
As a youngster I began to wonder “ how this great nation came to be”.
People from all over the world looking for a new life to escape tyranny.
This became AMERICAS history.
Then we had our civil war and we fought as state to state.
We all became UNITED and that made this nation great.
So we put the two together and the UNITED STATES was formed.
Little did we know- that this would be the “ norm”.
Look around you, and you will see
Every ethnic group, that’s how we came to be.
AMERICA is not just a country, but a land
Where the bell of freedom rings
And from every country, its people it will bring.
AMERICA is a dream- a vision, a quest- if you must
But in this great nation we put all our trust.
So give us your humble, your poor, your weak
If freedom is what they seek.
This is what made this nation, and gave dreams to all mankind
For we will fight for this country, our lives we’ll put on the line.
We will get stronger, and you will weaken and die
For you can not break our spirit, no matter how you try.
“ now many will say I’m a dreamer”
But that’s how this world came to be
Every small dream has become a reality.
We wanted to hide the pictures and videos
From our children of what you had done.
Because we had felt that they was much to young.
Now we’ve decided to teach and show them about
This cowardly act, and to give them knowledge
And show them all the facts.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Freedom Now
They throwed him in jail
And they kept him there
Hoping soo hed die
That his body and spirit would waste away
And soon after that his mind
But every day is born a fool
One who thinks that he can rule
One who says tomorrows mine
One who wakes one day to find
The prison doors open the shackles broken
And chaos in the street
Everybody sing were free free free free
Everybody sing were free free free free
Everybody sing were free free free free
They throwed him in jail
And they kept him there
Hoping his memoryd die
That the people forget how he once led
And fought for justice in their lives
But every day is born a man
Who hates what he cant understand
Who thinks the answer is to kill
Who thinks his actions are gods will
And he thinks hes free free free free
Yes he thinks hes free free free free
He thinks hes free free free free
Soon must come the day
Whe the righteous have their way
Unjustly tried are free
And people live in peace I say
Give the man release
Go on and set your conscience free
Right the wrongs you made
Even a fool can have his day
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Free our bodies free our minds
Free our hearts
Freedom for everyone
And freedom now
Freedom now
Freedom now
Freedom now
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
song performed by by Tracy Chapman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dont Cry Freedom
How long before we see we have broken those chains,
.(? )...just like the bird that sings it in the dream baby we are born free,
Oh now, I want you to know now we are in charge of our own destiny,
Freedom is only but a state of mind, youve got to leave them shackles behind.
Dont you cry freedom, exercise your freedom,
Dont cry freedom, exercise your freedom,
Dont cry freedom, its a state of mind,
Oh..ooooh..cry..dont cry, dont cry...well well, well.
Freedom is only but a state of mind, youve got to leave them shackles behind.
Yeah, yeah,
Some of us get to dance on a dream,
Every day we pray to that which we cannot see,
Why is it so, so difficult to love that which we see?
Love for you and me.
Tell me now, do you like what you see?
Are those images forced upon us, reflections of you and me,
Dont you let them play upon your mind, youve got to leave them shackles behind.
.(? ).i want you to know that, we are each other our own destiny,
Just like the bird that sings within the dreams, baby you are born free,
Oh yeah, every night oh now,
Dont you cry freedom, freedom, dont cry, dont cry oh now, freedom,
Dont you cry freedom, exercise your freedom its a state of.., dont cry freedom,
Just like the bird that sings within the dream baby you are born free.
song performed by by Grace Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let America be America Again
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
poem by Langston Hughes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Words of liberation for my nation
Chains of slavery are still over my people.
Notorious minds still over power innocent minds.
What can free the black child, what can free my nation?
I ask in pain and suffering in the dark jail cells,
What can free me from mental slavery?
How to know right from wrong?
How to think free and build a free society?
The solution is in the words of liberation, the words of wisdom.
I write and recite a revolution, my revolution my poetry.
I do n’t need praises or worship but only recognition and understanding of the people to words of liberation, understanding of poetry.
I stand before you to present poetry,
I stand before you to present the words of liberation to my nation.
Poetry that builds, poetry that destroys.
Poetry that destroyed the impious minds of colonists in Rhodesia.
I speak of poetry that built freedom in South Africa.
When I speak of poetry I mean the true meaning of words.
Words of wisdom,
Words of freedom,
Words of liberation,
Words to free my nation.
The words of liberation to my nation
Words of liberation to free my generation
Poetry-poetry-poetry-poetry-poetry.
poem by zimi Nakeni
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Question Like
I have always hated the cage
It is darkest period of an age
How come one is imprisoned?
In solitary cell and confined
I find no answer
May be with fewer
How do you feel rain shower?
Do you ever realize its power?
In open and under sky
Any time venture out and try
Freedom, freedom you cry!
Birds with wings may elate and fly
Freedom is dear to all
Respect it with lovely call
Honor and see it is not compromised
Allow them to live as promised
I am for liberty and peace
Peaceful life to be spent at ease
No worry for being questioned
Liberty and freedom is not to be mentioned
Even release of tiny insect may give me joy
Is it not the real chance to look at and enjoy?
We are born free and must think on those lines
Everybody has to right to feel free and fine
If at all it is possible for me
I shall confine none and make them free
If freedom is desired by me and liked
Why at all it must stand disliked?
Let one day come for all to celebrate?
Enjoy under open sky and liberate
Shun the bondage and life under yoke
It is not the bad question but cruel joke
Liberate all those animals even
Let them be passionately driven
If I prefer tension free life under sky
Mind should not fight lots of questions like why
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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