So we come a long way from the chains and the cane fields
A long way from the back o' the bus
Shoulda brought along a little map for the travelling
Seems we've come a long way from us
Squander our money waiting on reparation,
never make plans for retirement day
Who's to be blamed for our lack of preparation now we done spent every dime of our pay
On big pimping, flossing every dollar
we've got on the much less fortunate
Small thinking got us bound tighter
than the chains that we try to forget
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?
So we've come a long way from picking cotton, many never thought they'd live to see the day when bush pick rice But if all you've become is another house n**** baby tell me was it worth all the sacrifice
Get outa my way while i climb to the top now but be sure to catch me if i fall from grace
Cause heaven forbid
if what i chase should reject me
You know i'm gonna need a warm black embrace
We used to stack guns, prepare for revolution
Was the only way of getting wrong put right
Now we think all our problems
can be solved with shooting
And we've forgot why we started to fight
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?
So we belittle we bredda so we can seem bigger
Now we so d*** proud fi call we self n****
And being a bad man is good thing
Now being a good man is a bad thing
So it's rich or poor, black or white
Sit and be trampled or get up and fight
After so many years it's still hard to adjust
Even when the front is empty we still move to the back of the bus
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?
A long way from the back o' the bus
Shoulda brought along a little map for the travelling
Seems we've come a long way from us
Squander our money waiting on reparation,
never make plans for retirement day
Who's to be blamed for our lack of preparation now we done spent every dime of our pay
On big pimping, flossing every dollar
we've got on the much less fortunate
Small thinking got us bound tighter
than the chains that we try to forget
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?
So we've come a long way from picking cotton, many never thought they'd live to see the day when bush pick rice But if all you've become is another house n**** baby tell me was it worth all the sacrifice
Get outa my way while i climb to the top now but be sure to catch me if i fall from grace
Cause heaven forbid
if what i chase should reject me
You know i'm gonna need a warm black embrace
We used to stack guns, prepare for revolution
Was the only way of getting wrong put right
Now we think all our problems
can be solved with shooting
And we've forgot why we started to fight
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?
So we belittle we bredda so we can seem bigger
Now we so d*** proud fi call we self n****
And being a bad man is good thing
Now being a good man is a bad thing
So it's rich or poor, black or white
Sit and be trampled or get up and fight
After so many years it's still hard to adjust
Even when the front is empty we still move to the back of the bus
refrain:
Tell me now malcom, do we hurt you pride?
Can you hear me now rosa,
was it worth the ride?
Can you see me now marcus
we're still not unified, no we're not
So tell me now martin, is this why you died?