Music
Listening Non-assignment
Many genres of music give
voice to people’s demands for freedom.
In the southern
This is a “non-assignment” because it is not going to be marked. Enjoy it. I encourage you to think about music that you could bring into the classroom to share with your classmates. If you want to do so you should bring the disk and the lyrics printed up and be prepared to explain how the words relate to the theme of freedoms.
Songs to be played are:
Get
up, Stand up! (a simple but effective call to fight for freedom)
Equal
Rights (the musical equivalent of the chant made famous during the
Legalize
It and Bush Doctor (both call for the
legalization of marijuana, an important part of the rastifarian
religion/movement. Consider the
freedoms that are sacrificed in the name of fighting drug use which are mentioned
in the songs.)
You can find the lyrics
below. Other reggae lyrics are
available online at:
(check out the lyrics of
“Stepping Razor” which has enough slang to make it completely
incomprehensible. Why might this be?)
Get
Up, Stand Up!
(CHORUS)
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
(2x)
You, preacher man don't tell
me
Heaven is under the earth
I know you don't know
What life is really worth
It's not all that glitter is
gold
And half the story has never
been told
So now we see the light
We gonna stand up for your
rights
Come on
CHORUS
Cause you know most people
think
A Great God will come from the
skies
Take away everything
And left everybody dry
But if you know what life is
worth
Then you would look for yours
on earth
And now you see the light
We gonna stand up for your
rights
CHORUS
We're sick and tired of this
game of technology
Humbly asking Jesus for his
mercy
We know and we know and
understand
Almighty Jah is a living man
You fool some people sometimes
But you can't fool all the
people all the time
And now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our
rights
Equal
Rights
Everyone is crying out for
peace yes
None is crying out for justice
(2x)
I don't want no peace
I need equal rights and
justice(3x)
Got to get it
Equal rights and justice
(CHORUS)
Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to die
Everybody want to go to up to
heaven
But none o them(2x) want to
die
CHORUS
Just give me my share
What is due to Caesar
You better give it on to
Caesar
And what belong to I and I
You better(2x) give it up to I
CHORUS
(I’m fighting for it)
Everyone heading for the top
But tell me how far is it from
the bottom
Nobody knows but
Everybody fighting to reach
the top
How far is it from the bottom
CHORUS
Everyone is talking about
crime
Tell me who are the criminals
I said everybody's talking
about crime, crime
Tell me who, who are the
criminals
I really don't see them
CHORUS
There be no crime
Equal rights and
justice(Precedes each line below)
There be no criminals
Everyone is fighting for
Down in
Down in
Down in
Down in
Right here in
Legalize
It
Legalize it don't criticize it
Legalize it and I will
advertise it
Some call it tampee
Some call it the weed
Some call it Marijuana
Some of them call it Ganja
(Repeat chorus)
Singers smoke it
And players of instruments too
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
That's the best thing you can
do
Doctors smoke it
Nurses smoke it
Judges smoke it
Even the laywers too
(Repeat chorus)
It's good for the flu
It's good for asthma
Good for tuberculosis
Even umara composis
(Repeat chorus)
Birds eat it
And they love it
Fowls eat it
Goats love to play with
it
Warning! The Surgeon General
warns
Cigarette smoking is
dangerous, dangerous
Hazard to your health
Does that mean anything to you
To legalize marijuana
Right here in Jamaica
I’m say it cure glaucoma
I’m another Bush Doctor
So there'll be
No more smokin and feelin
tense
When I see them a come
I don't have to jump no fence
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
Only cure for asthma
I’m another Minister(of the
Herb)
So there'll be no more
Police brutality
No more disrespect
For humanity
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
It can build up your failing economy
Eliminate the slavish
mentality
There'll be no more
Illegal humiliation
And no more police
Interrogation
Legalize marijuana
Down here in sweet Jamaica
Only cure for glaucoma
I’m another Bush Doctor
So there be
No more need to smoke and hide
When you know you're takin
Illegal ride
Legalize marijuana
Down here in Jamaica
It the only cure for glaucoma
I’m another Minister
Here are a few more that we
may listen to if time permits:
The Clash were a British punk band whose second album was chosen by Time magazine as one of the top tens of the 1970s. They were heavily involved in RAR (Rock Against Racism, an organization that fought the rise of the National Front, a neo-nazi political party).
What are we gonna do now?
Taking off his turban, they
said, is this man a Jew?
'Cause they're working for the
clampdown
They put up a poster saying we
earn more than you!
When we're working for the
clampdown
We will teach our twisted
speech
To the young believers
We will train our blue-eyed
men
To be young believers
The judge said five to ten-but
I say double that again
I’m not working for the
clampdown
No man born with a living soul
Can be working for the
clampdown
Kick over the wall 'cause
government's to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour, anger
can be power
D'you know that you can use
it?
The voices in your head are
calling
Stop wasting your time,
there's nothing coming
Only a fool would think
someone could save you
The men at the factory are old
and cunning
You don't owe nothing, so boy
get runnin'
It's the best years of your
life they want to steal
You grow up and you calm down
You're working for the
clampdown
You start wearing the blue and
brown
You're working for the
clampdown
So you got someone to boss
around
It makes you feel big now
You drift until you brutalize
You made your first kill now
In these days of evil
presidentes
Working for the clampdown
But lately one or two has
fully paid their due
For working for the clampdown
But ha! Gitalong! Gitalong!
And I’ve given away no secrets
Who's barmy now?
Lenny Kravitz wrote this song about the conflict between his right to live a life free from discrimination and a cab driver’s apparently greater right not to give him a ride.
Mr. Cab Driver won't you stop
to let me in
Mr. Cab Driver don't you like
my kind of skin
Mr. Cab Driver you're never
gonna win
Mr. Cab Driver won't stop to
pick me up
Mr. Cab Driver I might need
some help
Mr. Cab Driver only thinks
about himself
Mr. Cab Driver
Mr. Cab Driver
Mr. Cab Driver don't like to
way I look
He don't like dreads he thinks
we're all crooks
Mr. Cab Driver reads too many
story books
Mr. Cab Driver pass me up with
eyes of fire
Mr. Cab Driver thinks we're
all 165'ers
Mr. Cab Driver fuck you I’m a
survivor
Let me in
Mr. Cab Driver
Mr. Cab Driver
Mr. Jones has a little problem
if I had eyes I’d see that it was me
he's the size of a man with the potential of a boy
not what god had meant a child of his to be
I’m afraid that he'll amount to all of nothing
the joy of reading Yeats he'll never know
and in the rat race twirl
of our computer guided world
he stands no chance of winning
let alone to place or show so
lock him up and throw away the key boys
Mr. Jones is not like you or me
luck him up tight
cause if he had the chance he might
show us that we're wrong
and that's the one thing we can't be
oh no
Mr. Jones wanted to be married
it seemed like such a cute thing at the time
two
peas in a pod, two of a kind
who never have to ask each other
"what's on your mind?"
it seemed a simple way to make them happy
and happy is such a simple way to be
and if the kept to themselves
like two books upon a shelf
the kind you judge by the cover
and never take the time to read
lock him up and throw away the key boys
Mr. Jones is not like you or me
lock him up tight
cause if he had the chance he might
show us that we're wrong
and that's the one thing we can't be
oh no
Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jones we're elated to inform
you
though you've failed to meet the standards
we've a place where we'll reform you
it's a ways outside of town
but the distance has its uses
close enough to make the effort
far enough to make excuses
lock him up and throw away the key boys
Mr. Jones is not like you or me
lock him up tight
cause if he had the chance he might
show us that we're wrong
and that's the one thing we can't be
oh no
Mrs. Jones
wants to have a baby
she says that as a woman its her right
yes we tried to tell her I guess that she
forgot
when she and Mr. Jones were wed
the doctors tied the knot
why can't she just be happy in her own world
then we could all be happy here in ours
we could still help out
even go as far as to stop off
at the
safeway, and drop some pennies
in the jar
lock her up and throw away the key boys
Mrs. Jones is not like you or me
luck him up tight
cause if she had the chance she might
show us that we're wrong
and that's the one thing we can't be
lock them up and throw away the key boys
the Joneses are not like you or me
luck them up tight
cause if they had the chance they might
show us that we're wrong
and that's the one thing we can't be
oh no