Bullet in the Chamber

See I’ve been homeless, hungry as hell, straight starving
Hitchhikin’ cross country from Hayward to Harlem
Been broke as a joke and livin on handouts
So I try to give money to folks with they hands out
Makin plans for the future, hopin it pans out
Staying focused on the flow making sho’ that it stands out
But I’m runnin out of options feelin locked in a cage
I can’t afford college, and minimum wage
Pays nowhere near enough to cover my bills
got no healthcare, can’t afford to get ill
drowning in debt, tryna cope with this stress
an ‘I’m feelin like strappin on a bullet-proof vest
been a revolutionary since the age of sixteen
but I’m still getting caught in the bosses machine
ya’ll the systems obscene, tryna change the scene
fricassee cop shops like they were sizzlean
to the oppressor: hatred, rage, rebellion
to my people: stand solid, hug your children, tell them
you will fight by any means to win them freedom
and keep a bullet in the chamber for your boss when you see him…

So all my soldiers in the place, put your guns in the air
And raise up ya fists if ya really do care
If your sick of a world where nothing is fair
And you can’t drink the water or breathe in the air
If your sick of watchin children get beat by the cops
Seein’ friends get harassed ‘cuz they’re sporting dreadlocks
If you’re the type of motherfucker that’s known to take shots
Not at bars but at cars parked at donut shops
rip shots in the air, explode like gunpowder
TV’s drownin’ me out so I got to get louder
Spit ballistics on the mic, it’s time to detonate
Fuck the WTO, IMF, and G8
People movin by the millions, billions of lives
Are hanging by a thread, we’ve got to realize
That this system aint working, it’s bringing extinction
unless you fight back you’re ass is dead where your standin…
to the oppressor: hatred, rage, rebellion
to my people: stand solid, hug your children, tell them
you will fight by any means to win them freedom
and keep a bullet in the chamber for your boss when you see him…

I rip shots for my people in Palestine
I know unless ya’ll get yours I’m never gonna get mine
Pay my respects to my elders, the four directions
We need self-determination for indigenous nations
Africans, Aborigines, Gypsies, Basque
poor people everywhere the whole working class
we need unity of purpose, no more race divisions
all our peoples need freedom from the lies that we’re livin;
‘s time free Puerto Rico and the Philippines
from the imperial American colonial machine
screamin Viva Zapata! y viva Zapatistas!
keep a place in my heart for all o’ my Mechistas
and to all my Celtic people, from Ireland to Australia
we’re still far from free ya’ll, so fuck what they tell ya
and (did I mention?) fuck the Vatican, I’m a Pagan Bard
a full-blooded warrior, I don’t have to play hard.
to the oppressor: hatred, rage, rebellion
to my people: stand solid, hug your children, tell them
you will fight by any means to win them freedom
and keep a bullet in the chamber for your boss when you see him…

I was a pacifist for years, tryna keep shit peaceful
But I finally realized that this systems just evil
They’ll consume the whole world ‘till nothing is left
And your stupid if you think we could reform it to death
Even Gandhi said he’d rather be violent then a coward
So I make moves on the mic to try and push people forward
To the final confrontation ‘tween the have and have-nots
meet you at the barricades, meanwhile I’m takin pot shots
at unelected officials tryna rule the world
I wrote this right here for all the little boys and girls
Who wanna grow up free, live their lives to the fullest
And not have to run scared from a riot cops bullet
I want heaven right here, it’ll never come from above
So every revolutionary act is an act of love
Cuz the children are our future, the whole reason we’re livin
So I’ll fight to the death to preserve the world they live in
to the oppressor: hatred, rage, rebellion
to my people: stand solid, hug your children, tell them
you will fight by any means to win them freedom
and keep a bullet in the chamber for your boss when you see him…

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This song and others can be downloaded from CircleAlpha.com

Written by: Emcee Lynx
26 May 2004