Gil Scott-Heron - Message To The Messengers lyrics

Hey, yeah
We the same brothas from a long time ago
We was talkin' about television and
Doin' it on the radio what we did was to
Help our generation realize
They got to get busy cause
It wasn't gonna be televised
We got respect for young rappers
And the way they're freewayin'
But if you're gonna be
Teachin' folks things
Make sure you know what you're saying
Older folks in our neighborhood
Got plenty of know-how
Remember, if it wasn't for them
You wouldn't be out here now

And I ain't comin' at
You with no disrespect
All I'm sayin' is that you damn
Well got to be correct
Because if you're gonna be speaking
For a whole generation
And you know enough to handle their education
Be sure you know the real
Deal about past situations
And ain't just repeating what you heard
On a local TV station
Sometimes they tell lies and put
Them in a truthful disguise
But the truth is
That's why we said it wouldn't be televised
They don't know what to say
To our young folks but they know that you do
And if they really knew the truth
Why would they tell you?
The first sign is peace
Tell all them gun totin' young brothers
That the man is glad to see
Us out there killin' one another
We raised too much hell when
They were shootin' us down
So they started poisoning our minds tryin'
To jerk us all around
And they tell us they got to
Come in and control our situation
They want half of us on dope
And the other half in incarceration
If the ones they want dead ain't
Killed by what they instigated
They put some dope on a brother's
Body and claim it was drug-related
Tell 'em "drug-related" means there don't
Need to be no investigation
Or at least that's the way they're gonna
Play it on the local TV station
All your nine-millimeter brothas
Give them somethin' to think about
Tell them you heard that this is the new word
They got to work that stuff out
Somehow they're feelin' in the wrong way
With a gun in their hands
They're feelin' real independent
But they're just pulling contracts
For the man five in five will tell you it's
Hopeless out there on the avenue
But if they really knew the truth
Why would they tell you?
And if they look at you like you're insane
And they start callin' you scarecrow and
Say you ain't got no brain
Or start tellin' folks that
You suddenly gone lame
Or that white folks had
Finally co-opted your game
Or worse yet implying that
You don't really know
That's the same thing they said about
Us a long time ago young rappers
One more suggestion before I get
Out of your way
But I appreciate the respect you give me
And what you got to say
I'm sayin' protect your community and
Spread that respect around
Tell brothas and sisters they gotta
Calm that bullshit down
Cause we're terrorizin' our old folks and
Brought fear into our homes
And they ain't got to hang
Out with the senior citizens
Just tell 'em, dammit
Leave the old folks alone
And we know who rippin' off the neighborhood
Tell 'em, that BS has got to stop
Tell 'em you're sorry they can't
Handle it out there
But they got to take the crime off the block
And if they look at you like you're insane
And they start callin' you scarecrow
Thinkin' you ain't got no brain
Or start tellin' folks that
You suddenly gone lame
Or that white folks had
Finally co-opted your game or worse yet
Saying that you really don't know
That's the same thing they said about
Me a long time ago
And if they tell folks that
You finally lost your nerve
That's the same thing they said about
Us when we said Johannesburg
But I think you young folks need to
Know things don't go both ways
You can't talk respect of every other
Song or just every other day
What I'm speakin' on now is the
Raps about the women folks
On one song she's your African Queen
On the next one she's a joke
And you ain't said no words
That I haven't heard
But that ain't no compliment
It only insults 8 people out of
10 and questions your intelligence
Four letter words or four-syllable words
Won't make you a poet
It will only magnify how shallow you
Are and let everybody know it
And if they look at you
Like they think you insane
Or they call you scarecrow
Thinkin' you ain't got no brain
Or start tellin' folks that
You suddenly gone lame
Or that white folks have
Finally co-opted your game
Or you really don't know
They said that about me a long time ago
If they finally start to tell people
That you lost your nerve
That's what they said about Johannesburg
You ain't insane you have got a brain
You haven't gone lame
You have got your game
Remember, keep the nerve
Keep the nerve Keep the nerve
We're talkin' 'bout peace