Gil Scott-Heron - The Prisoner lyrics

Here I am, after so many years
Hounded by hatred and trapped by fear
I'm in a box i've got no place to go
If I follow my mind
I know I'll slaughter my own
Help me, I'm the prisoner
Won't you hear my plea?
I need somebody, yeah, to listen to me
I beg you, brothers and sisters
I'm counting on you, yeah

Black babies in the womb
Are shackled and bound
Chained by the caveman who keeps beauty down
Smacked on the ass when
They're squalling and wet
Heir to a spineless man who never forgets
Never forgets that he's a prisoner
Can't you hear my plea?
‘Cause I need somebody, Lord knows
To listen to me
I'm a stranger to my son who
Wonders why his daddy runs, yeah

On my way to work in the morning
When I don't give a damn
Can't nobody, can’t nobody, can’t nobody
Can’t nobody see just who in hell I am
Hemmed in by a suit yes
All choked up in a tie
Ain't no wonder sometimes, near morning
I hear my woman cry
She knows her man is a prisoner
Won't you hear my plea?
Yeah, ‘cause I need somebody, woah
To listen to me my woman, she don't say
But she hates to see her
Man chained this way yeah
Help me, I'm the prisoner
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the prisoner