SHiKi / GAMii, Matthew Butera - fading2PRPL" lyrics
[SHiKi / GAMii, Matthew Butera - fading2PRPL" lyrics]
I'll tell you my story
I'll say that I had a gambling problem
You see i bet my happiness on the integrity
Of my neighbors
And sometime after Philando's hashtag but
Before my own, i lost not just my smile
But my love of music as well
Every song America sang had a new
Lyric to the same old beat
And after while I got tired of being angry
At a broken record for being scratched
I'll tell you my story
I'll say that I knew how
Dismal my future looked but, I also knew
That there was more to being black than this
That after the pain came a pride so
Grand that racism it'self couldn't shame
I knew that I was supposed
To smile through the struggle
Because my parents did it
My grandparents did it my ancestors did it
Because we are God's children
Created in His image
I knew that I was supposed
To embrace my ageless skin my endless curls
My beautiful heritage and my powerful voice
I knew that it should not have
Been a crime to be black
Bridge: Matthew Butera you said it’d be fine
You said that you would defend me
Then took my life
Now I ain’t more than a memory
I can’t be a memory promise you’ll remember
No I can’t be a memory
But, I also knew where I lived
I knew that having white friends
Wouldn't be enough for me
I knew that being well
Known and respected throughout
My community wouldn't be enough for me
I knew that my time as a young
African-American male
Could only be borrowed for so long
Before the system wanted it's money back
Just as I knew that the red pill you
Took today would fade into purple tomorrow
And you'd remember me as nothing more
Than a horror story black parents tell their
Children to ensure they're home before curfew
A chess piece politicians manipulate to
Win them their elections
And a hashtag slam poets use
To get their points across
I'll say that I had a gambling problem
You see i bet my happiness on the integrity
Of my neighbors
And sometime after Philando's hashtag but
Before my own, i lost not just my smile
But my love of music as well
Every song America sang had a new
Lyric to the same old beat
And after while I got tired of being angry
At a broken record for being scratched
I'll tell you my story
I'll say that I knew how
Dismal my future looked but, I also knew
That there was more to being black than this
That after the pain came a pride so
Grand that racism it'self couldn't shame
I knew that I was supposed
To smile through the struggle
Because my parents did it
My grandparents did it my ancestors did it
Because we are God's children
Created in His image
I knew that I was supposed
To embrace my ageless skin my endless curls
My beautiful heritage and my powerful voice
I knew that it should not have
Been a crime to be black
Bridge: Matthew Butera you said it’d be fine
You said that you would defend me
Then took my life
Now I ain’t more than a memory
I can’t be a memory promise you’ll remember
No I can’t be a memory
But, I also knew where I lived
I knew that having white friends
Wouldn't be enough for me
I knew that being well
Known and respected throughout
My community wouldn't be enough for me
I knew that my time as a young
African-American male
Could only be borrowed for so long
Before the system wanted it's money back
Just as I knew that the red pill you
Took today would fade into purple tomorrow
And you'd remember me as nothing more
Than a horror story black parents tell their
Children to ensure they're home before curfew
A chess piece politicians manipulate to
Win them their elections
And a hashtag slam poets use
To get their points across