Thievery Corporation, Sitali, Mr. Lif - History lyrics

You got the soul live with it every day
You got the role that everybody gotta play
Break out the rows learn your history
You got the soul live with it every day

First and foremost i'm a black Barbadian man
A Bajan Yankee
Who was born in this American land my role?
Well, I'm the griot blessed with free flow
And a pea coat my callin'
I came to connect with the people
My history is spotty just like yours
I've lied to myself i've broken laws
I've told untruths to others
I love my father and my mother and my brother
You love your family too?
Well, let's consider this our glue
As we're bonded through
This common experience
Don't get distracted by the variants
I'm holding pain here it is:
I can't be black without historic
Systematic oppression
I can't look at a cop without second guessing
These are confessions of the heaviness
& stress I hold daily
But still light on my feet like Alvin Ailey
I'm just a mortal man talking with you
We all cling to the things we hold true
You've got the soul live with it every day
You've got the role and everybody gotta play
Break out the books learn your history
You've got the soul live with it every day

Maybe you heard of Nat Turner
The rebellious slave
He's well known because he misbehaved
Or, rather, he behaved in ways that aligned
With his people's freedom
So, of course, you know
The system needed to delete him
This happened back in 1831
Nowadays I feel our lives are just a living
Breathing issue of the re-run
The Power divide initialized
To never skip a season
Look at the collective consciousness
And what we've become
The punishment for slave rebellion back then
Was to limit education for black
Women and black men
Look at the current costs of education plus
Check out the music on your local station

Mind numbing the times coming
To seize a change
The media will spin the shit to
Make the activists all look deranged
I'm just a mortal man who’s talking with you
We all cling to the things we hold true

You've got the soul live with it every day
You've got the role
And everybody's gotta play
Break out the books learn your history
You've got the soul live with it every day