I visit this song often, and here I am again after the death of George Floyd. Christian Cooper could've met the same fate. The last day or so has been heartbreaking.
These lyrics have been ringing in my head constantly over the past few days. The “I can’t breathe” is heavier now more than ever. #justiceforgeorgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #nojusticenopeace
"Don't minimize the fight comparing apples to cops. This is about the orchard's poisoned roots, not loose fruits in a box. Once the soil's been spoiled the whole crop's corrupt, that's why we need the grass roots working from the ground up."
six years. six years since this song came up. its still happening to this day, infact even worse. im so sorry to all the lives taken from police brutality, blatant racism, ignorance and intolerance of people. and im sorry to the lives taken in the future due to this. keep moving. no justice, no peace. Black Lives Matter.
I loved kimya's songs since I watched Juno as a kid, I used to just enjoy the way the song sounded and was lectured about it by my mother for the lyrics that I didn't even understand until recently. The world is truly broken but I do believe we can fix it, I do have hope, there WILL be a time where you will be ok and I promise that.
this song leaves me speechless and in tears. i want to empower all the beautiful Black voices like this. Grandpa Kimya, thank you for creating such wonderful art.
I really love your style. Black girls kill it wherever genre of music they go into, and it's always good when we flourish creatively. It's especially wonderful when we can use our artistry to spread powerful messages that resonate, and contribute to awareness. You're keeping it real, and staying woke, and I greatly respect that. YOU ROCK GIRL!!! KEEP DOING YOU!!
AT THE SEAMS by Kimya Dawson Left hands hold the leashes and the right hands hold the torches And Grandpas holding shotguns swing on porch swings hung on porches And the Grandmas in their gardens plant more seeds to cut their losses And the poachers with the pooches and the nooses preheat crosses And the pooches see the Grandpas and they bare their teeth and growl While their owners turn their noses up like they smell something foul And they fumble with their crosses and they start to mumble curses And they plot ways to get Grandpas off of porches into hearses But the Grandpas on the porches are just scarecrows holding toys And the Grandmas in the gardens are papier-mâché decoys While the real Grandmas and Grandpas are with all the girls and boys Marching downtown to the City Hall to make a lot of noise Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Sometimes it seams like we've reached the end of the road We've seen cops and judges sleep together wearing long white robes And they put their white hoods up Try to take the black hoods down And they don't plan on stopping til we're all in the ground Til we're dead in the ground or we're incarcerated 'Cause prison's a big business form of enslavement Plantations that profit on black folks in cages They'll break our backs and keep the wages It's outrageous that there's no place we can feel safe in this nation Not in our cars Not at the park Not in subway stations Not at church The pool The store Not asking for help Not walking down the street So we've gotta scream and yell Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams You tweet me my own lyrics Tell me to stop Letting a few bad apples ruin the bunch Don't minimize the fight comparing apples to cops This is about the orchards poisoned roots not loose fruits in a box Once the soils been spoiled the whole crop's corrupt That's why we need the grassroots working from the ground up And we look to Black Twitter to stay woke and get some truth Instead of smiling cops and black mugshots from biased corporate news 'Cause if you steal cigarillos or you sell loose cigarettes Or you forget your turn signal will they see your skin as a threat Will they KILL you And then SMEAR you And COVER IT UP and LIE Will they call it "self defense" Will they call it "suicide" Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Decades of cultivation starts from tiny seeds that were once planted And we mustn't take the gardens that our elders grew for granted Though it is up to our youth how new rows sown are organized Because movements can't keep moving if old and unsharpened eyes Can't see the need to hear what those on the ground hafta say In Ferguson and Cleveland Staten Island The East Bay Charleston Phoenix Detroit Sanford Waller Seattle Chicago Los Angeles Baltimore Climbing flagpoles Taking bridges Locked together to the BART Speaking up about injustice in our music and our art Storming stages to ask candidates when they're gonna start Really DIRECTLY addressing issues BREAKING OUR HEARTS Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams And if the altars are torn down we'll just keep on placing flowers For the boy whose body was in the road FOR MORE THAN FOUR HOURS We will honor the dead of every age and every gender 'Cause we can't just have it be the brothers' names that we remember Black boys with skateboards and black boys with hoodies And little black girls who are on the couch sleeping And all of the black trans women massacred Too many black folks killed and brutalized Too little justice served After the lynchings of our people by the murderous police Who stand like hunters 'round their prey gasping helpless in the street Feet from the TEEN SISTER they tackled and locked handcuffed in the car Feet from her TWELVE YEAR OLD BROTHER DYING --- WHILE NO ONE DID CPR And we'll keep on planting flowers and we'll fight until the day That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves Yeah we'll keep planting flowers and we'll fight until the day That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
At first I thought this was a new song recorded during the pandemic, then I saw it was uploaded in 2015... and it hit me just how very little the story of police brutality has changed over the years
This brought me to tears, not many songs do that to me, but your music is so powerful, and amazing, when I was at my first pride parade my friend brought a little Bluetooth speaker and we blasted your music because it is just so powerful and raw and it fills me with both hope and dread, it shows me there are good people on this planet that are helping these issues even if its just a little bit. You're my biggest inspiration.
+cheapthong666 Auto tune her and she'll sound like the best of them. Her lyrics are awesome, capturing so much in one song. Kind of endearing the more you listen though.
Ok so I am a HUGE fan of you and all your work, solo or in your various bands. I have two moldy peaches shirt but everytime i see your merch, it says sold or that it doesn't exist anymore. Where can i get kimya dawson shirts???? Please help! Love you thank you so much
This is truly an amazing piece of art. I can't stand BLM or the left in general but I have to admit this struck a chord with me. Truly masterful use of the English language. I wish this Woman all the best. There is a lot of pain in this spoken word Mastery, more of this style of communication will help your side of the isle.
The teenage girl tackled by police as her 12 year old brother drowned and no one did CPR. Does anyone have a reference to this? I couldn't find it using that description
Look up Zachary Hammond in Seneca SC. Happens to young white kids too. Unique song. Over polishing and cliche topics has taken away a lot of heart from music these days. Good to hear something different.
And you're not wrong, they consult the dead and envious spiteful names of humane history, Ahab grandad's, ask and fulfill their will, I've heard it first hand, they want everyone in the world dead and buried, and they actually do it
AT THE SEAMS by Kimya Dawson Left hands hold the leashes and the right hands hold the torches And Grandpas holding shotguns swing on porch swings hung on porches And the Grandmas in their gardens plant more seeds to cut their losses And the poachers with the pooches and the nooses preheat crosses And the pooches see the Grandpas and they bare their teeth and growl While their owners turn their noses up like they smell something foul And they fumble with their crosses and they start to mumble curses And they plot ways to get Grandpas off of porches into hearses But the Grandpas on the porches are just scarecrows holding toys And the Grandmas in the gardens are papier-mâché decoys While the real Grandmas and Grandpas are with all the girls and boys Marching downtown to the City Hall to make a lot of noise Saying Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Sometimes it seams like we've reached the end of the road We've seen cops and judges sleep together wearing long white robes And they put their white hoods up Try to take the black hoods down And they don't plan on stopping til we're all in the ground Til we're dead in the ground or we're incarcerated 'Cause prison's a big business form of enslavement Plantations that profit on black folks in cages They'll break our backs and keep the wages It's outrageous that there's no place we can feel safe in this nation Not in our cars Not at the park Not in subway stations Not at church The pool The store Not asking for help Not walking down the street So we've gotta scream and yell Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams You tweet me my own lyrics Tell me to stop Letting a few bad apples ruin the bunch Don't minimize the fight comparing apples to cops This is about the orchards poisoned roots not loose fruits in a box Once the soils been spoiled the whole crop's corrupt That's why we need the grassroots working from the ground up And we look to Black Twitter to stay woke and get some truth Instead of smiling cops and black mugshots from biased corporate news 'Cause if you steal cigarillos or you sell loose cigarettes Or you forget your turn signal will they see your skin as a threat Will they KILL you And then SMEAR you And COVER IT UP and LIE Will they call it "self defense" Will they call it "suicide" Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Decades of cultivation starts from tiny seeds that were once planted And we mustn't take the gardens that our elders grew for granted Though it is up to our youth how new rows sown are organized Because movements can't keep moving if old and unsharpened eyes Can't see the need to hear what those on the ground hafta say In Ferguson and Cleveland Staten Island The East Bay Charleston Phoenix Detroit Sanford Waller Seattle Chicago Los Angeles Baltimore Climbing flagpoles Taking bridges Locked together to the BART Speaking up about injustice in our music and our art Storming stages to ask candidates when they're gonna start Really DIRECTLY addressing issues BREAKING OUR HEARTS Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams And if the altars are torn down we'll just keep on placing flowers For the boy whose body was in the road FOR MORE THAN FOUR HOURS We will honor the dead of every age and every gender 'Cause we can't just have it be the brothers' names that we remember Black boys with skateboards and black boys with hoodies And little black girls who are on the couch sleeping And all of the black trans women massacred Too many black folks killed and brutalized Too little justice served After the lynchings of our people by the murderous police Who stand like hunters 'round their prey gasping helpless in the street Feet from the TEEN SISTER they tackled and locked handcuffed in the car Feet from her TWELVE YEAR OLD BROTHER DYING --- WHILE NO ONE DID CPR And we'll keep on planting flowers and we'll fight until the day That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves Yeah we'll keep planting flowers and we'll fight until the day That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace I know that we can overcome because I had a dream A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
I visit this song often, and here I am again after the death of George Floyd. Christian Cooper could've met the same fate. The last day or so has been heartbreaking.
These lyrics have been ringing in my head constantly over the past few days. The “I can’t breathe” is heavier now more than ever. #justiceforgeorgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #nojusticenopeace
We need a studio version of this, such a powerful song.
four years.. four years have gone by, and this is just as important.
Oh Kimya, I'm so glad you exist!
Fancy seeing you here. She's amazing. I didn't know you liked her.
+Kat Heilman How could I not! :D
my throat felt tight the second I heard the chorus. your work always has hit me hard and I love it
This is haunting and beautiful... I wish this song didn't have to exist. :/
"Don't minimize the fight
comparing apples to cops.
This is about the orchard's poisoned roots,
not loose fruits in a box.
Once the soil's been spoiled
the whole crop's corrupt,
that's why we need the grass roots
working from the ground up."
This has aged like a fine wine. Never stop fighting, Kimya, I love you.
Still crying over this today
Thoughtful, moving, haunting. Thank you Kimya for singing your heart.
six years. six years since this song came up. its still happening to this day, infact even worse. im so sorry to all the lives taken from police brutality, blatant racism, ignorance and intolerance of people. and im sorry to the lives taken in the future due to this. keep moving. no justice, no peace. Black Lives Matter.
Well written song for the movement. Haunting and sad. #BLACKLIVESMATTER
Your lyrics really do change lives
I loved kimya's songs since I watched Juno as a kid, I used to just enjoy the way the song sounded and was lectured about it by my mother for the lyrics that I didn't even understand until recently.
The world is truly broken but I do believe we can fix it, I do have hope, there WILL be a time where you will be ok and I promise that.
This is so riveting. This is the score to an awesome short about rebellion
this song leaves me speechless and in tears. i want to empower all the beautiful Black voices like this. Grandpa Kimya, thank you for creating such wonderful art.
I cry every time I listen to this song, but I also reflect, regroup, and resolve.
beautiful, just beautiful, we need more musicians like you
Y'all have no idea how long this movement has actually been going on
It's sad how relevant this is today (again, still) 😥 #icantbreathe -2020
i love every song she writes so much. i'd love to see a studio version of this song someday
Your voice touches my heart.
This song still gives me chills. Love you so much Kimya, wish everyone could see through your eyes.
This is such a beautiful song. It's heartbreaking. I teared up listening.
This song is so beautiful and sad. The piano fits it perfectly.
This makes makes me cry with rage every time
I really love your style. Black girls kill it wherever genre of music they go into, and it's always good when we flourish creatively. It's especially wonderful when we can use our artistry to spread powerful messages that resonate, and contribute to awareness. You're keeping it real, and staying woke, and I greatly respect that. YOU ROCK GIRL!!! KEEP DOING YOU!!
Simply magnificent. Love you girl
Thank you Kimya. You have such an amazing way with everything. May we all share this dream until it becomes reality.
Thinking about this song more than ever
I love you Kimya. Thank you for making this. This has to be one on the most important songs of the movement.
AT THE SEAMS by Kimya Dawson
Left hands hold the leashes and the right hands hold the torches
And Grandpas holding shotguns swing on porch swings hung on porches
And the Grandmas in their gardens plant more seeds to cut their losses
And the poachers with the pooches and the nooses preheat crosses
And the pooches see the Grandpas and they bare their teeth and growl
While their owners turn their noses up like they smell something foul
And they fumble with their crosses and they start to mumble curses
And they plot ways to get Grandpas off of porches into hearses
But the Grandpas on the porches are just scarecrows holding toys
And the Grandmas in the gardens are papier-mâché decoys
While the real Grandmas and Grandpas are with all the girls and boys
Marching downtown to the City Hall to make a lot of noise
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Sometimes it seams like we've reached the end of the road
We've seen cops and judges sleep together wearing long white robes
And they put their white hoods up Try to take the black hoods down
And they don't plan on stopping til we're all in the ground
Til we're dead in the ground or we're incarcerated
'Cause prison's a big business form of enslavement
Plantations that profit on black folks in cages
They'll break our backs and keep the wages
It's outrageous that there's no place we can feel safe in this nation
Not in our cars Not at the park Not in subway stations
Not at church The pool The store Not asking for help
Not walking down the street So we've gotta scream and yell
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
You tweet me my own lyrics Tell me to stop
Letting a few bad apples ruin the bunch
Don't minimize the fight comparing apples to cops
This is about the orchards poisoned roots not loose fruits in a box
Once the soils been spoiled the whole crop's corrupt
That's why we need the grassroots working from the ground up
And we look to Black Twitter to stay woke and get some truth
Instead of smiling cops and black mugshots from biased corporate news
'Cause if you steal cigarillos or you sell loose cigarettes
Or you forget your turn signal will they see your skin as a threat
Will they KILL you And then SMEAR you And COVER IT UP and LIE
Will they call it "self defense" Will they call it "suicide"
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Decades of cultivation starts from tiny seeds that were once planted
And we mustn't take the gardens that our elders grew for granted
Though it is up to our youth how new rows sown are organized
Because movements can't keep moving if old and unsharpened eyes
Can't see the need to hear what those on the ground hafta say
In Ferguson and Cleveland Staten Island The East Bay
Charleston Phoenix Detroit Sanford Waller
Seattle Chicago Los Angeles Baltimore
Climbing flagpoles Taking bridges Locked together to the BART
Speaking up about injustice in our music and our art
Storming stages to ask candidates when they're gonna start
Really DIRECTLY addressing issues BREAKING OUR HEARTS
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
And if the altars are torn down we'll just keep on placing flowers
For the boy whose body was in the road FOR MORE THAN FOUR HOURS
We will honor the dead of every age and every gender
'Cause we can't just have it be the brothers' names that we remember
Black boys with skateboards and black boys with hoodies
And little black girls who are on the couch sleeping
And all of the black trans women massacred
Too many black folks killed and brutalized Too little justice served
After the lynchings of our people by the murderous police
Who stand like hunters 'round their prey gasping helpless in the street
Feet from the TEEN SISTER they tackled and locked handcuffed in the car
Feet from her TWELVE YEAR OLD BROTHER DYING ---
WHILE NO ONE DID CPR
And we'll keep on planting flowers and we'll fight until the day
That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves
Yeah we'll keep planting flowers and we'll fight until the day
That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
I love you Kimya
Bittersweet feeling yet encouraging, great song
At first I thought this was a new song recorded during the pandemic, then I saw it was uploaded in 2015...
and it hit me just how very little the story of police brutality has changed over the years
so glad you're making music again, your songs are important. this was beautiful.
I heard this on The Intercept today. It is so powerful. I would love to post it.
with everything going on rn this is so incredibly perfect
I'm going to watch every video on this channel.
so beautiful and well written kimya !!!!
Incredible...breathtaking.
Love you so much Kimya.
Wow!!! What a amazing song!!!! Thank you Kimya.
LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY. .BROUGHT ME HERE...UR SO #DOPE FOR THIS.. THANK YOU..
The world needs musicians like you. Thank you for this
Beautiful song, you are inspirational
wowowow. How does this not have 5 million views?
Too busy watching Tom McDonald or MGK or some fake bullshit
THANK YOU, KIMYA
Black lives matter no justice no peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
I'm legitimately crying right now.
You're incredibly talented. So beautiful, so heartbreaking.
your music is so important. thank you for what you do♥
This song really hits different today.
Thank you, this really nead to be heard.
Great lyrics ✌
still crying.
This is so beautiful, thank you.
Fantastic, goosebumps all around.
Haii
haii ffs
5 years have gone by and we still need to hear this message
This is beyond beautiful
I cried. This is beautiful.
Thank you
This brought me to tears, not many songs do that to me, but your music is so powerful, and amazing, when I was at my first pride parade my friend brought a little Bluetooth speaker and we blasted your music because it is just so powerful and raw and it fills me with both hope and dread, it shows me there are good people on this planet that are helping these issues even if its just a little bit. You're my biggest inspiration.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kimya!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome song.
I LOVE U, KIMYA
Just saw you on Carson Daly and your song is amazing.
+cheapthong666 Auto tune her and she'll sound like the best of them. Her lyrics are awesome, capturing so much in one song. Kind of endearing the more you listen though.
+Adrian Hubbard Will do. =)
+Sherry Donachie I saw that too, i loved it =]
So brilliant beautiful and sad how does she do it?
beautiful song.
You are amazing!!!
te amo Kimya :vr ♥
Gracias!
This is beautiful
It's a beautiful song
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOD
I can't believe how relevant this still is. Carnivorous pigs still stalk, preying on those they were once meant to protect.
Well that made cry and want to pick up a gun. Perfect.
Ok so I am a HUGE fan of you and all your work, solo or in your various bands. I have two moldy peaches shirt but everytime i see your merch, it says sold or that it doesn't exist anymore. Where can i get kimya dawson shirts???? Please help! Love you thank you so much
i cried surprising for me
My heart hurts
This is truly an amazing piece of art. I can't stand BLM or the left in general but I have to admit this struck a chord with me. Truly masterful use of the English language.
I wish this Woman all the best. There is a lot of pain in this spoken word Mastery, more of this style of communication will help your side of the isle.
Sounds great
/crying
Wow, it's beautiful and poignant!
it’s the same case. just a different face. rest in power george floyd
As soon as I saw the hashtag "I can't breathe" I heard the echo of this song in my head and started crying
again,, thank you for being Kimya Dawson.. never stop
I want to believe in your dream.
May 2020
Five years later and what has changed? Nothing, fucking nothing!
The teenage girl tackled by police as her 12 year old brother drowned and no one did CPR. Does anyone have a reference to this? I couldn't find it using that description
Dying. Not drowning.
@@mrskimyadawson Just head it, you are right. Is it a true story?
@@HannibalBarca217 You know the story already, his name was Tamir Rice.
@@Grace-th2hh Always more than one side to a story and Tamir Rice is different story
Looks like 2 ol' folks accidentally hit the 'Dislike' button. Poor fuddy duddies must be going deaf and blind. My heart goes out to them.
5 years later and its at 27..... doesn't surprise me white supremacists have bad taste in music tho
Look up Zachary Hammond in Seneca SC. Happens to young white kids too. Unique song. Over polishing and cliche topics has taken away a lot of heart from music these days. Good to hear something different.
According to me this is the best antiracist song. Please tell me if Im wrong and there is something else as good out there?
:'D
And you're not wrong, they consult the dead and envious spiteful names of humane history, Ahab grandad's, ask and fulfill their will, I've heard it first hand, they want everyone in the world dead and buried, and they actually do it
:c
Lmao #blacklivesmatter
AT THE SEAMS by Kimya Dawson
Left hands hold the leashes and the right hands hold the torches
And Grandpas holding shotguns swing on porch swings hung on porches
And the Grandmas in their gardens plant more seeds to cut their losses
And the poachers with the pooches and the nooses preheat crosses
And the pooches see the Grandpas and they bare their teeth and growl
While their owners turn their noses up like they smell something foul
And they fumble with their crosses and they start to mumble curses
And they plot ways to get Grandpas off of porches into hearses
But the Grandpas on the porches are just scarecrows holding toys
And the Grandmas in the gardens are papier-mâché decoys
While the real Grandmas and Grandpas are with all the girls and boys
Marching downtown to the City Hall to make a lot of noise Saying
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Sometimes it seams like we've reached the end of the road
We've seen cops and judges sleep together wearing long white robes
And they put their white hoods up Try to take the black hoods down
And they don't plan on stopping til we're all in the ground
Til we're dead in the ground or we're incarcerated
'Cause prison's a big business form of enslavement
Plantations that profit on black folks in cages
They'll break our backs and keep the wages
It's outrageous that there's no place we can feel safe in this nation
Not in our cars Not at the park Not in subway stations
Not at church The pool The store Not asking for help
Not walking down the street So we've gotta scream and yell
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
You tweet me my own lyrics Tell me to stop
Letting a few bad apples ruin the bunch
Don't minimize the fight comparing apples to cops
This is about the orchards poisoned roots not loose fruits in a box
Once the soils been spoiled the whole crop's corrupt
That's why we need the grassroots working from the ground up
And we look to Black Twitter to stay woke and get some truth
Instead of smiling cops and black mugshots from biased corporate news
'Cause if you steal cigarillos or you sell loose cigarettes
Or you forget your turn signal will they see your skin as a threat
Will they KILL you And then SMEAR you And COVER IT UP and LIE
Will they call it "self defense" Will they call it "suicide"
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Decades of cultivation starts from tiny seeds that were once planted
And we mustn't take the gardens that our elders grew for granted
Though it is up to our youth how new rows sown are organized
Because movements can't keep moving if old and unsharpened eyes
Can't see the need to hear what those on the ground hafta say
In Ferguson and Cleveland Staten Island The East Bay
Charleston Phoenix Detroit Sanford Waller
Seattle Chicago Los Angeles Baltimore
Climbing flagpoles Taking bridges Locked together to the BART
Speaking up about injustice in our music and our art
Storming stages to ask candidates when they're gonna start
Really DIRECTLY addressing issues BREAKING OUR HEARTS
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
And if the altars are torn down we'll just keep on placing flowers
For the boy whose body was in the road FOR MORE THAN FOUR HOURS
We will honor the dead of every age and every gender
'Cause we can't just have it be the brothers' names that we remember
Black boys with skateboards and black boys with hoodies
And little black girls who are on the couch sleeping
And all of the black trans women massacred
Too many black folks killed and brutalized Too little justice served
After the lynchings of our people by the murderous police
Who stand like hunters 'round their prey gasping helpless in the street
Feet from the TEEN SISTER they tackled and locked handcuffed in the car
Feet from her TWELVE YEAR OLD BROTHER DYING ---
WHILE NO ONE DID CPR
And we'll keep on planting flowers and we'll fight until the day
That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves
Yeah we'll keep planting flowers and we'll fight until the day
That we don't have to pick them all to put them all on graves
Hands up Don't shoot I can't breathe
BLACK LIVES MATTER No justice No Peace
I know that we can overcome because I had a dream
A dream we tore this racist broken system apart at the seams
This is incredible - so much truth in one song is a great gift. Thank you.
Beautiful lyrics