The History
Artist: Vijay Siddharth
The History
Lyrics with Meaning
View lyrics page →Original
// VERSE ONE //
First and foremost
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I'm a black Barbadian man A Bajan Yankee Who was born in this American land
My role?
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Well, I'm the griot Blessed with free flow And a pea coat My cause I came to connect with people
My history is spotty just like yours
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I've lied to myself I've broken laws I've told untruths to others
Verse 5
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I love my father and my mother and my brother You love your family too? Well let's consider this our glue
Verse 6
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As we're bonded through this common experience Don't get distracted by the variants I'm holding pain Here it is:
Verse 7
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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
Verse 8
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I'm just a mortal man talking with you We all cling to the things we hold true
Verse 9
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// CHORUS //
You've got the soul
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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...
Verse 11
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// VERSE 2 //
Verse 12
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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
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Nowadays I feel our lives are just a Living, breathing issue of the re-run
Verse 14
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The Power divide initialized To never skip a season
Verse 15
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Look at the collective consciousness and what we've become
Verse 16
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The punishment for slave rebellion back then Was to limit education to black women and black men
Look at the current costs of education
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Plus Check out the music on your local station
Mind numbing
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The times coming To seize a change
Verse 19
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The media will spin the shit to make the activists all look deranged
Verse 20
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I'm just a mortal man talking with you We all cling to the things we hold true
You've got the soul
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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
Verse 22
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// END SONG // And what we've become
Verse 23
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The punishment for slave rebellion back then Was to limit education for black women and black men Look at the current cost of education Plus, check out the music on your local station Mind-numbing at times, come into seas of change The media will spin the shit to make the activists look deranged
Verse 24
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I'm just a mortal man who's talkin' with you We all cling to the things we hold true
Verse 25
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// CHORUS // 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
Thievery Corporation feat. Mr. Lif & Sitali