Jill Scott – My Petition

You say you mean good for me
But you don't do it
You say you have a plan but you just don't go through with it
You say you know the way to go
And I should follow
But all of your empty promises
Leave me hollow

And oh
How do I trust you
How do I love you
When you
Lie to me repeatedly
And oh
How do I have faith, in you
When you just don't come through
Like you say you could

Oh, say can you see
Oh, say can you see

You say that I'm wrong for
Stating my opinion to you
You say that I'm wrong and there'll be quiet consequences too
But I know my rights babe
There'll be no law abridging
The freedom of my speech
Or the right for me to petition for a remedy of grievances

And I want to trust you
I want to love you yeah
But you lie to me repeatedly
And oh I want to have faith in you
But you just don't come through
Like you said you could
Oh say can you see
Hm

I want fresh fruit, clean water,
Air that I don't see
I want the feeling of being safe on my streets
I want my children to be smarter than me
I want, I want to feel
I want to feel, I want to feel free
For real y'all
I'm just telling you so you know
I want to, I want to have faith in you
I really do but you keep lying to me
And it hurts
I believe, I believe you owe it me
Give it to me like you said you would
Hm
Oh say can you see
Hm
Oh say can you see
Oh say can you see
Hm
By the dawn's early light


Lyrics submitted by ophelia219

"My Petition" as written by Jill H. Scott Andre Harris

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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My Petition song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • 0
    General CommentThis song is syrupy sweet, with a bitter after taste.
    She’s laying all of her cards on the table about her feelings toward a man who has nothing to offer in return. It’s like the unconditional love that a young child has toward an abusive parent. She can’t help loving him because, well she just does. She then goes on to tell him exactly what she needs in the relationship that will equate to happiness. I love the title of this song and how she uses word play around the concept of a petition. On the very last line of the song “Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light”, is she giving him an ultimatum to either get his shit together, like real soon, or be prepared to have his ass kicked to the curb ? Sounds like it me. Go on with your bad self Jill.
    ophelia219on October 05, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General CommentActually, this song is about the US Government and how they say they will do one thing and end up doing another.....hence all the references to the Bill of Rights and the "Oh say can you see" lines from the Star Spangled Banner. Jill hits it from a different angle by making it seem like she's talking to a person. She's freaking brilliant, I love Jilly from Philly!
    StoneColdBeautyon September 12, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentActually...why would she be so literal...and actually why would she want to love the government? Hmmmm? :)
    ophelia219on April 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Commentactually, she's not expressing love at all...she's expressing how she's fed up with the system, she's just making it seem like she's talking to one person. I love her too, she's the biggest breath of fresh air, so motivational too
    Dominicano1197on June 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion"I want fresh fruit,clean water,
    Air that I don't see
    I want the feeling of being safe on my streets
    I want my children to be smarter than me
    I want, I want to feel
    I want to feel, I want to feel free
    For real y'all
    I'm just telling u so u know
    I want to, I want to have faith in u
    I really do but u keep lying to me
    And it hurts
    I believe, I believe u owe it me
    Give it to me like u said u would...." My fav' verse,she kills it hey :-) .#BeautifulSong#
    corettapon January 24, 2014   Link

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