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Black Messiah Lyrics
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So don't shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talk about racial equality
'Cause everybody's equal in the good Lord's eyes
But if I told you that God was black
What would you think of that
I bet you wouldn't believe it
There's a self made prophet living right next to me
He said the Black Messiah's gonna come and set the whole world free
He looked at me with his evil eye and he prophesied
And he really believed it
He said a black messiah is gonna set the world on fire
And he no liar, 'cause he has truly heard the word
Everybody talk about racial equality
But I'm the only honky living on an all black street
They knock me down 'cause they brown and I white
Like you wouldn't believe it
They say a black messiah is gonna set the world on fire
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody talk about racial equality
Everybody talk about equal rights
But white's white, black's black and that's that
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So don't shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talk about racial equality
You hear everybody talk about equal rights
But white's white, black's black and that's that
And that's the way you should leave it
Don't want no black messiah to come and set the world on fire
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody got to show a little give and take
Everybody got to live with a little less hate
Everybody gotta work it out, we gotta sort it out
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So don't shoot me for saying mine
So don't shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talk about racial equality
'Cause everybody's equal in the good Lord's eyes
But if I told you that God was black
What would you think of that
I bet you wouldn't believe it
He said the Black Messiah's gonna come and set the whole world free
He looked at me with his evil eye and he prophesied
And he really believed it
And he no liar, 'cause he has truly heard the word
Everybody talk about racial equality
But I'm the only honky living on an all black street
They knock me down 'cause they brown and I white
Like you wouldn't believe it
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody talk about racial equality
Everybody talk about equal rights
But white's white, black's black and that's that
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So don't shoot me for saying mine
You hear everybody talk about equal rights
But white's white, black's black and that's that
And that's the way you should leave it
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody got to show a little give and take
Everybody got to live with a little less hate
Everybody gotta work it out, we gotta sort it out
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So don't shoot me for saying mine
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Great song. Love how it makes you think about something that most people are uncomfortable with.
Everybody got the right to speak their mind So don't shoot me for saying mine
(self-explaining)
Everybody talking about racial equality Cause everybody's equal in the good Lord's eyes
(speaking of our highest ideals)
But if I told you that God was black What would you think of that I bet you wouldn't believe it
(we don't really believe in our highest ideals)
There's a self made prophet living right next to me He said the Black Messiah's gonna come and set the whole world free He looked at me with his evil eye and prophesied And he really believed it
(self-explaining)
He said a Black Messiah is gonna set the world on fire And he's no liar, 'cause he has truly heard the word
(mocking this prophet persona)
Everybody talking about racial equality But I'm the only honky living on an all black street They knock me down 'cause they brown and I white
(mocking the primitive thoughts of these racist personas, showing they want "equality" but they don't care to give it to others solely because of their own racism)
Everybody got the right to speak their mind So don't shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talking about racial equality You hear everybody talking about equal rights
But white's white, black's black and that's that And that's the way you should leave it
(NOT: Whites are white, blacks are black. BUT: [Color] white is [Color] white, just as black, and that's all there is to it - it's just a color, visual appearance of a minor physical attribute that plays a small part in the big process of what makes a person a person)
Don't want no Black Messiah to come and set the world on fire
(Ray Davies doesn't want a radical violent change escalated by a "messiah", even though some have been, and are oppressed)
A Black Messiah is gonna come and rule the world
(Retro to prophet)
Everybody got to show a little give and take Everybody got to live with a little less hate Everybody gotta work it out, we gotta sort it out
(Ray Davies solution to the racial "issue", or maybe our social "issues" in general)
Everybody got the right to speak their mind So don't shoot me for saying mine
Basically it is a satire like many of his songs, it is about "showing the other cheek", not "eye for an eye for an eye for an...), very Tolstoian. Not surprising, they have (or had) some similar "political" beliefs.
Watch it Ray! You can't say things like this anymore! Ray points out all of our inherit racist tribal tendencies by asking if you pray to a black god or white one. He also very unabashedly claims that whites and blacks are indeed different, and that we need to recognize that before we can advance as a multicultural society (well thats the scenario as I see it in the states at least). Now I know that I'm treading dangerous waters here, but I also get the feeling that Ray is very pissed about the reverse racism happening today against whites. All in all, this is a highly offensive yet catchy little tune that I can't help but sing when the sheeple of America start crying for their lord Obama. That is just my opinion, don't shoot me for it!
The "Black Messiah" is probably former Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie, revered as a deity by Rastafarians and scorned as a Marxist by others, as underscored by the reggae beat. Aside from that, the lyrics seem a little jumbled and confused ... "white's white and black's black and that's that," and then a verse later "everybody's got to live with a little less hate." Come again, Ray? Challenging everyone to think about their "racist tribal tendencies" as mycology101 suggests is timeless. The gratuitous use of ebonics ("they brown and I white"), not so much....
The "Black Messiah" is probably former Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie, revered as a deity by Rastafarians and scorned as a Marxist by others, as underscored by the reggae beat. Aside from that, the lyrics seem a little jumbled and confused ... "white's white and black's black and that's that," and then a verse later "everybody's got to live with a little less hate." Come again, Ray? Challenging everyone to think about their "racist tribal tendencies" as mycology101 suggests is timeless. The gratuitous use of ebonics ("they brown and I white"), not so much.
Ray is not asking if you pray to a black or white god. Davies is implying that many people put up the appearance of upholding the idea of racial equality but internally do not believe it.
Ray is not asking if you pray to a black or white god. Davies is implying that many people put up the appearance of upholding the idea of racial equality but internally do not believe it.
1) Taking offense if someone would claim that something as personal as god is black. 2) Whites avoiding living in black neighborhoods.
1) Taking offense if someone would claim that something as personal as god is black. 2) Whites avoiding living in black neighborhoods.
Ray continues with the claim that humans can be different without a quantitative comparison of which race is better (white's white, black's black, and that's that).
Ray continues with the claim that humans can be different without a quantitative comparison of which race is better (white's white, black's black, and that's that).
The idea of a Black Messiah, as described in the song, is a sort of mythological belief that...
The idea of a Black Messiah, as described in the song, is a sort of mythological belief that someone (not necessarily black) will rise up and set things straight and remove so many millions of black people out of social oppression. How this reckoning is performed is not detailed, but Davies implies that it is not an ideal situation.
Ray would rather just have the simpler solution of people being more open and less judgmental. Then there would be no need for an atomic social war.
I get the impression that it is about inverted discrimination. (I've been a victim of this and been denied work on a few occasions because I'm white and applied for a job that had a predominantly black staff team)
I reckon the song depicts anybody who is racist and that doesn't just include whites on blacks racism but the other way round as well....A pretty radical stance for Ray to take back in 1978.