Some people criticize the school verse but I think it harkens back to segregation. As does a lot of the song and I like how the song is from the perspective of one man and his 'blues' but actually represents the plight of black people throughout the centuries. "When I first got the blues, they brought me over on a ship. Men were standing over me, and a lot more with a whip." - this seems to me to be a clear reference to slavery and the 'ghetto' verse references poverty. I think sometimes people just forget to put the words he's singing into context and stop tying to link them to modern times so much (some bits are relevant still, others less so).
Some people criticize the school verse but I think it harkens back to segregation. As does a lot of the song and I like how the song is from the perspective of one man and his 'blues' but actually represents the plight of black people throughout the centuries. "When I first got the blues, they brought me over on a ship. Men were standing over me, and a lot more with a whip." - this seems to me to be a clear reference to slavery and the 'ghetto' verse references poverty. I think sometimes people just forget to put the words he's singing into context and stop tying to link them to modern times so much (some bits are relevant still, others less so).