Hands Off by Last Poets
Hands Off lyrics
Tell me not that I'm a dreamer for the things I feel
and see
or that nothing can be accomplished from the things I
wish to be
Tell me not that I'm fanatic for the things I feel
inside
they are flowers of oppression born of a pain I cannot
hide
Do not look upon my actions as the acts of one insane
when I take up modern weapons to avenge my father's
name
Let your eyes scan on the Ghettos, through the books of
history
then you'll understand this feeling and just how it
came to be
Sure I must admit I'm bitter for the precious blood
I've bled
and for the years of cruel oppression that you've
heaped upon my head
For the rape of my grandmothers and the mulattos that
you've left
for the many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many,
many, many,
many, many, many years of slavery with its legacy of
death
Tell me not that I'm a dreamer, oh no it's you that
cannot see
I am just another victim of a cruel reality
What manner of man is this, I ask? Who roams the seven
seas
who graces the skies of birds of iron and wanders where
he please
Who walks into another's home and takes his properly
Then slays the man, his wife and child in the name of
liberty
What manner of beast is this I ask who drops a napalm
from the skies
then send my sons away to war to maim and kill and die
What manner of man is this I ask, who arrogantly
displays his might
What manner of man is this, my friend, needless to say
he's white
So take your hands off of me, white folks, I've done
you no wrong
I'm only guilty of making you strong
I've built all of your cities and I've worked in your
mines
I've fought to protect you many a time
It was I who taught you what it is to be brave
I had great civilizations when you lived in caves
I taught you what soap was when you dyed yourselves
blue
I taught you of planting and harvesting too
I showed you what clothes were to cover your backs
when you were wearing wolfskins and running in packs
When you knew nothing of the barrier of sound
it was I who taught you that this planet was round
In Palermo, Sicily and Italy and Spain
I left monuments of my grandeur and fame
And during your dark ages when your people were blind
I built universities to enlighten your kind
When your homeland was weak and your people were poor
It was I who brought you to America's shore
Why you did not even know how to survive
I showed you medicine to keep you alive
How earnest you seem, how well you did learn
now vile a reward I received in return
But time is on my side, I'm sure you must know
that the day will arrive when you'll reap what you sow
For I gave you Religion and you know it's a fact
that the Christ and the Buddha and Mohammed were black
I taught you to dance and I taught you to sing
You repaid me with treachery and slavery and chains
So don't touch me Whitey and don't look surprised
No I'm no longer fooled by your tricks and your lies
I'm aware of your game and of your history
and I'm aware of the Judas that you've been to me
So watch out for me white folks, It's just a matter of
time
I'll soon be together, then Vengeance is mine
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