Shackles by Raushan
Shackles lyrics
Chorus
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, how dare you enslave us!
The first homo sapiens and this is how you repay us?!
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, then I want reparations
We built up this nation and this is how you repay us?!
V1
Before the African Slave Trade, we had our civilizations and cultures
with our own diverse histories, clans, languages, and lovers
that's until the 15th century when the Europeans came
invading the western African coast, in search of land, gold, and slaves
pitting tribes against each other, capturing one while sparing another
offering bounties for any captured, that's classic "divide and conquer"
saying black people were cursed and destined to serve those fake Christians
especially since 15-30% of the slaves were Muslims
now can you imagine today if China invades and colonized the States
then starts to pillage and raze your cities while taking 40 million as slaves?
claiming this is what God intended, breaking families apart while sending
you to the other nations throughout Asia, owning you and your descendants?
well that's what the Europeans did for almost 400 years
10 million black people were killed and the lowest estimate
says 40 million were captured, most were kept in the African colonies
worked to death in fields and mines, while the rest were shipped overseas
on slave ships like the Amistad, you've got to see the specifics
look it up to see for yourself, the conditions were horrific
2 million died at sea, 11.5 million survived
the month-long journeys just to be slaves for the rest of their lives
Chorus
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, how dare you enslave us!
The first homo sapiens and this is how you repay us, huh?
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, then I want reparations
We built up this nation and this is how you repay us?!
V2
From the slave ship to the auction block, like property, they sold us
through Europe and South America to Cuba, Maine, and Georgia
once we were purchased by our new masters, we were renamed, broken, and shackled
and our males were worked to death, sharing the same fate as cattle
some were bred to be like "super slaves", and the most athletic of all
then were loaned to other plantations, like a stud horse or dog
though we lived through this and whippings, it was nothing compared to our women
cuz they were raped and used for breeding, living a truly cursed existence
field labor, housekeeping, and white men's unwilling mistress
then were raped and forced to bear and raise their illegitimate children
though some could have families, their union wasn't in bliss
cuz the kids were taken away and sold as slaves by the age of 6
Bank of America and Wachovia both profited from our enslavement
colleges and organizations used slaves as day labor
slave traders used exchanges to sell us like petty commodities
and banks accepted us as collateral, owning us during bankruptcies
the wealthy kept us as helpers, like the horse that pulled their carriage
and we were gifts among the nobles, part of the dowries in their marriage
in some states you had to have land and slaves to even run for office
and that's why they wouldn't stop it, cuz it made them too much profit
Chorus
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, how dare you enslave us!
The first homo sapiens and this is how you repay us, huh?
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, then I want reparations
We built up this nation and this is how you repay us?!
V3
Revisionists won't tell you this but our nation was built by slave labor
from the White House to the Capitol Building but they still degrade us
though we built this infrastructure, we were still sold in bundles
while abolitionists fought against it, implementing social justice
some slaves like Nat Turner tried rebellions against the suffering
while former slaves like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass
cried "hypocrisy" for celebrating an Independence Day
when 12 of the first 18 Presidents owned slaves
like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson
these had at least 150 and kept them while they were President
there were 31 million Americans in the 1860 Census
and 12.5% were slaves, that's roughly 4 million
9 states had 30% or more of their populations as slaves
while 6 of these had 43% or more, and the records say
Mississippi had 55%, South Carolina had 57%
and churches justified it, saying our people couldn't make it to Heaven
now we're brainwashed as children, taught this history never existed
told our homeland is little more than a poverty-stricken village
making us never want to return, so we'll accept our poor conditions
and to this day we're still enslaved in a poor man's existence
Chorus
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, how dare you enslave us!
The first homo sapiens and this is how you repay us, huh?
Here they come to get us (get these shackles off of me)
Better run or get �em (get these shackles off of me)
I�ma get my freedom, then I want reparations
We built up this nation and this is how you repay us?!
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