a little something on where we came from and a bit of hope for where we might go. There is no road from here to freedom except the one we make ourselves by walking it.
lyrics
Make the road by Walkin'
aint got time to be a bull---t clown
id rather spit a rhyme that'd pull it down
make a big sound one that really matters
bring heat by the pound - not guns i mean data
collect the evidence, compile the case
drop dynamite diction, detonate the place
burn like mace, make fools face facts
we're in a police state, it's time to push back
droppin' knowledge till he concrete cracks
in a system of surveillance where phones are all tapped
hear the lash snap - feel it burn n ya back
pimp that whip, trace the ships tracks
to hell or barbados, skin bursts like tomatoes
sun scorched, tired, heatstroke - fatal
we were sold as slaves - one of cromwell's crimes
so i trace the path back to ancient times
this road is long, keep walkin /
the beat might change, keep talkin'
and after i'm gone please keep rockin'
cuz the fact remains, we make the road by walkin'
america was built on refugees,
the poor and oppressed and the idealistic
all came here looking for a chance to be free
and instead were enslaved to serve rich mens wishes
the sweatshops and railroads, mines and armies
the bones of an empire built on blood
and all the propaganda and lies can't con me
I can see the storm coming and predict the flood
there ain't no graph that could chart my progress
like ain't no math that can map these concepts
but there's gonna come a day when we can't just accept
bein' on the losing side of the same class conflict
context is critical, we co-create change
see something pivotal make moves we remain
products of environment, breathin' our own pollution
make the road as we walk 'n search for solutions
ain't no road that can get where I'm going
so I flow like a river, move earth like erosion
cut my own path, make my own motion
this revolution's got my devotion
days turn to night just as bright as the days
twilight destroyed by the streetlight blaze
smoke over head, city smog as it lays
like a pillow on my face pressed down to suffocate
i dunno if we can change it but i hope we can
it's gotta start in the heart and the way we plan
the world we create when we take a stand
the impulse for freedom in the heart of man
woman and child, we long to be wild
like dogs remember wolves, finally reconciled
to the world we've created though at times I hate it
it is what it is because this is how we made it
so if we want change, we gotta move
pick a direction, ride on this groove
let these smooth sounds soothe inhibitions
and learn to be the change in the world we envision
Jamil Honesty’s hard-hitting LP gets a new video documentary that explores its powerful themes in detail, split into multiple parts. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 3, 2023