I got a letter from the government
the other day
i opened and read it
it said they were suckers
they wanted me for the army or whatever
picture me given' a damn -- i said never
here is a land that never gave a damn
about a brother like me and myself
because they never did
i wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...
it occured to me
the suckers had authority
cold sweatin' as i dwell in my cell
how long has it been?
they got me sittin' in the state pen
i gotta get out -- but that thought was thought before
i contemplated a plan on the cell floor
i'm not a fugitive on the run
but a brother like me begun -- to be another one
public enemy servin' time -- they drew the line y'all
to criticize me some crime -- never the less
they could not understand that i'm a black man
and i could never be a veteran
on the strength, the situation's unreal
i got a raw deal, now i'm lookin for the steel
(tricky: many switch in, switch on, switch off (x5))
nevertheless they cannot understand
that i'm a black man, and i could never be a veteran.
on the strength of situations, i'm real.
i got a raw deal, so i'm lookin' for the steel
lookin for the steel.