Told me that I am uncouth
Told me I'm ruth
Told me to sever the root
Told me to lie to my truth
Told me to get it, forget it, and said I'm aloof
Told me to hate on myself
Take all these books off my shelf
Told me that I'm just the help
Told me to scold me to mold me until I become someone else
Someone you like
Someone who won't drop the mic
Someone whom you can just strike
Won't strike you back
Someone whose skull you can crack
Someone ashamed to be black
I don't get that
I ain't with that
Mack truck - I hit with that
Act up - You will get slapped
Back up - Now I'm in the trap
Told me to follow you follow you go
Follow you though
You told me to follow befo'
And all that I got was Jim Crow
Played the "Sambo"
Part of your minstrel show
The older I get I should know
Know not to hear what you tell
Know not to do what you told
Know not to take what you tell
Know not to keep what you said
Told me a story that I could believe
And how naïve
I'm sitting here feeling aggrieved
Never to get a reprieve
All I received
Taken but never retrieved
If I wasn't so trapped, I would leave
Leave you to chew, wither and itch
Leave you to writhe and twitch
Leave you to ravel(un) stitched
Leave you to die from the glitch
Then I switch
And it eats me
Eats me alive
Eats me alive
And it eats me
Eats me alive
Eats me alive