This may come, this may come as some surprise
But I miss you
I could see through, all of your lies
But, still, I miss you
He takes her love, but it doesn’t feel like mine
He tastes her kiss; her kisses are not wine; they’re not mine
He takes, but surely she can’t give what I’m feelin’ now
She takes, but surely she doesn’t know how
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime?
That I still want you
And I want you to want me, too
My love is wider, wider than Victoria Lake
My love is taller, taller than the Empire State
It dives and it jumps and it ripples like the deepest ocean I can’t give you more than that; surely you want me back
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime?
I still want you
And I want you to want me, too
[musical interlude]
My love is wider than Victoria Lake
Taller than the Empire State
It dives and it jumps I can’t give you more than that; surely you want me back
Is it a crime? Is it a crime? That I still want you
And I want you to want me, too
[trumpet solo]
It dives and it jumps
And it ripples like the deepest ocean
I can’t give you more than that Surely, you want it back
Tell me Is it a crime?
Songwriters: ADU, HELEN / HALE, ANDREW / MATTHEWMAN, STUART
[SADE lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. “Is It a Crime” lyrics are provided here for educational and personal use only.]
[En sanctuarium, Sunday, June 14, 2015.]
***
[Note: The musical group’s name, Sade, is also the nickname by which the public knows the lead vocalist, Helen Folasade Adu. Sade is pronounced, Shar-Day, according to their debut album cover, or, perhaps, more accurately, in British English, as Shahr-Day, with a soft or subtle “r”, depending on the particular British dialect used.]
LUMPENPROLETARIAT Microeconomic Analysis 101. The capitalist mode of production imposes the predatory social relations of capital. And when you’re gonna get some food, your brother got to be your enemy…
“This afternoon, we want to talk about” –Malcolm X
“Now, I want you brothers to dig where we coming from”
[WC]
Five years ago, when I was in high school
No bills to pay, I used to say to myself: Life is cool
I had a roof over my head and a part-time job
Slanging at OB’s bird-stand
Washington High was the school I attended
‘Til ’87 graduation came and I wasn’t with it
Kicked out the house at the age of 18
No money for college, mmm, so, how should I handle things?
I tried to go the so-called right way
And went to a JC, but I wasn’t getting paid
I’m working at a chicken stand now with a chicken
On a spring at the top of my hat, gettin’ clowned
I gotta pay my rent, but my job ain’t cuttin’ it
So, now I’m drinkin’ gin sayin’: Here’s my alternative
To either keep doin’ what I’m doin’ and don’t trip
Or go and buy a gat y’all and come up on a grip
So, like anybody else, I went and bought a gun
Pullin’ burgs at night and now I’m countin’ my funds Eatin’ three times a day and I drive a coup on Daytons
Cruisin’ through the alley bumpin’ Ohio Players
Yo, now you can say what you want; but I was taught on the streets
That if a brother didn’t work, then he didn’t eat
[Coolio]
Peep this, some take kindness for weakness
Focus on the park and watch how I freak this
Subject for survival, got to stay alive
I gotta eat; so, I do or die
Not a full-time crook but I was born right
So, if I want to eat; sometimes I got to jack
So, jack I will; and go get some presidents
A foot in the ground and the other on an oil slick
Money ain’t everything, but neither is brokeness
Give me a knife ‘cos I can’t live off happiness
Once a brother said: I can’t work for the white kind
Standin’ on the corner in a soup line
Said he’s too black, too strong, ain’t done nothin’ yet
Waitin’ on the fifth for his government relief check
Hummin’ and bummin’, most hate to see him comin’
And every first and 15th, these strongs on his life
But a hustle is a hustle and a meal is a meal
That’s why I’m real and I ain’t afraid to steal
Straight from the street, backed up by a funky beat
If you don’t work, OG, then you don’t eat
“You don’t work, you can’t eat” (Repeat 2x)
[Ice Cube]
Aye, yo, I want y’all to meet a nigga from the Lench Mob
He gaffled for his meals (McDonald’s is my spot)
Aye, yo, Jay Dee, kick some shit for the Maad Circle, G
[Jay Dee] If you don’t work, you don’t eat, need I say more?
‘Cos I’m a kick my rhymes in abundant while you stay poor
Since I was 14, I raised myself
I built a roof over my head and then I went for self
I sold cooked-up rock, made my way through school
I’m not saying you should do it ‘cos it ain’t too cool
Kicking shit, playing to start your back
Talking about that bullshit prize, you slay me right?
And you other motherfuckers out here banging for change
Need to wise up and seek personal gain
Or maintain some type of pain
Cause they don’t give away hot lunches out here in L.A.
Yo peace to the Dub and the Maad Circle
For giving me the chance to let the rhyme just flow
So you can (So, you can either sell dope or get your ass a job)
Jay Dee (I’d rather roll with the Lench Mob)
“You don’t work, you can’t eat”
[MC Eiht] Eiht is stepping from the city down under
And I’m robbing more punk fools blind like Stevie Wonder Ain’t no punching a clock, I ain’t with it
For a quarter an hour I make the shit every minute
And please, don’t even let me catch a brother slipping
He’ll be short, shorter than short
With my hands around his throat
Fool, come off the chain and bracelet
I know it’s wrong but face it
A brother like me won’t win the lottery
Ain’t no faking when it’s time to bring home the bacon
‘Cos I was taught get what you’re gonna get quick
And don’t get gaffled in the mix
So, I guess I’ll keep stacking, breaking the law
Checking a fool, wrecking and breaking his jaw
Jzheeyeah, that’s life in the Compton streets
Homeboy, you don’t work, homeboy, you don’t eat
“You don’t work, you can’t eat”
[WC]
This record was put together by Jay Dee, Coolio, and the W
Eight, Chilly Chill, and DJ Crazy Toons
Sic brothers out to get paid cause
Nowadays you got to go for yourself or go broke
I’m living day by day cause you see the future ain’t promised
So save that drama for your mama
And make sure you’re out of my path when I’m on the creep tip
Or have your first name changed to R.I.P.
“You don’t work, you can’t eat” (Repeat 2x)
***
“Curb Servin’” (1995) by WC and the Maad Circle
***
“When Am I Going To Make A Living” (1984) by Sade
When am I gonna make a living?
It’s gonna take a while before I give in
See the people fussin’ and thievin’
While the sharks are wheelin’ and dealin’
Gotta look up and tell yourself, there’s no end to what you can do
They’ll waste your body and soul if you allow them to This is time to start believing in yourself Put the blame on no one else
When am I gonna make a living?
It’s gonna take a while before I give in
See the people fussin’ and stealin’
Too many lies, no one is achievin’
Haven’t I told you before
We’re hungry for a life we can’t afford?
There’s no end to what you can do
If you give yourself a chance to prove
We’re hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
We’re hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Oh, there’s no end to what you can do
They’ll waste your body and soul if you allow them to
Oh, start believing in yourself
Put the blame on no one else
Not gonna give in Hungry but we won’t give in
When am I gonna make a living?
It’s gonna take a while before I give in; yes, it is
I’m sick and tired of scratching a living
I am hungry but I’m not gonna give in, no
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we’re gonna win
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we won’t give in
Hungry but we’re gonna win
[SADE lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. “When Am I Going To Make A Living” lyrics are provided here for educational and personal use only.]
[WC AND THE MAAD CIRCLE lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. “You Don’t Work, U Don’t Eat” lyrics are provided here for educational and personal use only]
LUMPENPROLETARIATClean heart, clean and sharp. Clean dream, bad start…
We take what we can get, and give what we can.
—Messina
“Clean Heart” (1988) by Sade
Clean heart
Clean and sharp
Clean dream
Bad start
He loved his brother and his sister
Luke and Tony called him mister
They made him feel much more
Like a man
He loved his daddy, though he never told him
And how he loved his momma
He loved
He loved her like an Italian
Little Jane said, you look so fine So fine
Something in his smile
Made them feel like strangers
And then he straightened his belt
With a lover’s touch
And he said, I’m gonna bring home The things that are out of your clutch
Seemed like the hottest night in summer
A heat that makes you feel like dying
Somewhere in the next block
There was a baby crying
Finger on the trigger for the years to come
Finger on the trigger for the years to come
And as the moon slid up over the restless streets
Sirens mocking and people stop to see Ooh, their greedy eyes don’t realise He’s someone’s son
Finger on the trigger for the years to come
Finger on the trigger for the years to come
Songwriters: ADU, HELEN / HALE, ANDREW / MATTHEWMAN, STUART
LUMPENPROLETARIAT—Is it a crime that I still want you and I want you to want me, too?
