In Search of a Song Vol. 595

8/3/2019 In Search of a Song Vol. 595

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Patrick Vassell



Patrick

Vassell

A Waterways Project

Publication

Richard Spiegel

Barbara Fishercodirectors

Thomas Perry

administrative assistant

Jane Califf

Teacher

Susan Salkin

Center Administrator

Lois Rekosh

Director

Frederick Douglass Literacy Center

Richard Organisciak

Superintendent

Alternative, Adult and Continuing Education,

Schools and Programs

Funding.support from

New York State Council on the Arts

Empire State Partnership Program, Learn & Serve

America, & The NY Times Co. Foundation



1920's

In the 1920's I woke up.Is it a dream or is it reality?

Is it really happening or not?

In the 19Z0's I woke up.

No lights, no TV.

.1asked ,"What is your entertainment?"

They say books.

How could this be real?

No work! How do you liver

.They say,"By God"s will."

In the 1920'sIwoke up

Yeah, it was rough

But they made it become the past

And that is where I woke up.In the 1920's.

2



RastaMan

A Rasta Man with hair 2 feet long, and smokinghis ganja.

A Rasta Man with his own belief and respect due

to other Rasta man.

A Rasta Man who says Selassi is God, and flash

his hair which is 2 feet long.

And my friend say that is a mad man.I say no man, that is a Rasta Man with his hair 2

feet long and smoking his ganja man.

Define Love

Love, what a word.

Love, who knows what it means.

Love, is it good or bad?

I don't know, why you ask me star?

Love my mother gives me every day .

• ,t-

To me love is great, wonderful and marvelous.



Life

Life is a funny thing.It goes back and forth

like a bumper car.

but when you get hit

you keepon going

and don't stop.. Life is just like that.

. ..

~

Sometimes you're on top.

sometimes you're at the bottom

Don't matter what,

Youkeep on going,

and don't stop.

Life is filled with advantages,

and disadvantages.

But through it all you keep on goingand don't stop. .

And life is just like that.

4



MalcolrnX

I am a black manLiving by the name they called Malcolm X.

Not riigger, colored, or boy, just Malcolm X.

Iam 'a black man living by the name called

Malcolm X .

Who grew in a family of eight children and

father died

when Iwas six.

Iam a black man

Living by the name called Malcolm X.With my pride, dignity, respect and

black power.

Not a stupid man, just a smart one.

Living by the name called Malcolm X.

And yes, I am a black man



•Stop Sign

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!Stop Sign. Stop my black

brothers and sisters. Stop killing each other'

over material items.

Look how many people diedshowing you the stop sign.

like Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey

All I ask is for you to Stop the

violence.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!



Crumbling down

Crumbling downThe world crumbling down on me:

prostitution, hate, war, death

and evil workers.

Crumbling down on me.Love, good kids, Christians, teachers

and preachers.

Crumbling down on me.

Knives, guns, rockets, war planes

and missiles.

Crumbling down on me.

Bibles, books of both great and good men,

Soothing music and birds of peace. .

The world crumbling down on me

both good and bad.

7



My Soul

My soul is free. which strengthens my bodyand makes my ideas flow.

My soul is free and speaks with dignity

About power, knowledge and wisdom:

I am a winner because my Soul is Free.

My Mother

My Mother.

Loving me, caring for me.

Being there through good and bad times.

My Mother.

The woman of my life.

She has good and bad times.

But through it all she still loves me.

because she's my mother.

~



Chains of Babylon

Chains of Babylon.We are in the chains of Babylon.

They program our minds to let us

think that Columbus is a good man;

let us know nothing about our ancestors.

Chains of Babylon.

They bring guns into our nation

and let us think that blacks are no good.

So we kill each other filling up

the precincts, penitentiaries, jails and reform

schools .

.Chains of Babylon ..

They have taken us from our

country and then have the heart to tell us

we ought to go back home

9



•

Where is home?

Africa, that's our ancestors.

We were born here.You should go back home because you are

from Europe.

Chains of Babylon.

It is wrong to us blacks .

.But that's the

chains of Babylon!

10



Running (Part one)

Running!What am I running from?

Is it love?

No!

Love never hurt anyone.

I wonder is it from religion, God or

Christians?

But who did they kill?

So is it death?

But no man can escape death.

Ah! I know what I am running from -

violence!

I am talking black on black violence.

I am running from my own black brother and

sister

I am running!

II



Running (Part 11)

Running from violence!I've been running all my life

And now I am tired, tired of running

I've been running because I am scared,

Scared of hate, war, and black on black

violence.

Now I will stop running

And I will stop hate and war

But most of all stop black on black violence.

Now I will stop running

Because I am a man and not a coward.

I will not run any more

I will stand up and fight against crime like a

man!

1 ?



~~~~~~~~.~~

a waterways project publication

In Search of a SongVolume 595

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In Search of a Song Vol. 595

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Transcript of In Search of a Song Vol. 595