[Originally written as a rap, could be recited that way or not]
The reason that I’m not a nihilist
Is some day I wanna live like in Star Trek
And I know that we’ll never build starships
Until we tackle poverty, war, and hardship
So we fight overnight and over lifetimes
Organize for that warp drive
And of course I realize
That we’re a long way from it
But what better reason to start runnin’?
Cause if you’re gonna do the work then it’s gotta be honest
Because the best of us have all already been forgotten
And if you’re in it for the recognition
I hate to disappoint but if you do it right you’ll never get it
Yo, we don’t remember the farmer
We remember the fruit
We don’t remember the inventor
We remember the boom
The impact through the eons
So I know what side of history I wanna be on
I got a lot of ancestors on my side
Got a ancestor took an arrow to the chest and survived
I got an ancestor who cheated and lied
I got an ancestor who taught her children how to fight
Right?
So much spirit in my corner
Can’t help but color outside every border
To every ancestor who kept my song alive
I swear on your unmarked graves
I will sing it ’til I die
No friction; no flame;
No struggle; no progress;
No sweat
How many times do we have to win
’Til you realize that we have not lost yet?
No friction; no flame;
No struggle; no progress;
No sweat
How many times do we have to win
’Til you realize that we are not lost yet?
What is it, yeah?
What is it?
If it ain’t somethin’
Then it’s the other thing
That’s bothering me
Haagar the Horrible
Most rhetorical lesson ever received
Was there was no need
For no money, no greed
Only prophecy, shit
I’m inspired by this openness in other matters
Scream at the wall and hope it shatters
Into a thousand pieces
Enemy of the state is what I became
Wearing Patti Smith’s marching shoes
Rock and roll, nigga, I became, become
Why am I the only one who looks different?
Paint me as the new eccentric
If I had it my way Minneapolis would be Piss Christ
Spinning in hell above the lakes
No one even knows the names of and if you do
You have too much time on your fucking hands
That’s why you pace about the room trying not to give a damn
I’m kicking down the door
Like I did inside the womb
Pause ’til the interlude
There’s something funky to you
Forget whatever you thought you knew
Cause none of that bullshit will serve you
I’ll be there in due time
Until then:
No friction; no flame;
No struggle; no progress;
No sweat
How many times do we have to win
’Til you realize that we have not lost yet?
No friction; no flame;
No struggle; no progress;
No sweat
How many times do we have to win
’Til you realize that we are not lost yet?
There are no stories told in a vacuum
There is no prophecy lighting our way
There is just a lot of darkness to be afraid of
So it’s a good thing we are not afraid
There is no Superman in that phone booth
There is no rewarding our faith
There is no one who can save us
So it’s a good thing we don’t need to be saved
There are no starships in low earth orbit
No aliens to save us from ourselves
There is no voice willing to speak for us
So it’s a good thing we know how to yell!
There is no chosen one, no destiny, no fate
There’s no such thing as magic
There is no light at the end of this tunnel
So it’s a good thing we brought matches