Trevor Jackson
Colours On the Ground
[Spoken]
I'm a double minority. They would've gotten two hits from me. Because I'm African American and I'm a female. I'm here because I wanted to make a difference. But how dare you stand next to me in a sting uniform and murder somebody. How dare you? You ought to be ashamed of yourself, so why don't we just keep it real. If you were that officer, then no goodness why you've got a god complex. You are afraid of people that don't look like you
[Verse 1]
Mama soaked in tears and on her knees
She holds her baby as caution tapes surrounds
She keeps on screaming, "He was just 19"
The men in blue said, "I told him to stay down"
That doesn't make it right
Shame on you, shame on you
And if we asked the ones we lost
What they did so wrong, all they'd say is
[Chorus]
I had my hands up, my hoodie on
Complying, still I'm dying
I just had my hands up, my hoodie on
No gun was drawn, still they find a way to make us
Colours on the ground
That's all they wanna see
To them that's all we'll be
Is just another colour on the ground
[Verse 2]
A child 4 years old in the back seat
So much red on daddy's shirt after 5 pops ring so loud
Too young to understand what it quite means
Why is daddy no longer around?
If she could ask her father what he did
That was so wrong, he'd say, baby
[Chorus]
I just had my hands up, my dreads were locked
My skin was black, so they attacked
Baby, I just had my hands up, my hoodie on
No gun was drawn, still they find a way to make us
Colours on the ground
That's all they wanna see
I refuse to let us be
Just another colour on the ground
[Bridge]
Together we're strong
I'm sick of them painting the streets with them brown and reds
Them brown and reds
But keep marching on
I tell them copperly ones, go turn in the badge, turn in the badge
[Outro]
We'll always be here
(You wanna know why they use us to paint the ground, man?)
They try, they try
('Cause black, isn't beautiful)
But
(And he's dead)
But they can't get rid of us, JITW