Beast Within Lyrics - Singles - Sitting Dove

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools...MLK 

Intro Chorus: 

For us to get united, think spirit—say it again 

For us to save our dignity, we must try to forgive 

Character content, that's it—say it again 

This is that cause to die for so that we can live 

This little ditty starts about grade K 

I was at the state fair, I remember the day 

I was suckin' on Slurpee I had in my face 

Then smack, it splattered all over the place 

I could feel the sting on my nose and cheeks 

To find out what happened I looked up to see 

Three kids older, different color than me 

They held fly swatters still ready to swing 

I could tell that those kids just wanted to fight 

But I didn't want that, I just wondered why...But 

Before I could wonder, I was quickly told why 

That the you knows did it to me just because I was light 

Now I don't know how that was all about race 

I just know what happened had left me in a state 

Thank God I'd heard about that man M-L-K 

I felt him back then, I feel him more to-day 

As we grew up, we were pretty much friends 

Yet I was taught by my elders that there was a difference 

The difference they were talking about was based on skin 

Felt the presence of the devil when they were talk-in' 

No problems I knew 'til high school came 

'Til that sunny day brought in a storm of acid-rain 

Guys started pushin' me, talkin' about skin 

Messin' up my hair, pushin', laughin' 

Callin' me a kind of boy, guys I thought were friends 

All done without cause, my faith was shaken 

But lookin' back, I can see what happened 

An elder of my friends must have started talkin' 

Must have opened their eyes to the light man's sin 

Now there's plenty of that, I've lived it firsthand 

It comes from our elders and the tele-vision 

When identity is skin, it serves to spread the beast within 

Break: 

Not long after I was talkin' with a gal 

One who I liked, who only saw me as a pal 

She said that she was goin' with the guy who pushed me down 

Then I used that one word and it got around 

What never got around was it was said in response 

To a bigoted attack when I had done nothin' wrong 

I forgave and said I'm sorry to everybody and their Mom 

But it didn't matter, hate kept marching on 

Despite that tit for tat, I tried to keep faith 

Faced off with that Stepdad for spreadin' the hate 

That day we were sittin', watchin' T-V 

That Stepdad wasn't much for diversity 

That Stepdad said that one word and I asked him to stop 

But he kept on sayin' it 'til I made him stop 

I grabbed him by his sweatshirt just below his chin 

Jerked him from the chair "Don't ya (pop-pop) say it again!" 

When Mom came in cryin', I let go of him 

Another explosion based solely on skin 

Such words just spread division, no matter who uses them 

Mental walls of mass destruction, no one's innocent 

A raging alcoholic, my soul wasting away 

Hip Hop thumpin' loud in my ears all day 

It's what kept me alive, but I was haunted by the hate 

It reminded me of Stepdad and the things he used to say 

Stepdad comes from fear and hate, Rap's from real pain 

But the gun talk and the racial pride hits me about the same 

And the talk of revolution, like that'll set things straight 

Don't blink before you know it, there'll be no U-S-A 

Words of that Stepdad echoed in my head 

"You better get wise boy, they really want you dead" 

My bob-along thought, "my heroes really want me dead?" 

"You better learn to shoot a gun for your own self-defense?" 

Those cold thoughts resounded in me 

I searched for some soul, some shared humanity 

Yet everywhere I turned, just hate harassing 

When the Bible says we're one blood, one humanity 

When I get free, it's plain as day to see 

How the media's always stirring up some controversy 

Just to break us up by gender, creed and ethnicity 

Those opinion polls are phony, they just tell us what to think 

Yeah, those in charge put forth a nice face 

But they trap us in our skin when they remind us of our race 

It's done to distract, while things are put in place 

The finishing touches on new police state 

If I offended any good-willed people, I apologize right now. That was not my intent. But we are being played against each other. We need to forget about race and follow the money. Now that'll get us somewhere... 

Chorus Outro: (2x) 

For us to get united, think spirit—say it again 

For us to save our dignity, we must try to forgive 

Character content, that's it—say it again 

This is that cause to die for so that we can live