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Track: The Prisoner
Artist: Gil Scott-Heron
Album: Pieces of a Man

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Name: Gil Scott-Heron
Spotify Genres: spoken word, jazz funk
Followers: 377,251
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Biography

US singer, spoken-word, activist and author of Black American (maternal) and Jamaican (paternal) descent. Born: April 1, 1949 (Chicago, IL, USA) Died: May 27, 2011 (New York, NY, USA) American poet, musician, and author known for his 1970s and 1980s work as a spoken word soul performer and his collaborative work with musician Brian Jackson, featuring a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul music, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles. The music of these albums, most notably Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul. Scott-Heron’s recording work is often associated with black militant activism and has received much critical acclaim for one of his most well-known compositions “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.

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Release: Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces Of A Man
Year: 2022
Genres: Jazz
Styles: Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Political, Poetry

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LYRICS

Here I am, after so many years
Hounded by hatred and trapped by fear
I'm in a box, I've got no place to go
If I follow my mind, I know I'll slaughter my own.
Help me I'm the prisoner, won't you hear my plea
I need somebody, yeah, to listen to me
I beg you, brothers and sisters, I'm counting on you (yeah).

Black babies in the womb are shackled and bound
Chained by the caveman who keeps beauty down
Smacked on the ass when they're squalling and wet
Heir to a spineless man who never forgets

Never forgets that he's a prisoner, can't you hear my plea
Cause I need somebody, Lord knows, to listen to me
I'm a stranger to my son who wonders why his daddy runs.

On my way to work in the morning when I don't give a damn
Can't nobody (x4) see just who in hell I am
Hemmed in by a suit, yes all choked up in a tie
Ain't no wonder some times near morning I hear my woman cry
She knows her man is a prisoner, won't you hear my plea
Yeah, cause I need somebody, wooo, to listen to me
My woman she don't say but she hates to see her man chained this way
Yeah, help me, I'm the prisoner
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the prisoner