Gettin' Woke Talking Blues Video (MV)

Had a dream I was walking down the street
Minding my business and checking my tweets
When an old man stopped me and shook me awake
With a real swift kick and a firm handshake
I said hey old man
I ain't bothering nobody
Trying to have a dream here

He said you need to know what it means to be woke
It's not about sleep and it's not a joke
You gotta stop pretending there's nothing's wrong
And open your heart to being strong
We need you
We need your courage
Black people are being murdered in the streets by police
Every day

He said let me tell you if you wanna be woke
You gotta listen to the stories of all the folk, and I mean all of them
Women, Black, Latino, L-G-B-T-Q-I-A and immigrants
Especially if you're white
Especially if you're male
Especially if you're ignorant

Well I gave a holler and jumped outta bed
And said who you calling ignorant? I was seeing red
I ain't no racist now leave me alone
This ain't my problem so go on home

But that is the problem you can't be bothered
While our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered
White privilege is your reality
That makes you ignore this tragedy

No offense he said
You just ain't woke yet
But at least you're awake now
And I got your attention

Love and respect are what people need
Not hate and neglect and racist greed
You gotta get it right with the people around you
And work for justice it's up to you

You gotta show up
Carry a sign
Stand up and be counted

Cause if you don't show up and you don't stand up
And you don't speak up we oughta give up
You won't make a difference you'll sit at home
Clicking likes on Facebook 'til the cows come home

We call that slacktivism
Silence is violence, my friend

The only way to get out is to get woke
From that lily white American dream you live in
You know the one
The one with a white house and a white car and a white picket fence
And two and half white children and a wife and a dog
And a best friend who is African American
So you think you know what it means to be black in America
And a big screen tv where you can watch Fox and Friends
In total surround sound ignorance
With no immigrants cause they got deported
And no black people cause they got murdered
And no muslims cause they got banned
And no poor people cause they got scammed
There's no food and no fruit 'cause you ain't gonna pick it
No forests, no animals not even a cricket
'Cause they all burned down and the ice all melted
Cause there's not a gosh darn thing that we respected
How's your dream now?

Now getting active has its price
They'll call you names that aren't so nice
They'll call you a commie and a big fat traitor
A snowflake liberal paid demonstrator

Be proud
Carry your communist flag all the way to the public library
Check out a book by a person of color
Read it in jail

The time is now, you know what to do
America is counting on you
Get woke and don't repeat history
This is our time, let's make herstory