Is It Because I'm Black

The dark brown shades of my skin

Only add color to my tears

Oh, oh

That splash against my hollow bones

That rocks my soul

Looking back over my false dreams that I once knew

Wondering why my dreams never came true

Is it because I'm black? (Uh huh)

Somebody tell me, what can I do?

Oh Lord, oh

Something is holding me back (uh, huh)

Is it because I'm black? (Yeah)

In this world of no pity

I was raised in the ghetto of the city

Yeah, oh Lord (uh)

Momma, she works so hard

To earn every penny (yeah, oh lord)

Something is holding me back (uh huh)

Is it because I'm black? (Ahh)

Like a child stealing candy for the first time, and got caught

Peeping around life's corner somewhere, I got lost (oh)

Something is holding me back (uh huh)

I wonder, is it because I'm black?

Somebody tell me what can I do?

Will I survive, or will I die?

Oh, oh

You keep on holding me back

Keep on holding on

Keep on picking on me

Oh, you keep on holding me back

Keep on holding on, keep on holding on (uh)

You're holding me back

I wonder why, you do me like that

But you keep on holding me back

Keep on putting your foot on me

But I, I, I, I've got to break away

Somehow and someday

'Cause I wanna be somebody so bad, so bad

I wanna be somebody, I wanna be somebody so bad

You see, I want diamond rings and things, like you do

And I wanna drive Cadillac cars (uh huh)

Oh, I wanna be somebody so bad

But you keep on putting your foot on me

And I, I believe, I believe I can break away

And be somebody, somehow, and someway

Ya see

I heard somebody say one time

You can make it, if you try

Oh, and some of us, we tried so hard, we tried so hard

I want you to know that I don't speak for myself

But I speak for y'all too right now

Uh huh, ya see

If you half white, light-brown skinned, or high yellow

You're still black

So we all got to stick together right now

Mhm

This I wanna say to you my sisters and my brothers

Right on sister, mhm

Right on brother

Dig this

If we keep on pushing, y'all

Oh, we've got to make it a little bit further

We've got to make it a little further

All we got to do is try, try, try

And some of us, we've tried so hard

We've tried so hard, we've tried so hard (uh huh)

We've tried so hard , so hard to be somebody (um)

We've tried so hard, although, they're holding us back

And it stands to reason

That they're doin' us like that

You know what? It is

I believe, it is because we are black (uh huh)

But hey, we can't stop now, we can't stop now

Got to keep on, keep on, keep on, keepin' on

We've got to keep on, keeping on

I know and I know and I know that you know, that I know, it ain't right

Oh, it ain't right, it ain't right, it ain't right

That they hold us, hold us, hold us back

They're holding us back, they're holding us back

I wonder, sometimes I sit down, sit down and I wonder

I sit down and I think about it

Sometimes it makes me so mad

It makes me so mad