Gil Scott-Heron — Waiting for the Axe to Fall

[Intro] Ha! [Verse 1] Brother living in a cell Doing time at the county jail Now you might think his life is hell (But he told me) It's the first room he ever had to himself [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all When your head is on the block And ain't no way for you to stop You're waiting for the axe to fall [Verse 2] Brother served in Viet Nam Found out no one gives a damn See Agent Orange fell on his camp (But there's [?] at stake) Brother going looking for Uncle Sam [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all When your head is in the noose And won't nobody turn you loose You're waiting for the axe to fall [Verse 3] Sister on the welfare line Examining the threads of her life She never thought she'd be cheating and lying To make sure her and her kids survive It's so much better than [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all When your head is on the block And ain't no way for you to stop You're just waiting for the axe to fall [Verse 4] Last night Grandma sho' got shook 'Cause someone grabbed her pocketbook She ain't safe in the neighborhood There's too many young 'uns up to no good They're sick and tired of [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all When your head is in the noose And won't nobody turn you loose You're waiting for the axe to fall [Post-Chorus] Seem like waiting Feels just like waiting Seem like they're waiting Everybody's waiting Seem like they're waiting Feels like they're waiting Seem like they're Seem like they're waiting and waiting and waiting, say [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all 'Cause when your head is on the block And ain't no way for you to stop You're waiting for the axe to fall [Post-Chorus] It seem like they're waiting Everybody's waiting Nervous sadly waiting Standing around and waiting Feel like they're waiting Seem like they're waiting Seem like they're, seem like they're Seem like they're, seem like they're [?] [Chorus] Waiting for the axe to fall And sometimes Lord I think that's all 'Cause when your head is in the noose And won't nobody turn you loose You're waiting for the axe to fall