The Specials — B.L.M

[Intro] Lynval Golding, born 1951 Mendes, St Catherine, Jamaica [Verse 1] The year was 1954, you know Sir Winston Churchill shout across the Western islands He said, "Come, help us rebuild this country devastated by war" And so anyway, my father set sail upon the wind rush, bound for a new life My father was a tailor by trade And so this could be the possibility of all possibilities But no, there was no cloth to stitch Instead, you know what? He found work in a steel foundry Pouring hot metal day and night, day and night And even worse, you know what then? Him tried to find a room to rent This was becoming a nightmare for him Him knock on door after door after door But the sign on the window keep saying the same thing "No dogs, no Irish, no blacks" Welcome to England [Chorus] I'm not here to teach you I'm not here to preach to you I just want to reach out And say [Verse 2] Time move on In 1964, my father shout across Jamaica "Son," him said, "Come join me" So I set sail on a ship called the Askena When I reached Northampton on a cold winter's night Boy, I was freezing I want to tell the captain to just take me back to Jamaica But no, I was here to stay So my father sent me to a school Linden Road school in Gloucester I remember the first playtime A boy shout across at me "Oi, you black bastard, come 'ere" I said, "What?" He said, "Come 'ere, you black bastard" I still couldn't believe, I says, "What? Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me?" Boy, welcome to England [Chorus] I'm not here to teach you I'm not here to preach to you I just want to reach out And say [Verse 3] In 1994, I move again The land of the free, the home of the brave The United States of America And there I was Just walking along in the sun, minding my own business Such a beautiful day, man, when I remember I had to buy a watch on my sister's birthday When why eventually I found this store As I walk through the door This woman in the store shouted at me "What you doing here, you goddamn nigga?" I said, "I-I'm just, I'm just trying to buy a watch for my sister" When she heard my accent, she said "Oh, you're not from here, you're not one of them" "One of them?" I said, "You mean me being black? Well ma'am, let me tell you something right, I am black Is that all you see? The color of my skin?" In England, them call you a black bastard In America, they call you a goddamn nigga Boy, welcome to my world [Chorus] But I'm not here to teach you I'm not here to preach to you I just want to reach out and say Black lives matter