Song: Roosevelt Roosevelt
Album: Fast Times At Trillmont High
Artist: Toussaint Morrison
Written by Toussaint Morrison
Released June 18, 2013
ref: http://toussaintmorrison.bandcamp.com/track/roosevelt-roosevelt
Another trip down to the principal’s office
I’ll probably see you in the next one- no problem
Just not in this building, cos’ they’re cuttin’ me out
Over the poem I dropped in English Class. No doubt
I told’em ‘bout the prison ration, graduation too,
How less than half of us are expected to complete school
The office ain’t go show the kids the article from the
Tribune
So, I took it straight to the classroom
How does it feel to be expected to lose?
Oh, nobody told you? Now who’s playin’ who?
Ignorance is a bitch, but it won’t stop you from textin’
her.
Life’s a trip, we just assume that we’re gettin’ where
We need to be. Sold on a future that was never sure
Tipped your temper, now you wanna mute the messenger?
Well, go’on kid, I was never here.
I’d kick rocks before I’d let’em steer
And set the gear to the wheels on this bike.
Click “like” if you wanna, but it won’t help ya get right
Suburbanites lookin’ at the hood like it quit life,
And expulsion ain’t scarin’ no one from the fist fight.
They say knowledge is power, but so is this switchblade
My first classmate got shot when I was in fifth grade
Na, you don’t want me in the class today
I’d probably start a riot that’d be on the front page
-
Chorus
Because we don’t make the news ‘til the school’s shut
down
And the buildin’ goes up for lease
And we don’t make the news ‘til our classmates get shot
Somewhere between here and the street.
Now, tell me how does that feel?
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
-
Somebody tell me how did it get here
To where five outta seven public high schools are close to foldin’
Cos they can’t get their numbers up for enrollment
You tellin’ me that this building’s built for 2000 and
you only got 800
You better up the stats before the student base is
bouncin’ and the city pulls the plug on fundin’
Your principal wanna slow dance around it, but I’ma take
it straight to the school board luncheon
Your racial disparity is nationally known
But you can’t save the building by taggin’ it with
“Wellstone”,
“Title 1”, “90/90/90”
It’s other words for sayin’ “here’s the curve… we’re
behind it”
It’s above my paygrade to watch my language
What’s being non-white and poor have to do with education
You gonna tell’em? Or is that why you were payin’ me?
Matter fact I’ll lay back and let the paper speak
Chorus
Now, I’ma take it back to a time of better weather
I’ma take it back to the time of LeVesseur
Matter fact, I’ll take it back to Ferlando Valentine
Scratch that, I’ma take it back to Thaddeus Fly
I was in the bleachers, coke-bottle glasses
Low fade, but still couldn’t pass with the black kids.
Basketball defined the kings of Minneapolis
Little did we know, it was all a distraction
By the time of graduation, friends got shot down
Or just dropped out,
hooked on that good-good, lost and not found
Candidates for syndication “Where Are They Now”
I’m talkin’ life after high school, life after hype.
Who’s
On their way up and who’s still pickin’ fights
At the party talkin’ garbage cos they need to let their
pride loose
Them glory days won’t last to suffice
Welcome to the post script, put away that notebook
I’ma put you up on game. Homie, focus
You’re in a jungle only a few make it out of
You’re from the city and for that you should be proud of.
You think I’m talkin’ nonsense and pure balderdash
But when tomorrow hits you like Sting’s Shoulder Splash
Where will your soapbox be for you to shout from
Who will you call when you can’t control the outcome
Stand bold, no matter what the hour is,
And be strong. They expect you to be powerless.
Stand bold, no matter what the hour is,
And be strong. They expect you to be powerless.
Roosevelt, Roosevelt, What, What
Roosevelt, Roosevelt, What.
Roosevelt, Roosevelt, What, What
Uh-huh, we cold as hell…
