Everyday, Grandma would come into my room
And I'd hear her say, "Rise and shine
The world is a window that holds a sign
There's help wanted somewhere."
So I rose and I shone
I put on my shoes and I was gone
See Grandma bought me my first phone
She said, "Don't bother calling the people who care
Call the people don't
Don't bother calling the people who have taken up a fight
Call the people who won't."
And I learn at a very young age
Where my Grandma's rage came from
The entire congregation would nod
Never ask Grandma about God
I'd argue with her everyday
All she'd say is, "Go down to the store
Buy some light bulbs
And when you run out, buy some more
Because the light at the end of your tunnel needs to be maintained
You can't let it be stained by their beliefs are better than your beliefs
And you can't agree to disagree, because they're f**ing wrong!"
It's not the strong who have gotten lazy
It's just that your vision is a little hazy
You're not sure what you want
But what you've got is all you need
Falsed greed
For every hypocritical church goer
Who won't walk past the beggars
'Cause they can't spare a dime
Grandma said, "f** them
I don't talk to God 'cause I ain't got the time."
And it struck me as strange
Every time I walked past someone
Who stopped to ask me
"Hey can you spare some change?"
Because, yes I can, but you see
I don't carry change around in my back pocket
I don't wear it around my neck on a chain in some locket
I keep change in the tip of my pen
And it seeps out every now and then
In spurts of angry ink that make me think
Maybe the writing on the wall could use a little revision
Grandma told me, "Stop trying to calculate the difference between people
People don't need division
Gotta stick it together
Gotta love each other."
Father, brother, sister, mother, uncles, cousins, aunts
Forget about the chance, the cheers, the jokes, the jeers
After 2000 years, you'd think we'd know by now
Grandma said, "We will only find equality in the number of tears."
And she was right
Because I don't know what injustices you have suffer
Based size, s**, race, religion
Or the political pigeon sh** on the shoulders of
Us versus them
Like in Bethlehem
When a man said, "Hey I could be wrong
But can't we all just get along?"
No! So we nailed him to a tree
See, justice isn't justice
It just is
And I can't change it
You can't change it
So we've just got to try and rearrange it
And I could offer you this miracle
A chance to see
A chance to see what I see
To see the way that people see me
Because if seeing is believing
And you see what I see
We wouldn't want to see anymore
But I've got a little surprise in store
For every man who looks upon me with judgment in his eye
The women who looks upon me with wetness between her thighs
I'm the world's greatest overweight lover
And you might just laugh
And you might just scoff
My bones are made from sticks and stones
And names just piss me off
Grandma told me, "Young man
You can't be concerned with what ever it is they've got
Because the only reason they think they're beautiful
Is the same reason they think you're not
And, young man, you have beauty beyond measure
You are a treasure entrenched in this earth
You can't let strangers determine your worth
Rise and shine!"
So I rose and I shone
I put on my shoes and I was gone
See, Grandma bought me my first phone
She said, "Young man, from time to time
I too need to smile
Would you do me a favour and keep me on speed dial?"
Yes, Grandma, I will
And still, to this day, I can call her up
And hear her say, "It's a game!
You play, you win
You play, you lose
You play!"
"Rise and shine!
The world is a window that holds a sign
There is help wanted out there, somewhere
But young man, if you are playing to win
The first thing you have to do
Is apply within."