Well I'm about to get upset from watchin' my TV Been checkin' out the news until my eyeballs fail to see I mean they say that every day is just another rotten mess And when it's gonna change, my friends, is anybody's guess So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin', hopin' for the best Even think I'll go to prayin', every time I hear 'em sayin' That there's no way to delay, that trouble comin' every day No way to delay, that trouble comin' every day Wednesday I watched the riots, I seen the cops out on the street Watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff and chokin' in the heat Listened to reports about the whisky pa**in' 'round Seen the smoke and fire and the market burnin' down Watched while everybody on his street would take a turn To stomp and smash and bash and crash and slash and bust and burn And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin', hopin' for the best Even think I'll go to prayin', every time I hear 'em sayin' That there's no way to delay, that trouble comin' every day No way to delay that trouble comin' every day Well you can cool it, you can heat it 'cause, baby, I don't need it Take your TV tube and eat it and all that phony stuff on sports And all the unconfirmed reports, you know I watched that rotten box Until my head began to hurt from checkin' out the way The newsmen say they get the dirt before the guys on channel so-and-so And further they a**ert that any show they'll interrupt to bring you news if it comes up They say that if the place blows up, they'll be the first to tell Because the boys they got downtown are workin' hard and doin' swell And if anybody gets the news before it hits the street They say that no one blabs it faster, their coverage can't be beat And if another woman driver gets machine-gunned from her seat They'll send some joker with a brownie and you'll see it all complete
So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin', hopin' for the best Even think I'll go to prayin', every time I hear 'em sayin' That there's no way to delay, that trouble comin' every day No way to delay, that trouble comin' every day Hey you know something people? I'm not black but there's a whole lots a times, I wish I could say I'm not white Well, I seen the fires burnin' and the local people turnin' On the merchants and the shops who used to sell their brooms and mops And every other household item watched the mob just turn and bite 'em And they say it served 'em right because a few of them were white And it's the same across the nation, black and white discrimination They're yellin', "You can't understand me," and all the other jazz they hand me In the papers and TV and all that ma** stupidity That seems to grow more every day, each time you hear some nitwit say He wants to go and do you in because the color of your skin Just don't appeal to him, no matter if it's black or white Because he's out for blood tonight You know we gotta sit around at home and watch this thing begin But I bet there won't be many live to see it really end 'Cause the fire in the street ain't like the fire in my heart And in the eyes of all these people, don't you know that this could start? On any street in any town in any state if any clown Decides that now's the time to fight for some ideal he thinks is right And if a million more agree, there ain't no Great Society As it applies to you and me, our country isn't free And the law refuses to see if all that you can ever be Is just a lousy janitor unless your uncle owns a store You know that five in every four won't amount to nothin' more Than watch the rats go across the floor and make up songs about being poor Blow you harmonica son