"Black babies in the womb are shackled and bound, chained by the caveman who keeps beauty down, smacked on the ass when they're squalling and wet, heir to a spineless man who never forgets, never forgets that he's a prisoner, can't you hear my plea"
Gil Scott Heron is a poet who is often called the grandfather of rap music. He was known for being one of the earliest people to mix his poetry with rhythmic beats. He was also known as the Black Bob Dylan despite his hate for name. Heron addressed many issues in the black community throughout his career. During his later years he made sure to address addiction as it was something he suffered with.
The album provides an air of calm disguising lyrics that paint a much darker picture. Heron is backed by light jazz tunes with more flutes than saxophones. Some of Heron's poetry is sung, while other is rapped but he rarely actually speaks it. This is only his second album and it's already clear why he is the grandfather of rap. Gil Scott had flow, to put it simply, he traded couplets for bars.
A common misconception about pieces of a man is that it's an album about Heron himself. That's just not true, this is far from an autobiographical piece of work. The stories that he tells have nothing to do with him and a little bit of research makes that easy to see. Instead pieces of a man is about black men. It's about black men being broken into pieces over the centuries only to sweep them into a pile in an attempt to build ourselves back up. Throughout the album he also takes aim at pseudo-intellectuals in the black community.
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," was a staple for Heron appearing on three different albums and almost all of his performances. The version on this album is the most popular and backed by an entire band in contrast to just Gil Scott with no backing. The song takes aim at the people who claim to be leaders of the black community. People who claim that they're changing the condition for black people everywhere. These are the people we see on TV constantly talking about change. Heron instead insists that the actual revolution will come when black people take to the streets in mass with nobody staying home. He explains the Revolution will not involve talking with politicians on television, especially not Nixon and Watergate conspirators. He states "there will be no pictures of you and Willie Mays pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance." There will be riots, but there will be no looting because everything will be deliberate and with a purpose. He specifically calls out Whitey Young of the National Urban League and Roy Wilkens of the NAACP. "There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process, there will be no slow motion or still life of Roy Wilkins strolling through Watts in a red, black and green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving for just the right occasion," showing that these once great leaders now care more for the publicity and fame than the actual issues at hand.
One really important statement is "there will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news and no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists." This is obviously a shot at feminists, but not all. White feminists are known for attempting to co-op movements and lowering the value of other people's issues. White feminist are also known for excluding black women from their movements. In 2014 the cover of Garage Magazine released an issue on MLK day with white feminist icon Dasha Zhukova sitting on a chair modeled after a black woman complete with big puckered lips and leather bondage gear to over sexualize her. What was the interview about? Feminism. White Feminism. It is clear white feminists do not care about equality for all, they care about being equal to white men. White feminist do not care about anyone else. They are not invited and will not co-op this movement. Simply put "Black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day."
"Save The Children," is about just that, saving the children. Heron wants to make it a better place for children to grow up. In the song Mary wants to be a teacher and Tommy wants to be a fireman but how can they do that from the conditions they're living in. "We've got to do something to save the children, aoon it will be their turn to try and save the world," because thinking in the short term does not save anyone. Heron once again takes aim at the pseudo-intellectual off the black community by asking "if we know all we say we know about the problems why can't we do something to try and solve them?" There sure does seem to be no shortage of people who go on TV talking about black issues with no actual solutions.
"Home Is Where The Hatred Is," is just as much about Heron's cocaine addiction as it is why he and others turn to cocaine. It's important that we mention Heron was raised in Jackson, Tennessee, a very small city about the size of a college town until age 12. At age 12 his grandmother died and he moved to the ghetto of New York City where he constantly wanted to leave because of the things he saw. The actual song blurs the lines of what parts are about him and which parts are about other addicts. Home in the song isn't about Heron's personal home but the ghetto in general. It's a song that appeals to empathy. Asking the people who berate drug addicts "You keep saying, kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it, God, but did you ever try," because drug addiction isn't something you can just kick. He also calls cocaine his "white powder dream." However he's not glorifying drug use when he states "Home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams." He and others know they're addicted, they have these demons but it's hard to fight them.
Contrary to popular belief "Pieces of A Man," is not about Gil Scott's father. The song depicts a man who is broken by racism. Then the man is laid off and you hear heron mention thunder and lightning, the sound of a gunshot and muzzle flash. Here's a man who does everything to take care of his family but because of racism and oppression he just can't take anymore. He had long been a broken man. His grandmother wasn't actually sweeping up pieces but she was trying to help her son stay together and avoid breaking down further. After he is fired from his job he can no longer provide for his family. That was the last thing that kept him going. The man turns to suicide and the paramedics can't put together the actual pieces of man. Heron sings about watching him go to metaphorical pieces because he was outside during the actual suicide. He saw the father in this story slowly breaking down over time due to racism and oppression. He sings that he was a strong and good man but over time he just went to pieces. Being black and poor comes with a price.
"The Prisoner," takes a look at how black children are born imprisoned. We're imprisoned by a system that disregards and exploits us. It's as if we're born shackled and have our options limited to those that appease others. He states we're "heir to a spineless man who never forgets, never forgets that he's a prisoner," this is our fathers. As we heard in "Pieces of a Man," it takes time, but eventually they break. We're basically heirs to nothing. We have nothing to call our own. It's why "home is an empty abyss," on the song "Home Is Where The Hatred Is." This is the song that ties all of the thoughts throughout the album together. He begs for someone to just hear his plea and explains ending segregation did nothing to help the average black person. The rereleased version also features the bonus track "Chains," where Heron sings "I've got to get away from these chains." That is the mind state of almost every black person in the ghetto. We're chained in but we just have to get free. Another bonus track "Peace," has him singing "it seems I hear it every day, but it's always on my mind, as I struggle to find my way." In the end he turns to drugs to dull the pain because he feels we're searching for peace but we're "just out here struggling struggling struggling for peace," and drugs is the easiest way to get there.
The last bonus track is called "A Toast To The People." In the track he's joined by Brian Jackson and they sing:
"The memories still hold fast yet as strange as it seems, we still live in the past. The essence of a Black life lost in the hour glass, and ever since we came to this land, this country has ruled the day when we would stand as one and raise our voices and say, you know there will be no more lynchings, and no more talk about class, your sons and your daughters won't die in the hour glass."The song urges us to forget about the past, like slavery, and focus on the issues we face today. We can give up on 40 acres and a mule or any other thoughts of reparations because it just won't happen. Focusing on things in the past like slavery and Jim Crow leaves us trapped in an hour glass not looking forward when really should be handling the issues we face now. The idea of class being the issue not race is some conservatives like to use non stop. They think the only race issue is the myth of black on black violence that they continuously perpetuate. If we want change we can't be trapped in the hour glass. Slavery was bad and set black people back 400 years but it's over. We should focus on police officers killing young unarmed black men and women. Slavery isn't coming back, we shouldn't forget it but it shouldn't be our focus. They finish the song with the following:
"A toast to David Walker, a toast to Martin King, a toast to all the leaders, who had a golden dream, a toast to all black fathers who live their lives in vain, a toast to all black mothers who shoulder this life in vain, a toast to the people"Despite the album being nothing but depressing it finishes on a high note. A toast for David Walker the abolitionist and Martin Luther King, people who died for their dreams. A toast to the black fathers who always want better for their children but can never break the glass ceiling, yet they keep trying anyway. A toast to the black mothers who console their children and keep their husbands from turning into pieces of a man. A toast to the black people.
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You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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Capitalize the "B" in Black, please. Great article!
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