Three Little Birds
Bob Marley
1977
Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!
Rise up this mornin',
Smile with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', (This is my message to you-ou-ou: )
Singin': Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!
Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', This is my message to you-ou-ou:
Singin': Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!
Singin': Don't worry about a thing - I won't worry!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right - I won't worry!
Singin': Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!
Take A Minute
K'Naan
2009
How did Mandela get the will to surpass the everyday
when injustice had him caged and trapped in every way?
How did Gandhi ever withstand the hunger-strikes at all?
Didn't do it to gain power or money if I recall. It's the gift,
I guess I'll pass it on, mother thinks it'll lift the stress of Babylon
my mother knows, my mother she suffered blows
I don't know how we survived such violent episodes
I was so worried, it hurt to see you bleed,
but as soons as you came out the hospital you gave me sweets yea,
they tried to take you from me, but you still only gave 'em some prayers and sympathy
Dear Mama, you helped me write this
by showing me to give is priceless
[chorus:]
And any man who knows a thing
knows he knows not a darn, darn thing at all
And every time I felt the hurtin'
I felt the givin' gettin' me up off the wall
I'm just gonna take a minute to let it ride
I'm just gonna take a minute and let it breathe
I'm just gonna take a minute to let it ride
I'm just gonna take a minute and let it breathe
All I can say is, the worst is over now
we can serve the hard times, divorce is over now
They try to keep us out, but they doors is open now
Now now Akon is gettin' awards and covers now
This K'naan, and still reppin' the S
Comin' out of Muqdisho and still draped in the mess
And no matter how we strong homie
It ain't easy comin' out of where we from homie
and it's the reason why I can never play phony
Tell 'em the truth is what my dead homies told me, ooh yeah
I take inspiration from the most heinous of situations
Creatin' medication out my own tribulations
Dear Africa, you helped me write this
by showin' me to give is pricless
[chorus]
Nothin' is perfect man, that's what the world is
all I know is
I'm enjoyin' today, you know
'cause it ain't every day that you get to give
[chorus]
Alphabet Aerobics
Blackalicious
1999
(Now it's time for our wrap up
Let's give it everything we've got
Ready? Begin)
Artificial amateurs, aren't at all amazing
Analytically, I assault, animate things
Broken barriers bounded by the bomb beat
Buildings are broken, basically I'm bombarding
Casually create catastrophes, casualties
Cancelling cats got their canopies collapsing
Detonate a dime of dank daily doing dough
Demonstrations, Don Dada on the down low
Eating other editors with each and every energetic
Epileptic episode, elevated etiquette
Furious fat fabulous fantastic
Flurries of funk felt feeding the fanatics
Gift got great global goods gone glorious
Getting godly in his game with the goriest
Hit em high, hella height, historical
Hey holocaust hints hear 'em holler at your homeboy
Imitators idolize, I intimidate
In a instant, I'll rise in a irate state
Juiced on my jams like joy kids gonna join
Justly, it's just me, writing my journals
Kindly I'm kindling all kinds of ink on
Karate kick type brits in my kingdom
Let me live a long life, lyrically lessons is
Learned lame louses just lose to my livery
My mind makes marvelous moves, masses
Marvel and move, many mock what I've mastered
No we nap knowing I'm nice naturally
Knack, never lack, make noise nationally
Operation, opposition, off, not optional
Out of sight, out of mind, wide beaming opticals
Perfected poem, powerful punchlines
Pummelling petty powder puffs in my prime
Quite quaint quotes keep quiet it's Quantum
Quarrelers ain't got a quarter of what we got uh
Really raw raps, rising up rapidly
Riding the rushing radioactivity
Super scientifical sound search sought
Silencing super fire saps that are soft
Tales ten times talented, too tough
Take that, challengers, get a tune up
Universal, unique untouched
Unadulterated, the raw uncut
Verb vice lord victorious valid
Violate vibes that are vain make em vanished
While I'm all well would a wise wordsmith just
Weaving up words weeded up, I'm a workshift
Xerox, my X-ray-diation holes extra large
X-height letters, and xylophone tones
Yellow back, yak mouth, young ones yaws
Yesterday's lawn yard sale I yawn
Zig zag zombies, zoomin to the zenith
Zero in zen thoughts, overzealous rhyme ZEA-LOTS!....
(good....can you say it faster?)
