The Grip

[President Franklin D. Roosevelt] {1937} "It ought to be inconceivable that in this modern era And in the face of experience Any nation could be so foolish and ruthless as to run the risk Of plunging the whole world into war by invading and violating In contravention of solemn treaties The territory of other nations that have done them no real harm" [Verse 1] From the furthest point East to the wildest West Powers travelled round the planet on a bloody conquest European kings and priests with omnipotence Soldiers freakin out in foreign lands killing citizens And worse still spreading germs and plagues Now is so much a result of those bad old days From the town hall, to inner-city architecture From the money in Surrey to sweatshops up in Leicester Casino alcholics in the Mid-West Junkies in Brazil feel the effects of mass death The urge to learn killed by a greed for piles of gold And churches justifying lives being sold Though the culprits change, control rarely shifts Only China comes close to even fucking with this This world we call Earth and the system I dis A lifestyle full of work where we barely exist Look at Chile now - decimated native populations held down The rich, white powers holding on With British backing like Malaysia's arms buying The same gang's running the show And I'm trying to see through this and not become a lone hitman Out to kill that bitch Maggie Thatcher with a sick plan Sick bitch, supporting Pinochet in extradition On telly, she put my brain into a strange position So can you come to terms with devilish ways? Or do you try to escape, run away or start to pray? I try to think about the positive things One Love, no queen, one god, no king [Scratches] "The Grip"... [Verse 2] I wish I had the will to fight back Be at the World Trade Centre all dressed in black Me and an angry pack Instead I just rap and give back And see a rich life and think 'I still want to live that' It's so subtle how they muddle us Now life is so complex we let the small things trouble us And revolution? Forget that for the one fact We don't have the arms to even try to compete It's even easier to keep your head down and stay asleep And while you're lying there counting see your face in them sheep And that's deep but not as deep as losing a child Seeing his teeth crushed by the rifle butt by your village hut Pure grief, thanks to far away beef Fried in messed-up religion half-baked with belief So I won't stop rapping 'til you get my drift That we're held in the Grip getting sorely dissed Capitalists are we, we pretend we're not Buying better trainers each year, connecting dots We go from first job to next job, to mortgage to kids Make it harder to be happy 9-to-5in' to live Me I'm striving to give but I'll hustle like mad Just to get ahead in life I need money so bad, yeah I'm pissed now So do you get my gist now? If hell existed, half the world's already in the lift down In the grip! [Scratches] "The Grip"