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Rootstraps (Live)
Words: Abiyah
Music: Todd Uttley
Backing Vocals: Amy Constantine
Human Beatbox: Chestah T
Flow Tectonics Publishing (ASCAP)
when the wind blows
the seed sows, the tree grows
not gonna get cut down
im standing sturdy in the dirty earth
branches so long i had to go out on a limb
just to find my arms are swollen from within
the weight of the world growin, only showin
this burden is hurtin
certain to break my bough
i need a stake to hold my sway
not giving way to spout drought from my mouth
when the wind blows
i bend and descend feet first into the earth
giving birth to life supported by girth
of foundations found in nations of roots
im the ivy creeping up the wall
waiting for my calling
stalling only if my roots dont get watered
i die
i cry
hoping my tears replenish the soil
remove coils of vines wrapped around my lifelines
i cut the slack in half with garden shears
remove deep-seeded fears
manifested as weeds in my tears
but they keep on growin
not knowin the poison they throwin
dem a swoop down like a vulture
haffi know your roots and culture
grow to your proper stature
den dem negativity nah matter
pull me up
im not gonna get left down
in the ground
where i found my sound
it fed me back
when i grabbed it by the rootstraps
and cut the slack
the chlorophyll running through my veins
maintains strong stalks amidst talk
of the way i walk so
i feed myself with no ones help
except the suns rays
they lift me and give me shade
from sizzling comments made
by women and misters trying to blister my surface
not worth this much strife
green is the color of life
but also the color of hate
played in off-key notes
making it hard to navigate
through the straight and narrow gate
one-world family cannot relate
except in debate
castrate new ideas
you better watch where
your stone throw goes
dont cut yourself on the windows
looking glass reversed
by cursing me, you are cursed
not the first or the last
to dig me deep like that
im crawling on my belly to get them off my back
my feet are dark and muddy
getting down to my roots
face ruddy from crying
i kick your ass with my boots
wrap my roots around my knuckles and pull
buckle up for the ride ahead
ignoring everything thats been said
knowing from where i came
gives me eminent domain
to take over this land
meaning i can stand in sand without sinking
or grow in the desert without drinking
pull me up
im not gonna get left down
in the ground
where i found my sound
it fed me back
when i grabbed it by the rootstraps
and cut the slack
if i ever thought you could to try to pull me down
i would just turn around and stomp the ground around you down
no greenery around your scenery
just vacant branches and deadened stances
you missed your chances to grow with me.
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