A Song for Assata

[Intro: Common] In the Spirit of God In the Spirit of the ancestors In the Spirit of the Black Panthers In the Spirit of Assata Shakur We make this movement towards freedom For all those who have been oppressed And all those in the struggle Yeah, yo, check it [Verse 1: Common] There were lights and sirens, gunshots firin' Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent Seemed like a bad dream, she laid in a blood puddle Blood bubbled in her chest Cold air brushed against open flesh No room to rest, pain consumed each breath Shot twice with her hands up Police questioned, but shot before she answered One Panther lost his life, the other ran for his Scandalous, the police were as they kicked and beat her Comprehension, she was beyond, tryin' to hold on To life, she thought she'd live with no arm That's what it felt like, got to the hospital, eyes held tight They moved her room to room, she could tell by the light Handcuffed tight to the bed, through her skin, they bit Put guns to her head, every word, she got hit "Who shot the trooper?" they asked her Put mace in her eyes, threatened to blast her Her mind raced 'til things got still Opened her eyes, realized she's next to her best friend who got killed She got chills when they told her that's where she would be next Hurt mixed with anger, survival was a reflex They lied and denied visits from her lawyer But she was building as they tried to destroy her If it wasn't for this German nurse, they would've served her worse I read this sister's story, knew that it deserved a verse I wonder what would happen if that would've been me? All of this just so we could be free, so dig it, y'all [Chorus: Cee-Lo & Common] I'm thinkin' of Assata, yes Listen to my love, Assata, yes (Fred Hampton) Your power and pride is beautiful May God bless your soul [Verse 2: Common] It seemed like the middle of the night when law awakened her Walkie-talkies cracklin', not seein' where they takin' her Though she kind of knew What made the ride peaceful was the trees and the sky was blue Arrived to Middlesex Prison about 6 in the mornin' Uneasy as they pushed her to the second floor in a cell One cot, no window, facin' hell Put in the basement of a prison with all males And the smell of misery, seatless toilets and centipedes She'd exercise, paint, and begin to read Two years in a hole, her soul grew weak Away from people so long, she forgot how to speak She discovered freedom is an unspoken sound And a wall is a wall and can be broken down Found peace in the Panthers she went on trial with One of the brothers she had a child with The foulness, they wouldn't feed her, hopin' she'd lose their seed Held tight, knowin' the fight would live through the seed In need of a doctor, from her stomach, she'd bleed Out of this situation a girl was conceived Separated from her, left to mother the revolution And lactate to attack hate 'Cause federal and state was built for a Black fate Her emptiness was filled with beatings and court dates They fabricated cases, hopin' one would stick And said she robbed places that didn't exist In the midst of threats on her life and bein' caged with Aryan whites Through dark halls of hate, she carried the light I wonder what would happen if that would've been me All of this just so we could be free Yeah, I often wonder what would happen if that would've been me All of this just so we could be free So dig it, people [Chorus: Cee-Lo] I'm thinkin' of Assata, yes Listen to my love, Assata, yes Your power and pride, so beautiful May God bless your soul [Verse 3: Common] Yo From North Carolina, her grandmother would bring News that she had had a dream Her dreams always meant what they needed them to mean What made them real was the action in between She dreamt that Assata was free in they old house in Queens The fact that they always came true was the thing Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldn't've done Medical evidence shown she couldn't have shot the gun It's time for her to see the sun from the other side Time for her daughter to be by her mother's side Time for this beautiful woman to become soft again Time for her to breathe and not be told how or when She untangled the chains and escaped the pain How she broke out of prison, I could never explain And even to this day, they try to get to her But she's free with political asylum in Cuba [Chorus: Cee-Lo] I'm thinkin' of Assata, yeah Listen to my love, Assata, yeah We're molded from the same mud, Assata We share the same blood, Assata, yeah Your power and pride, so beautiful May God bless your soul Your power and pride, so beautiful May God bless your soul [Outro: Assata Shakur] Freedom? You askin' me about freedom? You're askin' me about freedom? I'll be honest with you I know a whole lot more about what freedom isn't than about what it is 'Cause I've never been free I can only share my vision with you Of the future, about what freedom is, uh The way I see it, uh, freedom is, is the right to grow, is the right to blossom Uh, freedom is, is, is the right to be yourself To be who you are, to be who you wanna be To do what you wanna do