Stay Human - Michael Franti

Viewed 11 times


Print this lyrics Print it!

     
Page format: Left Center Right
Direct link:
BB code:
Embed:

Stay Human Lyrics

Starvation is the creation of the devil, a rebel
I'm bringin' food to the people like a widow
Bringin' flowers to the grave in the middle
Of the city isolation is a riddle

To be surrounded by a million other people
But feel alone like a tree in a desert
Dried up like the skin of a lizard
But full of color like the spots of a leopard

Drum and bass pull me in like a shepherd
Scratch my itch like a needle on a record
Full of life like a man gone to Mecca
Sky high like an eagle up soaring

I speak low but I'm like a lion roaring
Baritone like a Robeson recordin'
I'm givin' thanks for bein' human
Every morning, morning, morning

Because the streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower gotta right to be bloomin'

The streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower got a right to be bloomin'

Be resistant, the negativity we keep it at a distance
Call for backup and I'll give you some assistance
Like a lifesaver deep in the ocean
Stay afloat here upon the funky motion

Rock and roll upon the waves of the season
Hold your breath and your underwater breathin'
To be rhymin' without a real reason
Is to claim but not to practice a religion

If television is the drug of the nation
Satellite is immaculate reception
Beaming in they can look and they can listen
So you see don't believe in the system

To legalize you or give you your freedom
You want rights ask em', they'll read em'
But every flower got a right to be bloomin'
Stay human

Because the streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower gotta right to be bloomin'

The streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor tell a friend
Every flower got a right to be bloomin'

Because all the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
Because all the freaky people make the beauty of the world
We saw all the freaky people make the beauty of the world
Stay human

You see Y2K ya know is a moment
In time we find that we can open
Up a heart that's locked or been broken
By the pain of words not spoken
Or shot by guns a still smokin'
Cart wrights out on the Ponderosa

Or drive by bang in Testarossa
We need to heed the words of Dalai Lama
Or at least the words of yo mama
Take a mental trip to the Bahamas
Steam your body in a stereo sauna, sauna, comma

Because the streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower gotta right to be bloomin'

The streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower got a right to be bloomin'

The streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower gotta right to be bloomin'

The streets are alive with the sound of boom bap
Can I hear it once again?
Boom bap tell your neighbor, tell a friend
Every flower got a right to be bloomin'

Because all the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
All the freaky people make the beauty of the world
Because all the freaky people make the beauty of the world
Stay human

Lyrics provided by LyricsEver.com
Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966, in Oakland, California) is an African, Irish, and German American poet, musician, and composer. Franti is the creator and driving force behind Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, folk, and rock.

Franti was part of the industrial punk band The Beatnigs with DJ Rono Tse, which released a self-titled LP, and an EP Television on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles records. His next project, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, found Franti continuing his collaboration with Tse, and working with jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter, and electronic musicians Mark Pistel (Consolidated) and Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto). The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy wrote biting, progressive lyrics that railed against the injustice of the world and yearned for democratic reform, set to a fusion of industrial and hip hop. Their first album won acclaim for its social commentary, and they were chosen by U2 to open for their Zoo TV Tour.

Franti and the Disposable Heroes put together another record of music accompanying novelist William Burroughs' readings for an album entitled Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales. This album diverged greatly from the style of the band's previous work, as they were largely providing musical background and accompaniment to Burroughs' spoken readings from several of his books.

In 1994, Franti formed a new band called Spearhead. While he continued to create politically and socially conscious lyrics, Spearhead's music drew more from funk and soul than the industrial sound of his previous groups. Spearhead released their first album, Home, in September of 1994. Their follow up album Chocolate Supa Highway was released in March of 1997. It should be noted that these two albums were released under the band name "Spearhead", while the name on all subsequent albums would be "Michael Franti & Spearhead".

In 1999, Franti retreated from the major-label grind to explore his music and politics. He returned the following year as an organizer and cultural worker tied to the rising movements against the death penalty, the prison-industrial complex and corporate globalization, voicing his observations through his music.

Stay Human was released in 2000 on his own indie label, Boo Boo Wax and Six Degrees. The album's themes are justice and survival, touching on issues like media monopolization and incarceration.

Everyone Deserves Music was released in 2003. Franti composed many of the songs from his guitar and, like fellow 21st century cultural globalists Manu Chao and Ozomatli, continues to synthesize his eclectic influences. In a departure from the noise of the Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes, and the minimalism of early Spearhead, Franti's affirming lyrics are now set to appropriately swelling rock chords, while keeping a world-wise groove nodding towards reggae, dancehall, bossa nova, Afrobeat, and funk.

On July 25, 2006, Michael Franti & Spearhead released their new album, entitled Yell Fire!, inspired by Franti's trip to war-torn Baghdad, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Largely written during that trip and recorded in Jamaica, Yell Fire! contains contributions from Sly & Robby and has a more reggae-influenced vibe than previous work.

Michael Franti has been barefoot since 2000. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

View All

Michael Franti