Gil Scott-Heron passes...

He was one of my heros, a great artist that led us as war protestor's during the Vietnam War , his music, which were poetry to me and others, said what needed to be said during the Vietnam War. His songs were our battle cries to a huge extent. I reworked his lyrics to The Revolution will not be Televised(his site)  here and  here during the Bush Administration to make them timely to those fuckwits and apply them to society and the present war, which was the Iraq War.

Those two post still gets hits daily from all over the world.

Scott-Heron died in a NYC hospital after touring to promote his first album in over 15 years. He is known by many as the Godfather of Rap. He never cared about the money he could make from his music, it was about the meaning of the lyrics for him, a man that truly was a poet, who shunned the 'trappings' of fame. It was about Speaking Truth to Power for him.  From The Guardian:

Gil Scott-Heron: music world pays tribute to the 'Godfather of Rap'

The poet and musician, best known for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, leaves a legacy of incisive political comment

 
The music world was mourning Gil Scott-Heron, the troubled poet and musician whose ground-breaking The Revolution Will Not Be Televised became a beacon for emerging rap and hip-hop culture.

Scott-Heron, who last year released his first album in 16 years to critical acclaim, died in a New York hospital after returning from a European trip. He was 62.

Richard Russell, founder of the British label XL Recordings, who produced and published Heron's final work, said: "Gil was not perfect in his own life. But neither is anyone else. And he judged no one. He had a fierce intelligence, and a way with words which was untouchable; an incredible sense of humour and a gentleness and humanity that was unique to him."

Russell added that the Chicago-born artist, who never achieved chart success in spite of a loyal global audience for songs including the dance-floor favourite The Bottle, had shunned all the trappings of fame and success.

"He could have had all those things. But he was greater than that. He seemed wholly uninterested in money. His talent was immense. He was a master lyricist, singer, orator and keyboard player. His spirit was immense. He channelled something that people derived huge benefit from."

Scott-Heron was a gifted child, raised in Tennessee by his maternal grandmother, Lillie Scott, after his parents – a Jamaican father who became the first black footballer to play for Celtic and a talented teacher mother – separated.

Rest in Peace dear man. He was not perfect by any means, but who is? His lyrics were really poetry on a society, aimed at those in power, as well as calling out everyone that put greed and/or power before people and their survival and their basic needs. 

He was only 62. We are less because he is has left this world. We have lost a bonafide voice of the people.Below is his original song:

The revolution will not be televised by the MSM folks..

The revolution might be far away right now..but sportsfans..it will end up on your doorstep, make no mistake about it. Thank you to Gil-Scott Heron for his words that I altered in red to make this tune timely.

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials in your Hummer,Because the revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Halliburton or their subsidiaries.
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Bush blowing a bugle and leading a charge by Dick Cheney, Rummy,The NSA and Karl Rove driving around in a golf cart confiscated from a Peace Group opposing their nasty wars.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by the FOX News Corp. and will not star Bill O'Reilly and Condoleeza Rice or Pat Robertson, the MSM will ignore the truth as well, telling us about Britney Fucking Spears instead.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not pay for the armour that soldiers need to survive their god-forsaken war because the military will cut their benefits if they wear it. But a few brave souls will buy and send it over anyway.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner,because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.
There will be no pictures of you voting if your a minority. You will be outlawed from voting from many states that want to remove your rights to take part in our system of government.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32or report from 29 districts.because Diebold will "count" the votes their way.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no pictures of of whats really happening in Iraq because that isn't a good business decision for those in power.
There will be no pictures of Valerie Plame's life being forever wrecked
because her husband told the truth when Bush didnt about yellow cake moving into Iraq.
There will be no slow motion or still life of children dying in Lebanon because Israel refuses to talk about a peace negotiation. They would rather play the victim and show their military might for all to see.
Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction will no longer be so damned relevant,and women will not care if Dick finally gets down with Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Pissed off people will be in the streets looking for the return of their rights taken by Bush and his cronies in the name of terrorism and government power.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news and no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists and People dying for no reason other than oil or religion.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,Francis Scott Key,nor sung by Tracy Lawrence, or any other country artists that haven't got a clue about whats going on in their country, they just always badmouth the Left.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom,a tiger in your tank,or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will not put you in the driver's seat because Oil is King.
The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live when it comes to your town...and it will come brothers and sisters, it will come.

tags:

Terrorism,Israel,Lebanon,Iraq,The revolution will not be televised,War