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Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Gil Scott-Heron
Vocals
Brian Jackson
Electric Piano
Bernard Purdie
Drums
Burt Jones
Electric Guitar
Hubert Laws
Flute
Johnny Pate
Conductor
Ron Carter
Electric Bass Guitar
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Gil Scott-Heron
Songwriter
Brian Jackson
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Bob Simpson
Mixing Engineer
Bob Thiel
Producer
Lillian Seyfert
Assistant Producer
Ray Hall
Mixing Engineer
Lyrics
Here I am
After so many years
Hounded by hatred
And trapped by fear
I'm in a box
I've got no place to go
If I follow my mind
I know I'll slaughter my own
Help me I'm the prisoner
Won't you hear my plea
I need somebody
Yeah, to listen to me
I beg you
Brothers and sisters
I'm counting on you (yeah)
Black babies in the womb
Are shackled and bound
Chained by the caveman
Who keeps beauty down
Smacked on the ass
When they're squalling and wet
Heir to a spineless man who
Never forgets
Never forgets that he's a prisoner
Can't you hear my plea
'Cause I need somebody
Lord knows, to listen to me
I'm a stranger to my son who wonders
Why his daddy runs, yeah...
On my way to work in the morning
When I don't give a damn
Can't nobody, can't nobody, can't nobody
Can't nobody see just who in hell I am?
Hemmed in by a suit
Yes, all choked up in a tie
Ain't no wonder sometimes near morning
I hear my woman cry
She knows her man is a prisoner
Won't you hear my plea
Yeah, 'cause I need somebody
Woah, to listen to me
My woman she don't say
But she hates to see her man
Chained this way, yeah
Help me, I'm the prisoner
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
I'm the prisoner
Writer(s): Gil Scott-heron, Brian Jackson
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