I was born in 1985

South Georgia, what a time to be alive

My town was black majority

Didn't see them folks an awful lot

Cuz"our kind" had carved us out a spot

Thank God the word come from DC

That school bus picked us up each day

Right down at the end of my driveway

Hauled us across the town to school

Sat side by side and made some friends

My fellow young Americans

That's when I understood a very simple rule

It don't come natural, it don't come straight

You've got to teach it

You've got to learn how to hate

It don't come natural, it don't come straight

You've got to learn how to hate

Didn't have a clue when I was three

What kind of man I'd have to be

To keep my name out of their mouths

I danced and sang and paid no mind to being tough

I was just being kind

Boy, straighten up, cuz this here's the South

So go on and glue that mask on until it fits

Until your self-reflection makes you sick

Until one day you buy the act

And then you take all of that shame and fear

And you call some other kid a queer

And all your life, you can't take it back

It don't come natural, it don't come straight

You've got to teach it

You've got to learn how to hate

It don't come natural, it don't come straight

You've got to learn how to hate

You've got to learn how to hate