He fight and he pray, he love and he bleed To no satisfaction, was note as need And when he walks, stands tall as he can For he's a man, yeah, he's a man
And when he crumbles, resolve to the ground Like burnt bits of paper, life flutters round All eyes turn away, no one wants to see A man who has lost, in the fight to be free
For we've been out runnin' for all of our lives No chance and stop and we'd surely lose sight
In the back of his mind is a smiling face The one who said, "You know, it's no race" The one who said, "You got time to breathe" 'Cause child you're born, we're all born free
In the back of his mind is the back of a room So dust enshrouded and no dust broom Stands a chance to clear the cobwebs away So live in the back, in the dark it'll stay
And we've been out runnin' for all of our lives No chance, and stop, and we'd surely lose sight
Tell me son, what are you livin' for? Tell me boy, what are you livin' for? Tell me son, what are you livin' for? Tell me, tell me, what are you livin' for?