B.L.M

Lynval Golding, born 1951
Mendes, St Catherine, Jamaica

The year was 1954, you know
Sir Winston Churchill shout across the Western islands
He said, "Come, help us rebuild this country devastated by war"
And so anyway, my father set sail upon the wind rush, born for a new life
My father was a tailor by trade
And so this could be the possibility of all possibilities
But no, there was no cloth to stitch
Instead, you know what?
He found work in a steel foundry
Pouring hot metal day and night, day and night
And even worse, you know what then?
Him tried to find a room to rent
This was becoming a nightmare for him
He'd knock on door after door after door
But the sign on the window kept saying the same thing
"No dogs, no Irish, no blacks"
Welcome to England

I'm not here to teach you
I'm not here to preach to you
I just want to reach out
And say

Time move on
In 1964, my father shout across Jamaica
"Son," him said, "Come join me"
So I set sail on a ship called the Askena
When I reached Northampton on a cold winter's night
Boy, I was freezing
I wanted to tell the captain to just take me back to Jamaica
But no, I was here to stay
So my father sent me to a school
Linden Road school in Gloucester
I remember the first playtime
A boy shout across at me
"Oi, you black bastard, come 'ere"
I said, "What?"
He said, "Come 'ere, you black bastard"
I still couldn't believe, I says, "What?
Are you talking to me?
Are you talking to me?"
Boy, welcome to England

I'm not here to teach you
I'm not here to preach to you
I just want to reach out
And say

In 1994, I move again
The land of the free, the home of the brave
The United State of America
And there I was
Just walking along in the sun, minding my own business
Such a beautiful day, man, when I remember
I had to buy a watch for my sister's birthday
When why eventually I found this store
As I walk through the door
This woman in the store shouted at me
"What you doing here, you goddamn nigger?"
I said, "I-I'm just, I'm just trying to buy a watch for my sister"
When she heard my accent, she said
"Oh, you're not from here, you're not one of them"
"One of them?" I said, "You mean me being black?
Well ma'am, let me tell you something right, I am black
Is that all you see? The color of my skin?"
In England, them call you a black bastard
In America, they call you a goddamn nigger
Boy, welcome to my world

But I'm not here to teach you
I'm not here to preach to you
I just want to reach out and say
Black lives matter