Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

My Wise Country Cousin on Blak Folk an de 8 yr Blues…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
15 Jul 2015
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

With the clock ticking down on Barack Obama's presidency,
black America discovers it was a marriage of conveninece.
And not ours.

My Wise Country Cousin on Blak Folk an de 8 yr Blues…

by BAR's poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

If you axe me, son, Blak folk got a bad case ob 8 yr Blues
Nuthin’ lak Leadbelly, B.B., Muddy— nuthin’ I can use:

“We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t in lub wit us
We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t in lub wit us
His mine on de Koch Bros., Buffit ,’in gawd we truss’

We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t lubbin us bak
We in lub wit a wo’ crimnul, but he ain’t lubbin us bak
Way he treat us, sumtime, feel lak a sin to be bo’n blak

Wo’ crimnul cum creepin’ roun,’ ‘bout ebry fo’ years
Wo’ crimnul cum creepin’ roun,’ ‘bout ebry fo’ years
Res de time, he in de guardin wit Po-po, sippin’ beers

Got no time fo us, he busy chasin’ Al K. Duh, I. Sool
Got no time fo us, he busy chasin’ Al K. Duh, I. Sool—
Didn’t know betta, we swear he playin’ us fo’ de fool!

Knew our wo’ crimnul was no gud, runnin’ wit dat AG
Knew our wo’ crimnul was no gud, runnin’ wit dat AG
Dey should be stylin’ orange jump sootz, if you axe me

Dat ol’ AG boy jus’ wase all de freakwent-flyur mileage
Dat ol’ AG boy jus’ wase all de freakwent-flyur mileage
Flappin his flappers at funruls— cheesin’ liar smile-age…

He lak tits on a bull, sayin’ dat Dem big boyz too big to jail
He lak tits on a bull, sayin’ dat Dem big boyz too big to jail
But, he listenin’ to us conversate, an he be openin’ our mail!

We’s gonna leeb Dem no gud mens sum day, de lawd willin’…
We’s gonna leeb Dem no gud mens sum day, de lawd willin’…
Toozday, dey stay out all day an’ nite wit Dem drones, killin’

Feel lak we ben commun law, jes shackin’ up fo’ 8 long years
Feel lak we ben commun law, jes shackin’ up fo’ 8 long years
Dem men’s giffs: wo,’  fouclosur, poleez murdur, lies an’ tears…”

Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Hearings...
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Hearings...
    06 Apr 2022
                                                           …
  • BAR Book Forum: Interview with Kathryn Benjamin Golden
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Interview with Kathryn Benjamin Golden
    06 Apr 2022
    This week’s featured scholar is Kathryn Benjamin Golden. Golden is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at University of Delaware.  Her article is “‘Armed in the Great Swamp’: Fear, Maroon…
  •  BAR Book Forum: Carole Boyce Davies’ “Claudia Jones: Beyond Containment”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Carole Boyce Davies’ “Claudia Jones: Beyond Containment”
    06 Apr 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Carole Boyce Davies. Davies is the Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters at…
  • Illegally Imprisoned Venezuelan Diplomat Faces US Court Amid a Shifting Global Context
    Roger D. Harris
    Illegally Imprisoned Venezuelan Diplomat Faces US Court Amid a Shifting Global Context
    06 Apr 2022
    Alex Saab’s April 6 hearing takes place in the setting of a mercurial world situation, where events in Ukraine may have indirect bearing on his case and on the larger US economic war against…
  • Laboring Beyond Black Representation
    Too Black
    Laboring Beyond Black Representation
    06 Apr 2022
    The allure of Black representation in high places can be very dangerous. A Black man organizes an unprecedented union victory but gets less attention than one celebrity slapping…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us