Proverbs and quotes, I

Iroko tree

"The lizard that jumped from the high Iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did." African proverb.

African Lizard

Homage to Nelson Mandela...

... on his 95 birthday!!!!

(2008)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation:   [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]; born 18 July 1918) is a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. 

Don't you know 
They're talkin' bout a revolution 
It sounds like a whisper 
Don't you know 
They're talkin' about a revolution 
It sounds like a whisper 
While they're standing in the welfare lines 

Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation 
Wasting time in the unemployment lines 
Sitting around waiting for a promotion 

Poor people gonna rise up 

And get their share 

Poor people gonna rise up 

And take what's theirs 

Don't you know 
You better run, run, run
Oh I said you better 
Run, run, run

Finally the tables are starting to turn 
Talkin' bout a revolution


Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1964. She was raised by her mother, who recognized Tracy's love of music and, despite not having much money, bought her a ukulele when she was just three.

Pronunciation symbols.

WIDE AWAKE, KATY PERRY (2012)

WIDE AWAKE, Katy Perry

I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 

Yeah, I was in the dark 
I was falling hard 
With an open heart 
I'm wide awake 
How did I read the stars so wrong? 

(I'm wide awake) 
And now it's clear to me 
That everything you see 
Ain't always what it seems 
I'm wide awake 
Yeah, I was dreaming for so long 

(Pre-Chorus) 
I wish I knew then 
What I know now 
Wouldn't dive in 
Wouldn't bow down 
Gravity hurts 
You made it so sweet 
Till I woke up on 
On the concrete 

(Chorus) 
Falling from cloud nine 
Crashing from the high 
I'm letting go tonight 
Yeah I'm falling from cloud nine 

(I'm wide awake) 
Not losing any sleep 
I picked up every piece 
And landed on my feet 
(I'm wide awake) 
Need nothing to complete myself - nooohooo 

(I'm wide awake) 
Yeah, I am born again 
Outta the lion's den 
I don't have to pretend 
And it's too late 
The story's over now, the end 

(Pre-Chorus) 
I wish I knew then 
What I know now 
Wouldn't dive in 
Wouldn't bow down 
Gravity hurts 
You made it so sweet 
Till I woke up on 
On the concrete 

(Chorus) 
Falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue, I'm) 
Crashing from the high 
I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go, I'm) 
I'm Falling from cloud nine (I'm wide awake) 
Thunder rumbling 
Castles crumbling (I'm wide awake) 
I am trying to hold on (I'm wide awake) 
God knows that I tried 
Seeing the bright side (I'm wide awake) 
I'm not blind anymore 

I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 

(Chorus) 
Yeah I'm falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue, I'm) 
Crashing from the high 
(Ya' know) I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go, I'm) 
I'm falling from cloud nine 

I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake 
I'm wide awake

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (THE BEATLES, 1967)

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

{VERSE 1}

Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.

{CHORUS}
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Ah... Ah...

{VERSE 2}
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone.

{CHORUS}

Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

WINGS Macklemore (2012)

"Wings"
(feat. Ryan Lewis)                 

I was seven years old, when I got my first pair
And I stepped outside
And I was like, momma, this air bubble right here, it's gonna make me fly
I hit that court, and when I jumped, I jumped, I swear I got so high
I touched the net, momma I touched the net, this is the best day of my life
Air Max's were next,
That air bubble, that mesh
The box, the smell, the stuffin', the tread, in school
I was so cool
I knew that I couldn't crease 'em
My friends couldn't afford 'em
Four stripes on their Adidas
On the court I wasn't the best, but my kicks were like the pros
Yo, I stick out my tongue so everyone could see that logo
Nike Air Flight, but bad was so dope
And then my friend Carlos' brother got murdered for his Fours*, whoa

See he just wanted a jump shot, but they wanted to start a cult though
Didn't wanna get caught, from Genesee Park to Othello
You could clown for those Pro Wings, with the Velcro
Those were not tight
I was trying to fly without leaving the ground,
Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right
Wanted to be him, I wanted to be that guy, I wanted to touch the rim
I wanted to be cool, and I wanted to fit in,
I wanted what he had, America, it begins

[Chorus:]

I want to fly

Can you take me far away

Give me a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes

And I'll go so high

I'll go so high

My feet won't touch the ground

Stitch my wings

And pull the strings

I bought these dreams

That all fall down

We want what we can't have, commodity makes us want it
So expensive, damn, I just got to flaunt it
Got to show 'em, so exclusive, this that new shit
A hundred dollars for a pair of shoes I would never hoop in
Look at me, look at me, I'm a cool kid
I'm an individual, yea, but I'm part of a movement
My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it
They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said
Look at what that swoosh did
See it consumed my thoughts
Are you stupid, don't crease 'em, just leave 'em in that box
Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk
That's my air bubble and I'm lost, if it pops
We are what we wear, we wear what we are
But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all
Will I stand for change, or stay in my box
These Nikes help me define me, but I'm trying to take mine, off

[Chorus:]
I want to fly
Can you take me far away
Give me a star to reach for
Tell me what it takes
And I'll go so high
I'll go so high
My feet won't touch the ground
Stitch my wings
And pull the strings
I bought these dreams
That all fall down

It started out, with what I wear to school
That first day, like these are what make you cool
And this pair, this would be my parachute
So much more than just a pair of shoes
Nah, this is what I am
What I wore, this is the source of my youth
This dream that they sold to you
For a hundred dollars and some change
Consumption is in the veins
And now I see it's just another pair of shoes

Ben Haggerty, known by his stage name Macklemore /ˈmæk.ləˌmɔr/and formerly Professor Macklemore, is an American rapper and musician. 

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