Chords for The Specials - B.L.M

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Dm] Linval Golden, born [A] 1951, _ Mendis, St.
Catherine, [E] Jamaica.
[D] _
_ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
The year was 1954, you know?
Sir Winston Churchill showed across the West Indian Islands.
He [D] said, come, [Dm] help us rebuild this country,
devastated by war. _ _ _
And so anyway, my father set sail upon the wind rush,
going for a new life.
My father was a killer by trade,
and so this could be a possibility,
of all possibilities.
_ But no, there was no cloth to stitch.
_ Instead, you know, he'd find work in a steed poultry,
pouring iron metal day and night, day and night.
And even worse, you know what I mean?
Him trying to find a room to rent.
This was becoming a nightmare for him.
Him knocking door after door after door,
but sign the window.
[D] He'd say the same thing.
[Dm] _ No dogs, no Irish, no blacks. _ _
[D] Welcome to England.
_ [A] _ I'm not here to [C#] teach you.
I'm not here to [E] preach to you.
I just want to [G] reach out _ and [E] say.
_ [Am] _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ I'm the one, _ I'm the one, I'm the one, I'm the one. _ _ _
Time move on.
_ In 1964, my father shot across the Jamaica.
Son, him said, come join me,
for I set sail on a ship called the Askena.
When I reached Southampton, 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 day time.
A boy shot across to me.
Oi, black bastard, [D] come here.
I said, what?
[Dm] He said, come here, you black bastard.
I said, I couldn't believe it.
I says, what?
Are you talking to me?
Are you talking to me?
_ Why, [D] welcome to England.
[G] _ I'm not here to [A] teach you.
I'm not here to [C] preach to you.
I just want to [C#] reach out.
I [E] say,
_ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ 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 around 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.
_ _ My wife, then she had fallen in the store. _
As I walked through the door,
the woman in the store [Am] shouted at me.
_ _ What are you doing here, [A] you goddamn nigger?
What are you doing here?
[D] _
_ _ [Dm] I said, [A] I'm just trying to buy a [Dm] watch for my sister.
_ _ _ [G] When she heard my accent, [Dm] she said,
oh, you're not from here.
You're not one of them.
Well, to him I said, you mean [Am] me being black?
[Dm]
Well, ma'am, let me tell you something, right?
I am black.
_ Is that all you see, the color of my skin?
_ In England, they call you a black bastard.
In America, they call you a goddamn nigger. _
_ _ Why, welcome to my world. _
_ [G] _ _ But I'm [A] not here to teach you. _
[C] I'm not here to preach to you.
[C#] I just want to reach out and say,
_ _ _ [D] _ _ [Am] _
[D] black lives _ [Dm] matter. _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ [F] _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _