There is no resurrection until you walk by the pain of Calvary And catch a glimpse, in the sunlight, of the lynching tree Crosses and lynching, lynching and crosses Crosses lynching, lynching crosses Threads of the same torture Shaped by empires And loved with eagles and arrows Myths of superiority And fearful of bodies kissed by nature’s sun. This is where the blues And form and take cords from plantations And recast them by men named Thomas, Sisters named Mahalia, who holler “Precious Lord.” But America takes thе hand Choosing to pick strange fruit swinging from southern trees What is this Gospel you profеss That diminishes democratic breath? Say it again “Prosperity Cause Name it and claim it Your season is coming Throw your gift on the altar Destiny has me” This is not the gospel But capitalism masquerading in ecclesiastical garments Forcing people to bow down To the golden calf of predatory self interest What is this Gospel That worships west weapons Ignores pain Celebrates exclusion Pats Mr Patriarchy on the shoulder And tramples upon the dreams of children yet to be freed Oh I see, say can you see, by the dawns early light The Gospel that wears blue, but does not know the blues A Gospel of knees pressing on throats, arms crushing windpipes And shots fired in Breonna’s bedroom Reverend George Floyd preached against this heresy 22 times With his only sermon: “I Can’t Breathe” Taken from the book of Black Lives Chapter 16:19 It is where the black church The only black church with a call but no response Where Emmett, Michael and Trayvon lead the praise and sorrow team With little Tamir giving one part harmony from the children’s choir What gospel is this, God has never ordained? Of racial myths, dreams of superiority Where a melanated savior is de-colorized in order to colonize A church with no compassion A ministry with no fire Preaching with no justice A choir with no power And people with no direction? America’s Gospel Is not preached by a dark skinned Palestinian Jew Or taught by black prophets named Moses nor Mary America’s Gospel Fears the rebel alliance of love, justice, power and possibility America’s Gospel Cannot face the blues Nor stare at Calvary America does not know the gospel Nor ever preached it This Gospel, I speak of “The Gospel” Of the one I talk about This gospel of true power The real Gospel that allows Harriet to run Gave Sojourner her truth The Gospel that allowed Frederick to speak And Nat to fight The Gospel that made Ida well And Martin a King This Gospel Made from the cords of the blues And sorrows of blues people This gospel Has power to break chains And set the oppressed free This gospel Does not see different as deficient Culture as a problem Gender as weakness Brokenness as permanent Creation as a personal ownership This gospel This blue note gospel Will face tragedy and will not fall into despair This gospel This good news Still believes in dreams unfulfilled Strength to be revealed Hopes to be born This gospel This gospel I walk by The one Is walked and taught by one A colonized brother Who taught by a sea in Galilee Shared a message long Long before I was born A gospel that is not American But America must come to face. A gospel America has never preached But must one day face.
Read the complete lyrics to "America’s Gospel" by Common Hymnal from the album "Praise and Protest". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music.
"America’s Gospel" is performed by Common Hymnal. from the album "Praise and Protest" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL.
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"America’s Gospel" is credited to Common Hymnal. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.
"America’s Gospel" appears on "Praise and Protest".
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