privilege
 

there's a little amputee
a kid with just one arm
which clutches a tiny baby to her
to keep it safe from harm
and she's looking through the car window
she's mouthing something sad
and you just gotta drive on by
the life she never had

but this is not the tragedy
no, the sickness of our world
is that when we look at this amputee
we don't see a little girl
we see a con artist
we see a ruse
we think her parents cut off her arm
'cos she's got nothing left to lose

and that is not the scary thing
no, what's really frightening
is that all this stuff is on the rise
the shadows just keep heightening
we drive on past because we can't
react like human beings
we close our eyes because we can't
believe what we are seeing

and we shouldn't feel guilty or shamed by all this
you and me aren't really to blame for all this
the cards we were dealt were all kings and aces
so now we gotta play them and put on poker faces
the world is unequal, but that's what we live with
so enjoy your life and make the most of your privilege

i saw a young boy dressed in orange
trying to stand out
he said he was a buddhist monk
and then he held his hand out
i walked right past and shook my head
i figured he was faking
if you hold up a sign with 'free tibet'
the world is yours for the taking

but it later dawned on me
that maybe it was true
maybe i was his last hope
and he was nothing new
the world is so confusing now
but what's the point of living
if you spend your whole life feeling
bad for what you're given?

'cos we shouldn't feel guilty or shamed by all this
you and me aren't really to blame for all this
the cards we were dealt were all kings and aces
so now we gotta play them and put on poker faces
the world is unequal, but that's what we live with
so enjoy your life and make the most of your privilege

and tiger woods gets sponsorship
he earns a squillion dollars
while millions work in lifelong hardship
making shoes in squalor
and nike understand that he
is worth a million bucks
but as for their loyal workers
they don't give a fuck

and you know we cannot do much about
the world that we've created
there's a lot of shit, without a doubt
most of which is fated
but i'm proud to say my shoes
were not made by a slave
and if that's the most that i can do
then that's my conscience saved

and we shouldn't feel guilty or shamed by all this
you and me aren't really to blame for all this
the cards we were dealt were all kings and aces
so now we gotta play them and put on poker faces
the world is unequal, but that's what we live with
so enjoy your life and make the most of your privilege
 
 
 
 



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Tristan Jakob-Hoff
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