DYNAMITE

by Geoffrey Williams

supported by

$fractured thumbnail$

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 AUD or more

about

When I was 15, the British government revived a law which gave the police the power to stop and search anyone they thought looked suspicious, anyone they thought might be loitering with intent to commit a crime.

The Sus Law.

The majority of people stopped were men of Afro Caribbean decent. Racial profiling.

The police used to patrol the streets in a black police van called a Black Maria. We heard stories that anyone who resisted arrest were bundled into the back of the van, beaten up and taken to jail. Some of these men never made it out of jail alive.

I was stopped twice. It was terrifying.

I had hoped that this was a thing of the past.

I wrote this piece for the Boite Millennium Chorus project called 'Windrush', a project I collaborated on with Stella Savy and George Williams. This new version was made this week by the Williams family on Mabo Day.

Sadly I think the song is very relevant now. You have to draw a line whether you are black or white. The fight against racism is everyone's fight.

lyrics

IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
YOU HAVE TO DRAW A LINE WHETHER YOU'RE BLACK OR WHITE

IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
YOU PUSHED US OVER THE EDGE NOW WE'VE GOT TO FIGHT

YOU'RE CIVILISED BUT BEHIND THE MASK
YOU'RE TRYING TO TREAT ME LIKE I'M SECOND CLASS
THAT KIND OF IGNORANCE IS BOUND TO EXPLODE IN YOUR HAND

THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE

THERE'S A BLACK MARIA
THERE'S A BLACK MARIA
BLACK WOMEN AND MEN STOPPED FOR NO REASON

SOME DIDN'T MAKE IT OFF THE GROUND
SOME DIDN'T MAKE IT OFF THE GROUND
YOU ARE LUCKY TO ESCAPE WITH BRUISES AND LESIONS

YOU'RE CIVILISED BUT BEHIND THE MASK
YOU'RE TRYING TO TREAT ME LIKE I'M SECOND CLASS
THAT KIND OF IGNORANCE IS BOUND TO EXPLODE IN YOUR FACE, THE FACE, THE FACE

THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE

IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
YOU HAVE TO DRAW A LINE WHETHER YOU'RE BLACK OR WHITE

IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN
YOU PUSHED US OVER THE EDGE NOW WE'VE GOT TO FIGHT

YOU'RE CIVILISED BUT BEHIND THE MASK
YOU'RE TRYING TO TREAT ME LIKE I'M SECOND CLASS
THAT KIND OF IGNORANCE IS BOUND TO EXPLODE IN YOUR HAND

THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE

THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY COULDN'T LET IT GO
THEY'RE HOLDING ON TOO TIGHT
BUT THEY WE'RE MESSING WITH DYNAMITE

credits

license

about

Geoffrey Williams Australia

Geoffrey Williams, a world-renowned performer. One man, a loop pedal and a whole lot of soul. He can create a beautiful melody and a killer groove out of thin air! Think Sly Stone colliding with The Beach Boys and a loop pedal on the dancefloor!

He has written for Michael Jackson and Dusty Springfield, has a best selling online course on Udemy called 'Tap Your Creativity - Lyric Writing' ... more