I am a
racist,
and of this there's little doubt
Black and brown faces,
they make me nervous
when it's dark out
No, I don't wanna be this way
But what can I say?
This is how America raised me
To always be afraid
Don't take the blame
And you're probably exactly the same
In college I had a black friend
He was cool and if you asked him
What it was like to be a black man
He would laugh and say, let's pretend
That every single person you see
out on the street
Thinks you're carrying a
gun or a knife
Yeah, that's what it's like
Every single day of my life
I said, come on, don't you think
That's a little dramatic
And she just shook his head
Yeah, that's what the cop said
I am a racist
Nervous, there's little doubt
Black and brown faces
They make me nervous
when it's dark out
Now, I don't wanna be this way
But what can I say?
This is how America raised me
To always be afraid,
don't take the blame
And you're probably exactly the same
When I can't clean my apartment
Sometimes I have to outsource it
That's when Carlos and Zoe come
To do the job that I can't get done
Oh, but before they arrive,
I'll go and hide
Valuable things I want them to find
Cause you never know
The lengths to which some
desperate people go
Then one time I found a hundred
dollars on my couch
With a note that kindly read
I found this under your bed
I am a racist
And of this, there's little doubt
Black and brown faces
They make me nervous
when it's dark out
Oh, I don't wanna be this way
But what can I say?
This is how America raised me
To always be afraid
Don't try to change and you're
probably exactly the same
I fought it desperately
Cause I just could not breathe
But it was so easy
To see people differently
I looked at other things to blame
And cast down their names in shame
But the problem always ended
in the same place
And that place was me
I am a racist
And of this there's little doubt
But I am trying to change it
Every time it rears it s head about
Cause I don't wanna be this way
No mat ter what you say
I know the damage
and the role that I've played
So I'll take the blame
Seems like a good place
to start anyway
I am a racist, yes
I can't escape it, yes
I haven't really been
Troubled in my faith
I am a racist, yes, but I can't es cape it, yes
I haven't really been trying my best
I am a racist, yes,
but I can't escape it, yes
Cause I have it breathing,
it's running in my veins