Introduction / The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Small Talk at 125th and Lenox Version)

Lyrics

[Intro] Good evening, and welcome My name is Gil Scott-Heron My accomplices are, first, from left to right: Eddie Knowles, a drummer for the Dinizuli dance group A drummer for Simba dances And a percussionist for a group called Black & Blues; The brother to my immediate left is Charlie Saunders, Of the Simba dance group and a former drummer for Loretta Parker; David Barnes, a singer for Black & Blues will be heard later on in the evening We'd like to do a poem for you, called "The revolution will not be televised" Primarily, because it won't be [Verse] You will not be able to stay home, brother You will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out You will not be able to lose yourself on skag And skip out for beer during commercials Because the revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox In four parts without commercial interruptions The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams, and Mendell Rivers to eat Hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen, or Bullwinkle and Julia The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal The revolution will not get rid of the nubs The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner The revolution will not be televised, brother There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mae Pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run Or trying to slide that color TV into a stolen ambulance NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32 on reports from 29 districts The revolution will not be televised There will be no pictures of Pigs shooting down brothers on the Instant Replay There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being Run out of –– Harlem on a rail, with a brand-new process There will be no slow motion or still-life's of Roy Wilkins Strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and Green liberation jumpsuit That he had been saving for just the right occasion Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction will No longer be so goddamn relevant And women will not care if Dick finally screwed Jane On Search for Tomorrow, because Black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day The revolution will not be televised There will be no highlights on the 11 o'clock news And no pictures of hairy-armed women Liberationists And Jackie Onassis blowing her nose The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Key's Nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash,  or Englebert Humperdink The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be right back after a message about A white tornado, white lightning, or white people You will not have to worry about a Dove in your bedroom The tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl The revolution will not go better with Coke The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath The revolution will put you in the driver's seat The revolution will not be televised Will not be televised Not be televised The revolution will be no re-run, brothers The revolution will be live {*applause*} Thank you