My mother died a year before I was born;
a full year before I was born.
And my father?
he died a fool here before she was born;
a fool, yeah, before she was born.
And that same year
my mother said life’s a race, and my father?
he said we’re a little too black for it.
And me?
I said, Too black for our own race!?
My parents died a fool, hear, before I was born;
a full year before I was born.