"A Toast To The People" lyrics - GIL SCOTT-HERON

[Verse 1: Victor Brown]
And though it's been too long
And too many years have passed
And though the time has gone
The memory still holds fast
Though, strange it may seem
We still live in the past
The essence of a black life
Lost, cracked in the hourglass
And ever since we came to this land
The South has rued the day
When we would stand as one
And raise our voices and say
You know there will be no more lynching
And no more talk of class
My sons and my daughters
Won't die in the hourglass

[Chorus: Victor Brown with Background Vocals by Brian Jackson and Gil Scott-Heron]
A toast to David Walker
A toast to Martin King
A toast to all the leaders
Who had a golden dream
A toast to all black fathers
Who live their lives in vain, yeah
A toast to all black mothers
Who shoulder life in pain, yeah
A toast to the people, yeah
A toast to the people, yeah
The beautiful people, yeah
The beautiful people, yeah
My beautiful black brothers, yeah
My beautiful black brothers, yeah
My beautiful black sisters
My beautiful black sisters
Our sisters and our brothers
Our sisters and our brothers. My, my
Sisters. A toast to the people. And my
Brothers. A toast to the people. Yeah
A toast to the people. Yeah
A toast to the people