Well I'm about to get UPSET   From watchin' my TV    Been checkin' out the news    Until my eyeballs fail to see    I mean they say that every day    Is just another rotten mess    And when it's gonna change, my friends    Is anybody's guess       So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'    Hopin' for the best    Even think I'll go to prayin'    Every time I hear 'em sayin'    That there's no way to delay    That trouble comin' every day    No way to delay    That trouble comin' every day       Wednesday I watched the riot...    I seen the cops out on the street    Watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff    And chokin' in the heat    Listened to reports    About the whisky passin' 'round    Seen the smoke & fire    And the market burnin' down    Watched while everybody    On his street would take a turn    To stomp and smash and bash and crash    And slash and bust and burn       And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'    Hopin' for the best    Even think I'll go to prayin'    Every time I hear 'em sayin'    That there's no way to delay    That trouble comin' every day    No way to delay    That trouble comin' every day       Well you can cool it,    You can heat it...    'Cause, baby, I don't need it...    Take your TV tube and eat it    'N all that phony stuff on sports    'N all THOSE unconfirmed reports    You know I watched that rotten box    Until my head began to hurt    From checkin' out the way    The newsmen say they get the dirt    Before the guys on channel so-and-so    And further they assert    That any show they'll interrupt    To bring you news if it comes up    They say that if the place blows up    They'll be the first to tell    Because the boys they got downtown    Are workin' hard and doin' swell,    And if anybody gets the news    Before it hits the street,    They say that no one blabs it faster    Their coverage can't be beat       And if another woman driver    Gets machine-gunned from her seat    They'll send some joker with a brownie    And you'll see it all complete       So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'    Hopin' for the best    Even think I'll go to prayin'    Every time I hear 'em sayin'    That there's no way to delay    That trouble comin' every day    No way to delay    That trouble comin' every day       Hey you know something people    I'm not black    But there's a whole lots a times    I wish I could say I'm not white       Well, I seen the fires burnin'    And the local people turnin'    On the merchants and the shops    Who used to sell their brooms and mops    And every other household item    Watched the mob just turn and bite 'em    And they say it served 'em right    Because a few of them are white,    And it's the same across the nation    Black & white discrimination    They're yellin' "You can't understand me!"    And all the other crap they hand me    In the papers and TV    'N all that mass stupidity    That seems to grow more every day    Each time you hear some nitwit say    He wants to go and do you in    Because the color of your skin    Just don't appeal to him    (No matter if it's black or white)    Because he's out for blood tonight    You know we gotta sit around at home    And watch this thing begin    But I bet there won't be many left    To see it really end    'Cause the fire in the street    Ain't like the fire in my heart    And in the eyes of all these people    Don't you know that this could start    On any street in any town    In any state if any clown    Decides that now's the time to fight    For some ideal he thinks is right    And if a million more agree    There ain't no great society    As it applies to you and me    Our country isn't free    And the law refuses to see    If all that you can ever be    Is just a lousy janitor    Unless your uncle owns a store    You know that five in every four    WON'T amount TO nothin' more    THAN watch the rats go across the floor    And make up songs about being poor    Blow you harmonica son!