Is It Because I'm Black

The dark brown shades of my skin Only add color to my tears Oh, oh That splash against my hollow bones That rocks my soul Looking back over my false dreams that I once knew Wondering why my dreams never came true Is it because I'm black? (Uh huh) Somebody tell me, what can I do? Oh Lord, oh Something is holding me back (uh, huh) Is it because I'm black? (Yeah) In this world of no pity I was raised in the ghetto of the city Yeah, oh Lord (uh) Momma, she works so hard To earn every penny (yeah, oh lord) Something is holding me back (uh huh) Is it because I'm black? (Ahh) Like a child stealing candy for the first time, and got caught Peeping around life's corner somewhere, I got lost (oh) Something is holding me back (uh huh) I wonder, is it because I'm black? Somebody tell me what can I do? Will I survive, or will I die? Oh, oh You keep on holding me back Keep on holding on Keep on picking on me Oh, you keep on holding me back Keep on holding on, keep on holding on (uh) You're holding me back I wonder why, you do me like that But you keep on holding me back Keep on putting your foot on me But I, I, I, I've got to break away Somehow and someday 'Cause I wanna be somebody so bad, so bad I wanna be somebody, I wanna be somebody so bad You see, I want diamond rings and things, like you do And I wanna drive Cadillac cars (uh huh) Oh, I wanna be somebody so bad But you keep on putting your foot on me And I, I believe, I believe I can break away And be somebody, somehow, and someway Ya see I heard somebody say one time You can make it, if you try Oh, and some of us, we tried so hard, we tried so hard I want you to know that I don't speak for myself But I speak for y'all too right now Uh huh, ya see If you half white, light-brown skinned, or high yellow You're still black So we all got to stick together right now Mhm This I wanna say to you my sisters and my brothers Right on sister, mhm Right on brother Dig this If we keep on pushing, y'all Oh, we've got to make it a little bit further We've got to make it a little further All we got to do is try, try, try And some of us, we've tried so hard We've tried so hard, we've tried so hard (uh huh) We've tried so hard , so hard to be somebody (um) We've tried so hard, although, they're holding us back And it stands to reason That they're doin' us like that You know what? It is I believe, it is because we are black (uh huh) But hey, we can't stop now, we can't stop now Got to keep on, keep on, keep on, keepin' on We've got to keep on, keeping on I know and I know and I know that you know, that I know, it ain't right Oh, it ain't right, it ain't right, it ain't right That they hold us, hold us, hold us back They're holding us back, they're holding us back I wonder, sometimes I sit down, sit down and I wonder I sit down and I think about it Sometimes it makes me so mad It makes me so mad --- Is It Because I'm Black - Syl Johnson