Jamie Green: Music

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)

A break-up song exploring the difficulties of an interracial relationship. The woman is white, her partner, black. When they met, their love was “colorblind,” but as the man became radicalized around racial identity and pride, he began to treat her badly, seeing now the color of her skin, not the love in her heart. She’s angry, but mostly sad at the turn of events.

Hey, you got it all wrong
Hey, I’m not that dumb
I understand your rage
And though I feel it not the same
I am not the one
Who sees you bound in chains
Once we marched side by side
But now you laugh in my face
And when I turn away
You try to scramble back in place
And when I point out what you’ve done
Simply isn’t right
Then you say that’s just life
(Like too many other things, right?)
And you’re seeing colors once again
Yeah you’re seeing colors once again
Hey, you got it all wrong
Hey, I’m not that strong
I stomp on every slur
That’s hurled before our feet
But when it is you who throws the stones
It’s hard to turn the other cheek
It’s like you think that I’m a wall
Cause I’m standing tall
And you think that it’s all right
Cause you know I’ll put up a fight
And you think that it’s O.K.
To say the things you say
But they wound like a knife
Cause you’re seeing colors once again
Yeah you’re seeing colors once again
Once I was the hope
To bridge a bleeding gap
Now I’m not so sure
That you believe in all that
You blame me with your shame
And how conspicuous I am
When the blind remove their shades
Seeing colors again
Seeing colors once again
Hey, it’s time for me to go
And hey, there’s something you should know
Everything you hate
Is found inside of you
And everything you love
Is found inside there too
So I’m wishing you well
On your journey back from hell
And I’m hoping that you might
Eventually forgive the White
And I’m thinking I’ll be fine
If I can get you off my mind
See I was gonna be your wife
But you’re seeing colors once again