Asian Dub Foundation Album

We never had it so good

Day to day It's the government plan
To grind them down Every man and woman
To grind them down Every man and woman
To grind them down Every man and woman

Day to day It's the government plan
To grind them down Every man and woman ....
To fuck up their minds
Pat their lives in their hands
To mash up their brains
Unable to understand
This is a message to those in command
There was never any freedom
Just castles built on sand ...

Pagal ki na bole?
Chagal ki na khai?
Kuch bolo ke ni?

Is there nothing that a madman won't say?
Is there nothing that a goat won't eat?...
Common sense-
misinformation received
by the common man
You've been just as deceived
An effect that was planned by the powers that be
A most effective tool for division and rule
A most effective tool for division and rule

And people of different cultural persuasions
start to develop hindered relations
So what can be done to dissipate the friction?
Gotta seperate the facts, yes the facts from the fiction.

"Ah , I , I don't know .....
Ah , I , I don't know .....
Ah , I , I don't know .....

But once they get get here
There is no knowing what they'll get up to!"

All this talk about housing
Just a method of arousing bad feeling
Appealing to people's prejudice
And then they redirect
their lack of self respect
Towards a visible target
a visible target

You seem to have forgotten
that the apple has always been rotten
and that black people are not the cause of your problems

Black people are not the cause of your problems
We're often told that this country's bursting at the seams.
We're never told that there are in fact more people leaving than entering.
Immigration has become synoymous with black people.
Yet over sixty per cent of immigrants are white .....

"Things were good in the good olden days" they say
"Jobs in the factories" ( economic slaves! )
"We kept our doors open right throughout the day"
( But the poverty was such That there was nothing to nick anyway! )

Black people constitute less than six per cent of the population

Common sense-
misinformation received
By the common man
You've been just as deceived
An effect that was planned by the powers that be
A most effective tool for division and rule
A most effective tool for division and rule

And people of different cultural persuasions
start to develop hindered relations
So what can be done to dissipate the friction?
Gotta seperate the facts, yes the facts from the fiction.

" Enough is enough."
" Immigration must stop."
" This country's bursting at the seams."
" This country's going to the wogs!"

Oh, the Sun has got its facts wrong Hip,hip,hooray ( ?! )
The Sun has got its facts wrong and it's fucking up my day ...

A race war That's what they're fighting for
Rivers of blood is what they want
By claiming influx, a flood or a swamp-
There ain't no influx, a flood or a swamp!

All this talk about housing
Just a method of arousing bad feeling
Appealing to people's prejudice
And then they redirect
their lack of self respect
Towards a visible target
a visible target

You seem to have forgotten
that the apple has always been rotten
and that black people are not the cause of your problems

Black people are not the cause of your problems

"Ah , I , I don't know .....
Ah , I , I don't know .....
Ah , I , I don't know .....

But once they get get here
There is no knowing what they'll get up to!"

Oh, the Sun has got its facts wrong Hip,hip,hooray ( ?! )
The Sun has got its facts wrong and it's fucking up my day ...

Pagal ki na bole?
Chagal ki na khai?

Pagal ki na bole?
Chagal ki na khai?

For the consciousness of the nation
Sounds of the Asian Dub Foundation:
The music we make
It cuts across borders
We never make music to someone else's orders
Plenty of issues on the agenda if you want to lend a helping hand
You're always told to shut up and dance
But you have to change this - take a chance
Turn the tables,
We know you're able
Don't just consume
Make your own tune.
The music, we use it
We're making a stand
I wouldn't call this a green and pleasant land
A conscious response is what we demand
Challenge the system and those in command
Express your opinion
It's your domain
If you fail to do this
You are partly to blame
My heart is beating
No retreat
The battle continues
We'll suffer no defeat
This war you've been waging
It's time we were raging
In our minds
And on the streets
Sample this
It's an education
The sounds of the Asian Dub Foundation.
Look around you, yeah
Open your mind
Check it out
Tell me what you find
Here to document the situation
The sounds of the original, the original...
Hope and glory
A myth of the tories
We're here to tell you a different story
Here to readdress the situation
The sounds of the Asian Dub Foundation.
A rapper I May be
But packaged I'm not
I'll slip through the noose before you tie the knot
This work in progress not slick but rough
Breaking all records
Twelve inches ain't enough
Sample this It's an education
The sounds of the Asian Dub Foundation...
We ain't ethnic, exotic or eclectic
The only 'e' we use is electric
An Asian background
That's what's reflected
But this militant vibe ain't what you expected
With your liberal minds
You patronise our culture
Scanning the surface like vultures
With your tourist mentality
we're still the natives
You're multicultural but we're anti-racist
We ain't ethnic, exotic or eclectic
The only 'e' we use is electric.
And we cry
Them coulda never escape Disya judgement...

Ami bidrohi!
I am the Rebel Warrior
I have risen alone
With my head held high
I will only rest when the cries of the oppressed
No longer reach the sky
When the sound of the sword of the oppressor
No longer rings in battle
Hear my warcry!
I'm here to teach you a lesson
I'm here to torture your soul
I'm the itch in your side that's got out of control
'Gonna prey on your conscience
You'll be praying for forgiveness
Seen all the evidence
No longer need a witness
So take my word man
Here's my sentence
One hundred thousand years of repentance.
One hundred thousand years of repentance.
Check my anger, it's real
Ain't no token
I'll be satisfied only when your back's been broken
It's my burning ambition to burn down your empire
Man I'll be building you a funeral pyre
The fire in my eyes
If looks coulda kill
I won't be satisfied untill I've had my fill.
Check my anger, it's real
Ain't no token
I'll be satisfied only when your back's been broken!
Ami bidrohi!
I am the Rebel Warrior
I hve risen alone
With my head held high
I will only rest when the cries of the oppressed
No longer reach the sky
When the sound of the sword of the oppressor
No longer rings in battle
Hear my warcry!
Repetitive beats
Beating against your skull
I'll be striking you down to the sound of the wardrum
The doum!
The doum of the dhol
Taking its toll
Null and void is what you've become
An underground army with my brothers and sisters
Hand to hand fighting
Building up a resistance
Repetitive beats
Beating against your skull
Null and void is what you've become
Ami bidrohi!
I am the Rebel Warrior
I have risen alone
With my head held high
I will only rest when the cries of the oppressed
No longer reach the sky
When the sound of the sword of the oppressor
No longer rings in battle
Hear my warcry!
A radical fusion
Strange alliance
The siren and the flute in unison
'Cos it's a part of my mission
To break down division
Mental compartments
Psychological prisons.
I'll be sowing the seeds of community
Accomodating every colour every need
So listen to my message
And heed my warning
I'm telling you now how a new age is dawning
Ami bidrohi!
I am the Rebel Warrior
I have risen alone
With my head held high
I will only rest when the cries of the oppressed
No longer reach the sky
When the sound of the sword of the oppressor
No longer rings in battle
Hear my warcry!
Ami Bidrohi!
Ami Bidrohi!
Yes the unity of the Muslim and the Hindu
Will end your tyranny
Ami Bidrohi! Ami Bidrohi!

Take the long train to Bombay
Duck as the tunnels came
Tune in your crystal set
You've won the freedom to forget
Feeling good migrations
Tuned in to the mother nation
Taking her aim
Changing your name
Now we're nomads
That stay in one place
Not a country
Not a face
Standing out but still like ghosts
Long-term guests
Ungracious hosts
Re-written history
A sleepy slavery
Those sweet sweet sweet machines
Sending, selling
Good migrations
Tuned in to the mother nation
Taking her aim
Rearranging the chains...
The nine year old boy
who had wanted to be white
Set out on the journey
from loneliness to pride
Hostile environments along the way
A slowly changing landscape
But a steady stream of consciousness rising
A steady stream of consciousness rising
This is the journey from Loneliness to pride
No longer any need to hide...
Struggle to live
And we cry struggle to survive
Struggla, struggla, struggla, struggla
Just to stay alive
In the jungle you eighter do or you die
You got to be aware
You got to have the jungle eye...

I grab the mic
To commence with the mic check
Supply rhymes, man you've never heard yet
You never thought an Asian could do this
Well you're wrong
Wrong again
Hardcore!
That's what I wanna be
All over the white world
Yes they'll remember me
Don't look at me as an Innocent bystander
Because I'll scare you after dark...
Master D Adlib
Paki bashing
That's what I call f**king racism
And you can tell I'm a fucking Paki lover
Day to day
Night to night
Persecution with a capital P
Racism with a capital R
Man I've seen your scar
I've seen your scar
You expect me to sympathise
Then hell no!
You don't know the price that we're paying.
Master D Adlib
What you see is no mirage
Asian guys and girls comin large
Straight from the East tough!
And coming like a beast
Guys who are very keen and showing ability
Tranquility, we have the audacity
Speaking out
'Cos there's no doubt about that
Another critical rhune
Make you wanna look
Observe it
It's like a comic book
Coming from the place
With a capital B
I'll let you guess-
No let me tell you:
The B and the A and the N and the G and the L and the A
With a word called Desh
Sums up the country
The word and the place
Called Bangladesh
So you never contest
Yes you just thought
I couldn't do it
I'm not a Black man
This time it's an Asian
Some fear the white man
Some fear the Ku Klux Klan
But they ain't up to no good
Brother brother, sister sister
Yes if your miss or if your mister
Listen up to this rap
It's Asian guys coming correct
Way back in the sixties
Our fathers, our mothers
They suffered a lot for us
They couldn't say much
They couldn't do much
'Cos of the fear of getting beat up
But now it's the nineties
We're not babies no more
You know the score that we live for
Our fathers, our mothers
They brought us up to be tough
We don't stand for any bullshit
We don't give a damn
Even if you're superman
Strong culture is what you see in our eyes
Not just tough guys.
Master D Adlib

The police a chase we
The beast can't catch me
When I see his gib stick him deal me a lick
Tower Hamlets Nine have to go free
Not even a fine for the Tower Hamlets Nine
Youth Connection
Stop this infection
Defending defending defending the community
Some fascists in Brick Lane looking for a fight
Police doing nothing:
One rule for Black
Another for the White
ADF, we're about to strike
Time is getting short
Elections in May
Give the fascist man a gunshot
That's the only way
There are many different languages
Spoken in this land
But only one language that the
Fascist understand
Why don't you
Kick the f**kers in the head
Kick the f**kers in the head
Why don't you?
Master D Adlib
"Every institution in this city, right
Is prejudiced against us
There's no accountability
There's no servant of the Police Force
Or his DI or whatever
Who is accountable for his attitudes"
Our parents had to sit tight
Weren't allowed to fight back physically
Just a mental strain
Restraint!
Now I think I've found a remedy to this recurring pain
Not passive but resistant
Your assumptions were wrong:
Like coffee without milk (!)
We're too black too strong
For too many years man you've had your fun
Now it's time
Now it's time
For us to hit and run
'Cos we're second generation
But we're not second class
Now the wrath of the Asian will hit you like a blast
Now the wrath of the Asian will hit you like a blast
In this time there's no justice or peace
In this time there's no trust in the police
Quddus Ali saw no justice or peace
Altab Ali saw no justice or peace
Stephen Lawrence saw no justice or peace
Too many people still waiting for release
Master D Adlib

Tu meri me tera
You are mine and I am yours
Standing together
Side by side
I'm not your shadow
But I could be your guide
Stick with me in this time of insanity
Working together to survive this reality
Without you I don't think I could bear
Belief in myself man
You take me there
You see me as I am
And what I wanna be
The hopes for myself
Yes, you are the key
And when I'm on the mic
I don't have to chat shit
Guns or cars or the size of my prick
Your inspiration makes me rap wisely
Like Tunes for a cold (!)
You make me think clearly
Asian sisters shouldn't hear slackness
But conscious lyrics like Sounds of Blackness
Asian brothers
Come listen to me
Respect your sisters if you wanna be free
I will never forget
The love you have given
Sacrificed for the life we are living
The greatest wealth
That no-one can steal
In health and in sickness
No amount of wickedness
Woulda stand in your way
I will never forget
How you struggled to allow us
To see a better day.
Standing together
Side by side
I'm not you shadow
But I could be your guide
Stick with me in this time of insanity
Working together to survive this reality
Without you I don't think I could bear
Belief in myself man
You take me there
You see me as I am
And what I wanna be
The hopes for myself
Yes you are the key
And when I'm on the mic
I don't have to chat shit
Guns or cars
Or the size of my prick
Your inspiration makes me rap wisely
Likes Tunes for a cold (!)
You make me think clearly
Asian sisters shouldn't hear slackness
But conscious lyrics like Sounds of Blackness
Asian brothers
Come listen to me
Respect your sisters if you wanna be free

Spread power with words

for the councesnes of the nation you have the sound of asian dub foundation-tion-tion

Spread power with words

go to jungle man is way we a ran up for music technology puff in me inside
The gold that you stole
The pillage and the plunder
Is it any wonder that we're here!
It ain't no mystery
The footing and the shooting
This is the real history
We're only here 'cos you were there
Consequences of your global pillage
Here in England a global village
Consequences of your global pillage
I never had the feeling to be the destroy or conquer.
I sift through the debris you left in your wake
When you pushed us in to third place
When the truth is uncovered and the story's been told
You won't be able to look me in the face.
We're only here 'cos you were there
Here in England a global village
Consequences of your global pillage

Here in England a global village
Consequences of your global pillage

p-pay them enuff pay them enuff pay them enuff pay them enuff wanna
jungalist must shift we cracked up listen every one-na
Master D chat it up wide in the place
man we listen to lyrics and now we covering them up
jungalistic massive carier minimum get you tide you low
who a the lyrical man lyrical brother
who a who a di who a di lyrical lyrical master
master d chat it up wide in the area

Here in England a global village
Consequences of your global pillage

Consequences of your global pillage

I never had the feeling to be the destroy or conquer.

I sift through the debris you left in your wake
When you pushed us in to third place
When the truth is uncovered
And the story's been told
You won't be able to look me in the face...

You treated my mother's land just like one big plantation
You did this to the African
You did this to the Asian
Famine was caused not by god but taxation
The fruits of our labour were used to build your nation
Sucking us dry- our country's natural juice
Yes our underdevelopment was caused by your abuse.
Gonna check for the missing pages
We'll be adding up the numbers
We'll be looking for the witnesses
So they can tell our brothers
We'll be using the technology
Jammin' with it consciously
We are gonna
Spread power with words

See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
ADF back with a lyrical death threat
With you ignorant attitudes
What the f**k did you expect?
We'll mash up your stereo
With a typical body blow
Asian distortion
Better tread it with caution
Better treat it with caution...
Eyes permanently closed
You tell me everything's alright
Chemical escape
You're desensitised
Sitting cross-legged with your joss sticks and your flutes
Just taking and faking what's easy:
No respect for our roots.
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
ADF back with a lyrical death threat
With your ignorant attitudes
What the **** did you expect?
We'll mash up your stereo
With a typical body blow
Asian distortion
Better tread it with caution
Better treat it with caution...
Many noies and voices
And messages in the blender
Yes I speak out to many
'Cos it's a bigger agenda
But preach to the converted is what you say we do
Show them to me man
I don't see them, do you?..
Everybody talking man they're now talking about way it's the junglistic sound that is coming around
And if you chossa dis sound
And a fuse it a down
From top to bottom create your own obsession
Master Deeder- that is my name
And I'm kicking all the way all the way for the fame
We four brothers-one of a kind
Like no other you will a find
Minitan scientists
Yes, that's what we are
No we're never gonna be laid back
Too busy dodging your attack
ADF here to kick your arse again
We'll give you bass in your face
And we're gonna offend
Peace!
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
ADF back with a lyrical death threat
With your ignorant attitudes
What the **** did you expect?
We'll mash up your stereo
With a typical body blow
Asian distortion
Better tread it with caution
Better treat it with caution...
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin
See me, hear me
But still you try to box me in
You think you know my mind
By the colour of my skin

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]