Chords for I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White (2023)
Tempo:
125.6 bpm
Chords used:
Eb
Ab
B
Cm
Bb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
I am not black.
I mean, that's what the world calls me, but it's not me.
I didn't come out of my mother's womb saying,
Hey everybody, I'm black.
No, I was taught to be black.
And you were taught to call me that,
along with whatever you call yourself.
It's just a label.
[B] See, from birth the world force-feeds us these labels,
and eventually we all [Abm] swallow them.
We [B] digest and accept the labels,
never ever doubting them.
But there's one problem.
[Gb] Labels are not [B] you, and labels are not me.
Labels are just labels.
[Gb] But who we truly [Abm] are is not skin deep.
See, when I drive my car,
no one would ever [B] confuse the car for me.
Well, when I drive my body,
why do you confuse me for my body?
It's my body.
Get it?
Not me.
Let me break it down.
See, [Db] our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around.
The dealership we call society [B] decided to label mine the black edition,
yours the Irish or white edition.
And with no money down,% APR, and [Abm] no test drive, we were forced to own these cars [B] for the rest of our lives. Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride in [E] defining myself or judging another by the cars we [Abm] drive. Because who we truly are is found inside. [Eb] Listen, I'm not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we're all mixed and race in the human species doesn't exist, or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century to divide people from each other, and it has worked perfectly. No, I'm not here to lecture. [Ab] I just want to ask one question. [Eb] Who would you be if the world never gave you a [Ab] label, never gave you a box to check? Would you be white, black, Mexican, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Indian? [Cm] No, we would be one. We would be together, no longer living in the error [Ab] of calling human beings black people or white people. These labels that will forever [Bb] blind us from seeing a [Eb] person for who they are, but instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we think they are. And when you let an artificial [Cm] label define yourself, then my friend, you have chosen [Eb] smallness over greatness and minimized [Ab] yourself, confined and divided yourself from others. And it is an undeniable fact [Bb] that where there is division, there will be conflict, and conflict starts wars. Therefore, [C] every war [Eb] has started over labels. It's always us versus them. So the answer to war, racism, [Cm] sexism, and every other ism is so simple that every politician has missed it. It's the [Bb] labels. We must rip them [Ab] off. Isn't it funny how no baby is born [Gm] racist, yet every baby [Bb] cries when they hear the cries of another, no matter the gender, culture, or color, [Eb] proving that deep down we were meant to connect and care for each other. That is our mission, and [Cm] that is not my opinion. That is the truth. In a world that has sold us fiction, [C] please listen. Labels only [Ab] distort our vision, which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it or feel resistance and [Bb] conflicted. But just remember, so did the caterpillar [Eb] before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly. Well, these labels are our shells, and we must do the same thing [Ab] so we can finally spread our wings. Human beings were [Eb] not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries and [Ab] supermarkets. DNA cannot be regulated by the [Eb] FDA. We were meant to be free, and only until we remove them all and stop living and thinking so small will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we truly are. [Cm]
[Ebm] So what can we do in the face of all this madness [Gb] and chaos? What is the solution? [B] We can love. [Gb] Trying to control the mind is like trying to flatten out water. You just make [Dbm] more waves. [A] [E] [N]
I mean, that's what the world calls me, but it's not me.
I didn't come out of my mother's womb saying,
Hey everybody, I'm black.
No, I was taught to be black.
And you were taught to call me that,
along with whatever you call yourself.
It's just a label.
[B] See, from birth the world force-feeds us these labels,
and eventually we all [Abm] swallow them.
We [B] digest and accept the labels,
never ever doubting them.
But there's one problem.
[Gb] Labels are not [B] you, and labels are not me.
Labels are just labels.
[Gb] But who we truly [Abm] are is not skin deep.
See, when I drive my car,
no one would ever [B] confuse the car for me.
Well, when I drive my body,
why do you confuse me for my body?
It's my body.
Get it?
Not me.
Let me break it down.
See, [Db] our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around.
The dealership we call society [B] decided to label mine the black edition,
yours the Irish or white edition.
And with no money down,% APR, and [Abm] no test drive, we were forced to own these cars [B] for the rest of our lives. Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride in [E] defining myself or judging another by the cars we [Abm] drive. Because who we truly are is found inside. [Eb] Listen, I'm not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we're all mixed and race in the human species doesn't exist, or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century to divide people from each other, and it has worked perfectly. No, I'm not here to lecture. [Ab] I just want to ask one question. [Eb] Who would you be if the world never gave you a [Ab] label, never gave you a box to check? Would you be white, black, Mexican, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Indian? [Cm] No, we would be one. We would be together, no longer living in the error [Ab] of calling human beings black people or white people. These labels that will forever [Bb] blind us from seeing a [Eb] person for who they are, but instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we think they are. And when you let an artificial [Cm] label define yourself, then my friend, you have chosen [Eb] smallness over greatness and minimized [Ab] yourself, confined and divided yourself from others. And it is an undeniable fact [Bb] that where there is division, there will be conflict, and conflict starts wars. Therefore, [C] every war [Eb] has started over labels. It's always us versus them. So the answer to war, racism, [Cm] sexism, and every other ism is so simple that every politician has missed it. It's the [Bb] labels. We must rip them [Ab] off. Isn't it funny how no baby is born [Gm] racist, yet every baby [Bb] cries when they hear the cries of another, no matter the gender, culture, or color, [Eb] proving that deep down we were meant to connect and care for each other. That is our mission, and [Cm] that is not my opinion. That is the truth. In a world that has sold us fiction, [C] please listen. Labels only [Ab] distort our vision, which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it or feel resistance and [Bb] conflicted. But just remember, so did the caterpillar [Eb] before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly. Well, these labels are our shells, and we must do the same thing [Ab] so we can finally spread our wings. Human beings were [Eb] not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries and [Ab] supermarkets. DNA cannot be regulated by the [Eb] FDA. We were meant to be free, and only until we remove them all and stop living and thinking so small will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we truly are. [Cm]
[Ebm] So what can we do in the face of all this madness [Gb] and chaos? What is the solution? [B] We can love. [Gb] Trying to control the mind is like trying to flatten out water. You just make [Dbm] more waves. [A] [E] [N]
Key:
Eb
Ab
B
Cm
Bb
Eb
Ab
B
_ _ _ _ _ _
I am not black.
_ I mean, that's what the world calls me, but it's not me.
_ I didn't come out of my mother's womb saying,
Hey everybody, I'm black.
No, I was taught to be black.
And you were taught to call me that,
along with whatever you call yourself.
It's just a label.
_ _ _ [B] See, from birth the world force-feeds us these labels,
and eventually we all [Abm] swallow them.
We [B] digest and accept the labels,
never ever doubting them.
But there's one problem.
[Gb] Labels are not [B] you, and labels are not me.
Labels are just labels.
[Gb] But who we truly [Abm] are is not skin deep.
See, when I drive my car,
no one would ever [B] confuse the car for me.
Well, when I drive my body,
why do you confuse me for my body?
It's my body.
Get it?
Not me.
Let me break it down.
See, [Db] our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around.
The dealership we call society [B] decided to label mine the black edition,
yours the Irish or white edition.
And with no money down,% APR, and [Abm] no test drive, we were forced to own these cars [B] for the rest of our lives. _ Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride in [E] defining myself or judging another by the cars we [Abm] drive. _ Because who we truly are is found inside. _ [Eb] _ Listen, I'm not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we're all mixed and race in the human species doesn't exist, or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century to divide people from each other, and it has worked perfectly. No, _ _ I'm not here to lecture. [Ab] _ I just want to ask one question. [Eb] _ Who would you be if the world never gave you a [Ab] label, _ _ never gave you a box to check? Would you be white, black, Mexican, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Indian? [Cm] No, we would be one. We would be together, no longer living in the error [Ab] of calling human beings black people or white people. These labels that will forever [Bb] blind us from seeing a [Eb] person for who they are, but instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we think they are. And when you let an artificial [Cm] label define yourself, then my friend, you have chosen [Eb] smallness over greatness and minimized [Ab] yourself, confined and divided yourself from others. And it is an undeniable fact [Bb] that where there is division, there will be conflict, and conflict starts wars. Therefore, [C] every war [Eb] has started over labels. It's always us versus them. So the answer to war, racism, [Cm] sexism, and every other ism is so simple that every politician has missed it. _ It's the [Bb] labels. We must rip them [Ab] off. Isn't it funny how no baby is born [Gm] racist, yet every baby [Bb] cries when they hear the cries of another, no matter the gender, culture, or color, [Eb] proving that deep down we were meant to connect and care for each other. That is our mission, and [Cm] that is not my opinion. That is the truth. In a world that has sold us fiction, [C] please listen. Labels only [Ab] distort our vision, which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it or feel resistance and [Bb] conflicted. But just remember, _ so did the caterpillar _ [Eb] before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly. Well, these labels are our shells, and we must do the same thing [Ab] so we can finally spread our wings. Human beings were [Eb] not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries and [Ab] supermarkets. DNA cannot be regulated by the [Eb] FDA. We were meant to be free, and only until we remove them all and stop living and thinking so small will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we truly _ are. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ebm] So what can we do in the face of all this madness [Gb] and chaos? What is the solution? _ [B] We can love. _ [Gb] Trying to control the mind is like trying to flatten out water. You just make [Dbm] more waves. [A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [N] _
I am not black.
_ I mean, that's what the world calls me, but it's not me.
_ I didn't come out of my mother's womb saying,
Hey everybody, I'm black.
No, I was taught to be black.
And you were taught to call me that,
along with whatever you call yourself.
It's just a label.
_ _ _ [B] See, from birth the world force-feeds us these labels,
and eventually we all [Abm] swallow them.
We [B] digest and accept the labels,
never ever doubting them.
But there's one problem.
[Gb] Labels are not [B] you, and labels are not me.
Labels are just labels.
[Gb] But who we truly [Abm] are is not skin deep.
See, when I drive my car,
no one would ever [B] confuse the car for me.
Well, when I drive my body,
why do you confuse me for my body?
It's my body.
Get it?
Not me.
Let me break it down.
See, [Db] our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around.
The dealership we call society [B] decided to label mine the black edition,
yours the Irish or white edition.
And with no money down,% APR, and [Abm] no test drive, we were forced to own these cars [B] for the rest of our lives. _ Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride in [E] defining myself or judging another by the cars we [Abm] drive. _ Because who we truly are is found inside. _ [Eb] _ Listen, I'm not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we're all mixed and race in the human species doesn't exist, or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century to divide people from each other, and it has worked perfectly. No, _ _ I'm not here to lecture. [Ab] _ I just want to ask one question. [Eb] _ Who would you be if the world never gave you a [Ab] label, _ _ never gave you a box to check? Would you be white, black, Mexican, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Indian? [Cm] No, we would be one. We would be together, no longer living in the error [Ab] of calling human beings black people or white people. These labels that will forever [Bb] blind us from seeing a [Eb] person for who they are, but instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we think they are. And when you let an artificial [Cm] label define yourself, then my friend, you have chosen [Eb] smallness over greatness and minimized [Ab] yourself, confined and divided yourself from others. And it is an undeniable fact [Bb] that where there is division, there will be conflict, and conflict starts wars. Therefore, [C] every war [Eb] has started over labels. It's always us versus them. So the answer to war, racism, [Cm] sexism, and every other ism is so simple that every politician has missed it. _ It's the [Bb] labels. We must rip them [Ab] off. Isn't it funny how no baby is born [Gm] racist, yet every baby [Bb] cries when they hear the cries of another, no matter the gender, culture, or color, [Eb] proving that deep down we were meant to connect and care for each other. That is our mission, and [Cm] that is not my opinion. That is the truth. In a world that has sold us fiction, [C] please listen. Labels only [Ab] distort our vision, which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it or feel resistance and [Bb] conflicted. But just remember, _ so did the caterpillar _ [Eb] before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly. Well, these labels are our shells, and we must do the same thing [Ab] so we can finally spread our wings. Human beings were [Eb] not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries and [Ab] supermarkets. DNA cannot be regulated by the [Eb] FDA. We were meant to be free, and only until we remove them all and stop living and thinking so small will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we truly _ are. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ebm] So what can we do in the face of all this madness [Gb] and chaos? What is the solution? _ [B] We can love. _ [Gb] Trying to control the mind is like trying to flatten out water. You just make [Dbm] more waves. [A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [N] _