The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Gil Scott-Heron

you will not be able to stay home, brother

you will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out

you will not be able to lose yourself on scag

and skip out for beer during commercials because

the revolution will not be televised



the revolution will not be televised

the revolution will not be brought to you by xerox

and ________without commercial interruptions

the revolution will not show you pictures of nixon blowing a bugle

and leading a charge by john mitchell, zero abrams, and spirew agnew

to eat hog maws confiscated from the harlem sanctuary

the revolution will not be televised



the revolution will not be brought to you by the secret award theater

and will not star natalie woods as steve mcqueen

or bullwinkle as julia

the revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal

the revolution will not get rid of the nubs

the revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner

because the revolution will not be televised, brother



there will be no pictures of you and willie mays pushing that shopping cart

down the block on the dead run

or trying to slide that color tv into a stolen ambulance

nbc will not be able to predict the winner at 8:32 on report from 29 districts

the revolution will not be televised



there will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay

there will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay

there will be no pictures of whitney young being run out of harlem on a rail

with a brand new process

there will be no slow-motions or still lifes of roy wilkins, strolling thru watts

in a red black and green liberation jumpsuit

that he has been saving for just the proper occasion

green acres, beverly hillbillies, and hooterville junction

will no longer be so damn relevant

and women will not care if dick finally got down with jane on search for tomorrow

because black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day

the revolution will not be televised



there will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news

and no pictures of hairy-armed women liberationists

and jackie o'nassis blowing her nose

the theme song will not be written by jim webb or francis scott keys

nor sung by glen campbell, tom jones, johnny cash, inglebert humperdink or the rare earth

the revolution will not be televised



the revolution will not be back after a message about a white tornado

white lightning, or white people

you will not have to worry about a jungle in your bedroom, the tiger in your tank,

or the giant in your toilet bowl

the revolution will not go better with coke

the revolution will not fight germs and may cause bad breath

the revolution WILL put you in the driver's seat

the revolution will not be televised

will not be televised

will not be televised...

the revolution will be no reruns, brothers,

the revolution will be live