My forefathers came from africa Brought here as a slave How can I have an englishman's name? The white man, the chiney man The indians and the syrians All nations have their own names They robbed us of our culture They robbed us of our language They robbed us of our women, our music taken away Oh why, oh why, what an oppression, oh god, oh lord Oh why, oh why, what an oppression It's more than 400 years We're livin' in this western hemisphere Still we just can't reach nowhere Babylon just have us right here, living in fear Babylon don't even care They robbed us of our culture They robbed us of our language They robbed us of our wealth, our strength taken away Oh why, oh why, what an oppression, oh jah Oh why, oh why, what an oppression They robbed us of our culture They robbed us of our language They robbed us of our women, our music taken away Oh why, oh why, what an oppression, jah jah Oh why, oh why, what an oppression It's more than 400 years We're livin' in this western hemisphere Still we just can't reach nowhere Babylon just have us right here, living in fear Babylon don't even care