31 March 2015, No. 65, Skull Snaps, ‘It’s a New Day’
I rarely pay much attention to the lyrics of songs unless they really jump out or happen to incorporate the song’s title. I recall melodies accurately but not lyrics. And no one ever pays much attention to the lyrics of the Skull Snaps cut that comes in at No. 65. In fact, people rarely even reference the name of the tune or anything that happens after its sixth second. They just call it “the Skull Snaps break” and move on. In this case it may be because the lyrics are odd. They seem like a tongue-in-cheek exhortation to patience in the face of the Civil Rights Movement…in 1973. “In God we trust / Don’t make a fuss / Just step to the back of the bus.” Actually, I suspect they’re talking to white people who were new to the whole “back of the bus” thing, telling them to chill out, maybe. Doesn’t matter anyway; the drums are what matters. Disregard lyrics; loop drums. Make every hip-hop song ever. “It’s a New Day,” and a better day is coming.