richard pryor - cops/the line-up lyrics
i’d be runnin’ from the cops and sh-t, you know, ’cause we have like curfew, eleven o’clock
and you had to be home-n-ggas had to be home about eleven; negroes, twelve
and white cops worked at night, your -ss was in trouble if they caught you. right, they’d catch you, and-
“ahh!”
cop: “get your hands up black boy!”
“ahhh!”
cop: “shutup, punk! get your hands against the wall!”
“there is no wall?”
cop: “find one.”
cop: “put the handcuffs on him, fred.”
he’d put the handcuffs on, and he’s really skinny-they just slip off
godd-mn, put ’em on his ankles or -ss or something
-handcuff your thighs, y’know. pop you into the car. take you downtown
you been downtown? you folks know about ‘going downtown.’
and they talk sh-t to you, right?
cop: “good thing you ain’t in alabama, boy. we’d clean your godd-mn plow.”
and i’d be glad i wasn’t in alabama too. i hate it for them to call my father up, right?
police department: “mr. pryor, we have your son down here at headquarters…”
father: “what about it? f-ck him.”
i’d hate it for my father to come get me outta jail, right? ’cause i know he’s gonna beat my -ss, right? y’know, i’d be praying somethin’ happen to him on the way down there
but he always showed up
father: “uh-huh, i’m gonna get you out. uh-huh, i’m gonna get you out, but i’m gonna tear your -ss, now i told you -mumbles-… uh, how much is it ma’am? ten dollars? yeah, i’m gon’ pay it, and i’m gon’ knock the sh-t outta -mumbles-under-breath-…”
i couldn’t lie to my old man, nothin’ right? ’cause he could hypnotize me, right? he had them eyes-check you right out
father: “say man, you f-ckin’ up in school again?”
huh?
…
yes. i am
…
hey, you ever notice, like, on the nights, like- white people come out early on sat-rday night, and go home and leave it to the n-ggas?
it’s great, like. we think that, all that-we can sit in the same club together, white and black… and not understand eachother…
it’s amazing. it can only happen in america
i used to love getting arrested though… on sat-rday night, ’cause it was fun if you was in the line-up, it was like being in show-business
’cause like, all the ugly white girls couldn’t get in, they said n-ggas raped ’em
police: “alright, come on now, you wanna go down? you were down last week. you know what to do, don’t’cha?”
it was a lot of fun, unless you got picked. it was yo -ss
police: “alright, bring it up, up there…
“allen t. johnson- suspected of grand theft auto. step forward.”
allen: “uhh, i’d like to say somethin’ about that. uhh, i thought that was my mother’s car, man. i went downtown, my mother told me to pick the car up at 1:30 and it was in front of the bank. and i was-took the car and i was about two blocks from home, and i done-this white lady sittin’ next to me screamin’ and sh-t. i didn’t know what was happenin’…
“i thought it was a stick-up! in fact, i want to press charges aganist her, because she scratched my hand and sh-t… and yelled all in my ear, and hurt my ear and everythin’. and i have medical reports to prove that-”
police: “you want a -ss-whoopin’?”
“buddy t. wilson. uh, handin’ out anti-government literature. step forward.”
buddy: “you’re godd-mn right. that’s right, i’m gonna hand out a -ss-whoopin’ when i get these handcuffs off. and i got your badge number, chump…”
police: “i don’t wanna hear it, n-gga. get that process out your head.”
“arnold t. perkins. molesting school-children. step forward.”
arnold: “uhh, gee whiz, can we dim these lights? this is ridiculous. this is, uhh, this is obscene in itself. gentlemen, i have some friends on the city council, and you will hear from them. i’ve never molested any child or done any-anything in the community. i’ve done the best i can at all times.”
police: “okay, step back. just a minute.”
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