Don't Give Up Songtext
von Gil Scott‐Heron

Ah lovely day

I never thought of myself as a complex man
Or someone who was really that hard to understand
But it would hardly take a genius to realize
That I′ve always been a lot too arrogant
And a little too fuckin' wise

That was a combination that made a lotta folks feel duty bound
To do whatever they could to try and shoot me down
To head off some of the things I might possibly say
And see if they couldn′t take some of my pride away
To bring me disappointment and teach me to fear it
Obviously these are folks that just didn't have no spirit
Spirits say

Don't give up (spirits say don′t give up)
Yes it′s time to stop your fallin'
You′ve been down long enough
Can't you hear the spirits callin′?


Yes it's the spirits
Can′t you hear it?
Callin' your name
Callin' your name
Yeah talkin′ ′bout spirits, hey

There are people whose lives are so far off the track
That what they like best about life is stabbing brothers in the back
And I was obviously too blind and probably too weak
To see who was responsible for my losing streak

The best way to explain it is to say simply because
I was looking around outside and the truth is that I was the one
So I got locked into all of the analysis
And found myself locked into a kind of paralysis
And something was calling and I almost didn't hear it
But I spent a lot of time being blessed by the spirits
They keep saying

Don′t give up (they say don't give up)
Yeah it′s time to stop your fallin'
Yeah you′ve been down long enough
And can't you hear the spirits callin'?


Yes it′s the spirits
Can′t you hear it?
Callin' your name
Callin′ your name
Yeah, talkin' ′bout spirits, hey

It didn't matter if it was a child or an adult
There was absolutely no one that I could not insult
So that I could isolate myself somewhere off to the side
And continue to juggle all the possible whys

The warmth I wanted to generate so well
Had turned into a frozen hell
And all of the discouraging injustices I felt
Had pinned me somewhere inside a drug infested cell

Where those who told didn′t know and those who knew didn't tell
And I could continue to feel sorry for my self
I could continue to feel sorry for my self
I could continue to feel sorry for my self
And then I heard

Don't give up (they say don′t give up)
Yeah it′s time to stop your fallin'
Yeah you′ve been down long enough, yeah
Can't you hear the spirits callin′?

Yes it's the spirits
Can′t you hear it?
Callin' your name
Callin' your name
Yeah talkin′ ′bout spirits, hey

Ain't no way overnight to turn your life around
And this ain′t the conversation of someone
Who never falls back down
But no matter how long you've been on trial
With the days and the weeks of self-denial

And no matter how many times you′ve tried to make it
And found out that right then you just couldn't take it
If you are looking for a loser who found strength and success
Remember the spirit of Brother Malcolm X
And know that you can leave all your mistakes behind

The day that you really make up your mind
Really make up your mind
Really make up your mind
Really make up your mind
Come on brothers, pull on up
Stand on up and say

Don′t give up (don't give up)
Yes it's time to stop your fallin′
Callin′ on you
You've been fallin′ down long enough
Yeah sing, can't you hear the spirits callin′
Hear the spirits callin'
Sayin′

Don't give up (they say don't give up)
Yeah it′s time to stop your fallin′
Yes and you've been down long enough, yeah
Can′t you hear the spirits callin'?
Hear the spirits callin′, hear the spirits callin'...