Gil Scott-Heron, the oft-acknowledged God-Father of Rap, has passed at sixty-two.

His poetry and music goes beyond one genre and some of his beat-poems will live on . . . stamped into the psyche of generations who may not even be aware of the legacy their own word raps carry.

Certainly, his The Revolution will Not be Televised still stands as a powerful piece in socio-political observation and influence . . . it is also a piece that is so often misunderstood by those who look for a raw violent pattern when the revolution is so much more powerful a thought exchange than mere violence. It carries a meme that slips into the unconscious and burrows into the psyche.

Please note that while the images fit the words so very well, this is not Scott-Heron’s video but a fan’s piece edited together using clips from youtube that fit so very well.

This iconic song poem, a proto-rap if you will, was from Scott-Heron’s first album from 1970 and while the brands and names may be out of date, the concepts and images still apply today . . .

The powerful lyrics from a later more well-known recording are as follows, note how the imagery creates a powerful visualization exercise in and of itself, influencing the listener through the elicitation of emotional response.

Words from the later, and more well-known recording are:

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 skag and skip,
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
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and 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 May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in 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 motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets 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 Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that 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, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

Compare both versions to the 1982 rare performance audio:

When asked about this influential piece in the 1990s, Gil Scott-Heron provided explained it as:

Of course, Gil Scott-Heron’s work goes far beyond that powerful piece of work or of rap which honors him as he is more than entertainer or musician and yet is grounded firmly as a poet.

When asked to provide his own definition of a poet, Scott-Heron provided his own view of the beastie:

Definition of a Poet

And of course, here is a wonderful selection of his work and his thoughts . . .

One

Two

Gil Scott-Heron has passed away . . . May 27, 2011 . . . the revolution will not be televised . . . http://www.soundspike.com/news/article/2244-gil_scott_heron_news/ . . . it will be live.

Peace,
Brian