Who Will Survive In America – English Lyrics

• By: Kanye West
• Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the thought-provoking world of "Who Will Survive In America" by Kanye West. This impactful song, featuring the iconic words of Gil Scott-Heron, offers a unique opportunity to engage with profound social commentary and poetic expression. You'll learn how artists use spoken word to deliver powerful messages about society, politics, and identity, while experiencing a pivotal moment in contemporary hip-hop that challenges listeners to think deeply about their own understanding of America.

[English]

Us living as we do upside down

And the new word to have is revolution

People don't even want to hear the preacher

Spill or spiel because God's whole card has been thoroughly piqued

And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey

The youngsters who were programmed to continue

Fucking up, woke up one night digging

Paul Revere and Nat Turner as the good guys

America stripped for bed and we had not all yet closed our eyes

The signs of Truth were tattooed across our open ended vagina

We learned to our amazement the untold tale of scandal

Two long centuries buried in the musty vault

Hosed down daily with a gagging perfume

America was a bastard, the illegitimate daughter of the mother country

Whose legs were then spread around the world

And a rapist known as freedom, free doom

Democracy, liberty, and justice were revolutionary code names

That preceded the bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling

In the mother country's crotch

What does Webster say about soul?

All I want is a good home and a wife

And a children and some food to feed them every night

After all is said and done, build a new route to China if they'll have you

Who will survive in America?

Who will survive in America?

Who will survive in America?

Who will survive in America?

...

Key Grammar Structures

• Us living as we do upside down

  ➔ Present participle phrase as subject

  ➔ The phrase "living as we do" acts as the subject of the sentence, using the present participle to describe an ongoing state.

• And the new word to have is revolution

  ➔ Subject-verb inversion with 'to have'

  ➔ The sentence uses inversion with "is" and "the new word to have," emphasizing the importance of "revolution."

• Because God's whole card has been thoroughly piqued

  ➔ Present perfect passive voice

  ➔ The phrase "has been thoroughly piqued" uses the present perfect passive to indicate a completed action with ongoing relevance.

• America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey

  ➔ Contrast using 'instead of'

  ➔ The phrase "instead of" is used to contrast the current state of America with its idealized past.

• We learned to our amazement the untold tale of scandal

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose

  ➔ The infinitive phrase "to our amazement" indicates the purpose or result of learning the tale.

• Two long centuries buried in the musty vault

  ➔ Past participle as adjective

  ➔ The past participle "buried" functions as an adjective to describe "centuries."

• Whose legs were then spread around the world

  ➔ Relative pronoun 'whose'

  ➔ The relative pronoun "whose" introduces a relative clause that describes the antecedent "the mother country."

• All I want is a good home and a wife

  ➔ Emphatic structure with 'all...is'

  ➔ The structure "all I want is" emphasizes the singular desire for a good home and a wife.