It was hot.
Summer 1972
When a sophisticated falsetto
A gentle giant of Chicago soul
Came wafting across the FM dial
A messenger
A teacher
A grio for his time
With a story so true
We already knew the words by heart
Freddy’s dead!
Lawd lawd lawd
That’s what he said.
What a terrible blow
But we know how it go
For the Freddies of this world
Misused and abused
Only a rope for their hope, and
No peace for their mind
Just a corner to man
And dreams that don’t mean a thing….
then dead too soon.
Lawd lawd lawd
Remember Freddy’s dead!
Yeah yeah yeah
That’s what he said.
And it makes me wanna holler
And shed some tears
‘Cause we still singing
The same sad song
For the stepchildren
Of this democracy
The disposable ones
For the Freddies gone
For the people screaming
I can’t breathe!
And from bloody sea to bloody sea
There ain’t no place where hands are clean
I say yeah yeah yeah
Lawd lawd lawd lawd
Freddy’s dead!
That’s what he said.
It was beautiful.
Springtime 2015
And a newsman is talking on the radio
Saying Freddy’s dead all over again!
A broken neck in the back of the van!
Another terrible blow
But we know how it go
For the Freddies, the Trayvons, and the Michaels gone
And on and on and on and on
Like Curtis said a long time ago
Freddy’s dead!
Lawd lawd lawd lawd
That’s what he said.
And it makes we wanna holler
Makes me wanna scream
Throw my hands in the air
Like I just don’t care!
But the people still screaming
I can’t breathe!
And no one takes it serious
And that’s what makes us furious!
From bloody sea to bloody sea
There ain’t no place
Where hands are clean
‘Cause Freddy’s dead!
Lawd lawd lawd lawd
Yeah………
that’s what I said.
For many years, Bernardine (Dine) Watson was an executive with a national public policy research organization. She has written papers and articles for major non-profit groups, foundations and news organizations including The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Ford Foundation, W.W. Kellogg Foundation, and The Washington Post. Watson’s poetry has been published by the Painted Bride Art Center and the DC Humanities Council. Her poem "Annie" won the 2001 Philadelphia Celebration of Black Writing poetry award. She is a member of The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities The Poet in Progress Program, DC Women Writers of Color and the Ward 4 Arts and Humanities Committee. For the past three summers, Watson has taught poetry writing to adolescent girls at Arts for Our Children, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC.