[Verse 1: Gil Scott-Heron]
Here I am, after so many years
Hounded by hatred and trapped by fear
I'm in a box. I've got no place to go
If I follow my mind, I know I'll slaughter my own
Help me, I'm the prisoner
Won't you hear my plea?
I need somebody, yeah, to listen to me
I beg you, brothers and sisters
I'm counting on you, yeah

[Verse 2: Gil Scott-Heron]
Black babies in the womb are shackled and bound
Chained by the caveman who keeps beauty down
Smacked on the ass when they're squalling and wet
Heir to a spineless man who never forgets
Never forgets that he's a prisoner. Can't you hear my plea?
‘Cause I need somebody, Lord knows, to listen to me
I'm a stranger to my son who wonders why his daddy runs, yeah

[Verse 3: Gil Scott-Heron]
On my way to work in the morning when I don't give a damn
Can't nobody, can’t nobody, can’t nobody, can’t nobody see just who in hell I am
Hemmed in by a suit. Yes, all choked up in a tie
Ain't no wonder sometimes, near morning, I hear my woman cry
She knows her man is a prisoner. Won't you hear my plea?
Yeah, ‘cause I need somebody, woah, to listen to me
My woman, she don't say, but she hates to see her man chained this way. Yeah
Help me, I'm the prisoner
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the prisoner