This Bitter Earth - Dinah Washington

This bitter earth, what fruit it bears What good is love that no one shares And if my life is like the dust that hides the glow of a rose What good am I heaven only knows This bitter earth, it can be so cold Today you're young, too soon you're old But while the voice within me cries I'm sure someone may answer my call This bitter earth may not be so bitter after all This bitter earth can be so cold Today you're young, too soon, too soon you're old But while the voice within me cries I'm sure someone will answer my call And this bitter earth may not be so bitter after all

This bitter land Watered with my soul The fruit it bears Leaves me so cold This bitter land Does nothing for love This bitter land Brings pain from above, oh-oh Yeah, running on the concrete across the train tracks The devil is behind me In the ghetto where's you'll find me, it's where I stays at Cop shot us up, he get a medal then retire But it never will define me Write a letter to the president, whoever in control of the society Tell 'em stop riding me, stop driving us into a suicidal ideology Tryna feed my seeds Getting high on weed, study my degrees Stay fly, getting paper With some dead white people faces in the circle of spaces around the green I'ma lean, taking Percs as a bit of Earth Is a nigga cursed? Am I blessed? See what I mean It's a test, life is a test Life is like a hood, hard Trying not to fall between the cracks In the cracks it's so dark, and the dark Seems more appealing than the light in the land Where you gotta fight Catch a body in the night, we need a plan To survive, to survive the land Survive the storm, when it comes through Either you're busy living or busy dying, look what it's come to Look what it's come to, so what you're gonna do? This bitter land is far too real This bitter land, it does not heal Cause in the land skies are grey But we fight the storms that come our way A boy who strives to be a man Must push to lead with all he can Oh, this bitter land Oh, bitter land Oh, oh, oh, oooh This bitter land can't stop my fight This bitter land Look what it's come to So what you gonna do? (My land)

What child is this, who, laid to rest On Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch, are keeping? Why lies He in such mean estate Where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear, for sinners here The silent word is pleading This, this is Christ the King Whom shepherds guard and angels sing Haste, haste to bring Him laud The babe, the son of Mary Raise, raise the Son on high The virgin sees a Lamb on high Joy, joy for Christ is born The babe, the son of Mary This is Christ, our King The babe, the son of Mary This is Christ, our King The babe, the son of Mary This is Christ, our King The babe, the son of Mary