I've been on the interwebs long enough to find everything I've ever wanted to find, needed to find, hoped to come across, and a lot of stuff I wish I'd never seen. One thing I haven't been able to find since I started looking when our new King, Barack Obama, began his run for office, are the lyrics to the funkolicious "Paint the White House Black," by one of our elder kings, George Clinton. I have the CD Smell My Finger, and in 1993 I danced like a proper funkateer to PTWHB. But I never could find the lyrics online, so I did what any good netizen would do - transcribed em myself.
I could use help with one line--you'll see he ???s--leave a comment if you can make out what she's sayin.
With assistance from grandmaster George himself, the following represents my best shot at transcribing the lyrics to Paint the White House Black, which, 15 years later, is ever more timely - Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect, paint a perfect picture. :-)
Paint the White House Black
George Clinton
Paisley Park Records, 1993
...Featuring Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, Yo-Yo, MC Breed & Kam; other appearances by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Public Enemy, Shock G & Pupa Curly
And in these uptight times
Hardcore Funkateers deploy the Bop Gun
The unleasher of positive light
The bop gun can do you no harm
It frees your mind
so your behind can follow.
Let's do a fly-by
123 and I come with the wicked
White house, lights out
Boom boom boom with the bop gun
looks like I dropped one.
I'm top gun.
Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect,
paint a perfect picture, paint a picture.
Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect,
paint a perfect picture.
Hi, yeah, what's up? What's poppin'?
This is Dr. Dre callin' from gun control
Can I speak to the President?
Uh, yeah, just tell him he was smokin' last night at the club,
you know what I'm sayin?
What? He don't inhale? Well I know I got
the wrong muthufuckin' house.
Did somebody beep me from there?
Colors don't clash
for good.
Color me happy
next to you.
Oh, just like it should,
There goes the neighborhood
That's what they'd have us believe.
Paint the white house black
Brown
Paint the white house
(No matter what creed no matter what color)
Paint the white house black
brown
Paint the white house
white.
If love ain't got nothing to do with it
then keep it
Ain't no big secret
We all know the reason
People change every day
but life stays the same
one big game
ain't a damn thing change
A woman's gotta do
what a woman's gotta do
be a macstress
don't let these macs smack you
So I can ??? ????
I'm stressin' and tired
the man that runs the joint
gets me higher
It can be a white house
a black house
it can be a crack house
An outhouse
if it ain't the right house
Go get your army
Yes ladies we got a fight
They ain't gonna set aside another night.
It's so bad in Los Angeles
It's so scandalous
Gimme somebody
who can handle us
Young brothers on top of things
So ah color me man
I'm ready for a change.
I gave a show
one time too many
and a brother gotta be
comin' out his nickles
and countin' up his last pennies
buyin' his brushes
and bum rushes home his greenery
man he don't give
a hill of beans
what it means to me.
Leave it up to me
I'm paintin' the white house black
It ain't no feature when you're frontin'
So why do LA be frontin', Jack
It'll either change
or we're gonna change it
(yeah it's gettin old)
Usin' everything from
spray cans to charcoal
Put em up
Put the crew up on discharge
leavin' wet paint signs
in the front yard.
It drives these people crazy man,
They don't even know what I'm sayin'.
Ohhh, air brushed and colorized
change right before our eyes
Real is the US of every flag
And that's the north side from the right house
Be it the black, red or white house
I fear the puppeteer can pull
our strings.
Paint the white house black, brown.
Paint the white house.
(This white ain't right, get the flash light.)
Paint the white house black, brown.
(No matter what creed no matter what color)
Paint the white house.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
bein' all i could never be
Damn, with this toe tag
This is USAK all day
And you can't interrupt
Lay back.
Stars and stripes
For the tards and tights
Got brothers like me
behind bars and on pipes
Damn I'm gettin' fit for a trip
they got me seeing stars from the club
and stripes from the whip
Why must ya'll be like that
I ain't into politics
So skip them
white collar tricks
They never did us no good
to hell with the space shuttle
put some money in the hood
and make jobs
let's mob up to the capitol
Then we ain't gotta rap at all
Power to the people
And the only way to get free
Is the J to the U-S-T-I-C-E.
Picture this, paint a picture, paint a perfect picture
Yo listen to the real Clinton
Who Bill Clinton?
Hell No, I'm talkin' bout George Clinton
Paint the white house black, brown
Paint the white house black, brown
(no matter what creed or what color.)
Paint the white house
(with God by our side we gonna change this power)
Paint the white house black, brown
Paint the white house.
Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect, paint a perfect picture, paint a picture.
There goes the neighborhood.
Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect, paint a perfect picture, paint a picture.
You understand this, cause that's how it be.
His name is George and his last name begins with a "C".
Picture this, paint a picture picture perfect, paint a perfect picture.
