Moments - James Brown

Time to think, time of despair

Heavy times

And when I look back

I don’t see as much happiness

Love and respect, dignity and care

For your fellow human beings

So I’d like to start by saying…

Ladies and gentlemen

Young and old

Fellow people of the world:

This is Brother James Brown

Some people say: «Mr.

Brown»

Some just say: «My little brother»

Now I hope you don’t mind

But I’d like a few moments

Of your precious time

— Sit down, check it out —

To share some thoughts

That I had the other night…

As I was sitting at home

Late one evening, on my own

Just relaxing, you know

Laying back

I didn’t even have the TV on

It was quiet and still inside

And I could hear the faint echoes

Of the world outside

Which somehow started me thinking

Meditating…

Where we came from

Nobody really knows

But we all have our God

I think we believe in

Nobody really knows, though

But time itself

With a long list of lost souls

That have come and gone before

But are — not now — no more

Then fate decided

It was time to open your door

So, roll up!

Roll up!

Come and take a step

Onto this path of life

And let’s see what we can get

In our continuous search

For happiness and success

While we are looking at

The outside world

We should also be looking

To ourselves

Where there’s a wealth of

Knowledge and information

That will help you deal

With life’s tricky situations

But sometimes, alas, that alone

Cannot save you

'Cause now there are some things in life

That you have to do for money

It’s not funny if you ain’t got none

'Cause you know, right now

You really need some

Unless you wanna go hungry

Have nowhere to live

With no clothes on your back

Because they don’t come for free

And it doesn’t matter if you’re a

Pauper of a millionaire

If you’re broke and busted

Man or child

You gotta make the cash

Somewhere, some way, somehow

So what will it be?

Honest hard work or begging a dime?

Selling your soul or committing a crime?

While some get an education to enhance the mind

So they can understand the system and try to find

The right solutions, with no confusion

Not to be fooled by life’s illusions

— Don't go for the hype

So they can find the right conclusions…

What a shame, what a shame!

We don’t all have

The right intentions

For some are quite blatant

In their hostile attempts

To try and hold back

What they cannot understand

While others smile in your face

And offer you

A so-called helping hand

So beware my people

It’s ruff out there

And this not-so-big world’s

Getting smaller and smaller

Everyday because of satellite

Looking down on you

Brother man, sister lady

As we see it, day by day

Slowly turn from a place to live

To a place where death comes cheap

And some people just don’t seem to care

About what they’re doing or

Where they’re going

And just wishing they

Could get out of here

And go somewhere else — hey!

Maybe a million miles away

Like in your dreams

You heard that?

Maybe a million miles away

Like in your dreams

Where everything seems to be O. K

But maybe we don’t need to go so far

For we could change it all

Right here, now, today

— Today!

If we really wanted to

If we really felt that way

By turning hate and anger

Inside out to create something new

Like laughter

And all good things that

We’re not used to

If we could forget

The pain

The frustration

Resist the urges

To aid the bad situations…

Then, maybe then

We can make a little headroom

And if it happened right now

It wouldn’t be a moment too soon

Not a bit too soon

Because the sooner, the better

The better for all of us

Then we could live a life

In which we could trust

That all will do their best

In at least trying to help create

A new world, in which

There’s much less

Of what makes the world

Seem to be bad today

Because happiness is only

A moment’s thought away

Did you hear me?

Because happiness is only

A moment’s thought away

You know, when I think

Of England, France, Germany

When I think of Russia, Africa

I think of communities

Brothers, cousins, sisters

Fighting and killing each other

When I think of Australia

With their own personal problems

When I think of the United States

Suffering, you know what I mean

Problems that are hurting

Each and everyday…

When I think of South America

When I think of the little countries

That we don’t hear about

Hey!

I say to you:

You take a moment of your time

A minute — a second — to care

Think!

Think!

Think!

Think!

Think!

Think!

I love you, world

You, you, you, you, you, and you!

Think!

Hasta mañana, budiž den, bonjour

Goodbye, so long

Until the next time

Think!

Think!

Think!

…Think!

That’s the way to think!

Turn it louder!

Think!

Think!

Think!

Think!