Us living as we do upside-down
And the new word to have is revolution
People don't even want to hear the preacher spill or spiel
Because God's whole card has been thoroughly piqued
And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey
The youngsters who were programmed to continue fucking up woke up one night
Digging Paul Revere and Nat Turner as the good guys
America stripped for bed and we had not all yet closed our eyes
The signs of truth were tattooed across our often-entered vagina
We learned to our amazement, the untold tale of scandal
Two long centuries buried in the musty vault
Hosed down daily with a gagging perfume
America was a bastard
The illegitimate daughter of the mother country
Whose legs were then spread around the world
And a rapist known as freedom, free-doom
Democracy, liberty, and justice were revolutionary codenames that preceded the bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling
In the mother country's crotch
What does Webster say about soul?
All I want is a good home and a wife
And a children, and some food to feed them every night
After all is said and done, build a new route to China if they'll have you
Who will survive in America?
Who will survive in America?
Who will survive in America?
Who will survive in America?
About
The final song of My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy, “Who Will Survive in America” is an abridged version of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Comment #1” that paints a bleak outlook for Kanye’s future and summarizes the entire album: is all the decadence of fame and fortune worth it? What do we lose in the process? And does it really make a difference in the end? The song flows immediately from the end of the previous track “Lost In The World”.
Kanye has always been a big proponent of Scott-Heron samples, whether on his own material (Late Registration’s “My Way Home” features an instantly recognizable bit from “Home Is Where the Hatred Is”) or on production for others (Common’s “The People” takes “We Almost Lost Detroit”).
Scott-Heron died six months after the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at the age of 62. Kanye performed both “Lost in the World” and “Who Will Survive in America” at his memorial service.
In August 2017, comedy legend Chris Rock (who is featured on “Blame Game”) revealed on Questlove’s podcast QLS (Questlove Supreme) that he was instrumental in pushing for this song to be the outro for the album. Good call!
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Dark Fantasy
- 2.Gorgeous
- 3.POWER
- 6.Monster
- 7.So Appalled
- 9.Runaway
- 10.Hell of a Life
- 11.Blame Game
- 13.Who Will Survive In America
- 14.See Me Now