Cover art for (Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go by Curtis Mayfield

(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go

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(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go Lyrics

[Spoken: Woman]
Last night, I was so depressed
And I went and got the Bible
And I turned to the book of Revelations
And if people would just get and read the Bible
And read the book of Revelations

They would really turn around and straighten up
This is all we need to do, is just get the good book
And read it and put it to everyday life

[Spoken: Curtis Mayfield]
Sisters
Niggers
Whiteys
Jews
Crackers

Don't worry
If there's hell below
We're all
Gonna go


Sisters
Brothers and the whiteys
Blacks and the crackers
Police and their backers
They're all political actors
Hurry
People running from their worries
While the judge and his juries
Dictate the law that's partly flaw

Cat calling
Love balling, fussing and a-cussing
Top billing now is killing
For peace, no one is willing
Kind of make you get that feeling

Everybody smoke
Use the pill and the dope

Educated fools
From uneducated schools

Pimping people is the rule
Polluted water in the pool

And Nixon talking 'bout, "Don't worry"
He say, "Don't worry"
He say, "Don't worry"
He say, "Don't worry"

But they don't know
There can be no show
And if there's hell below
We're all gonna go
Everybody praying
And everybody saying
But when come time to do
Everybody's laying

Just talking 'bout, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"

Sisters
Brothers and the whiteys
Blacks and the crackers
Police and their backers
They're all political actors

Smoke
The pill and the dope

Educated fools
From uneducated schools

Pimping people is the rule
Polluted water in the pool

And everybody's saying, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
But they don't know
There can be no show
And if there's hell below
We're all gonna go
Lord, what we gonna do?
Tell me what we gonna do?
If everything I say is true
This ain't no way it ought to be
If only all the mass could see

But they keep talking 'bout, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"
They say, "Don't worry"

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About

Genius Annotation

“(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go” was released in November 1970 as the first, and only charting single off of Curtis' debut album Curtis, hereby being his first (charting) single. The single was released with as B-side the song “The Makings of You”.

D12 would scratch in some vocals on the hook on “That’s How…” off their album Devil’s Night

The radio edit, and both backing tracks were included as bonus tracks on the Curtis re-issue in 2000.

The song is used as the opening theme for HBO’s 2017 series The Deuce, starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Curtis Mayfield say about "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go"?
Genius Answer

Well, if there’s a hell below, we’re all gonna go. It really takes us into many, many things. And the mess that we are in as a country. I’m sure it’s going to improve simply for, if no other reasons, I look at this country and I look upon my environment in many, many ways as strongly as I come on in reference to the political scene, or making a point of the religious bit, speaking of hell, and who’s to be saved and who’s not. I also envision and see a very beautiful thing in the country I live in, and with utmost of respect of just being able to say it is a turn on and also a promise that, of course, something better can come out of it. And, of course, falling back to the song, it’s just so obvious that if there is a hell below, I think we’ll all be there.

— Curtis Mayfield, Rapping with Curtis Mayfield, 1972

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Recorded At
RCA Studios, Chicago, Illinois (May - July 1970)
Release Date
September 1970
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