We need to talk About It song

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Ben Harper Scrutinizes Slavery’s Long-Lasting Wounds on ‘We Need to Talk About It’
We Need to Talk About It Song Detail
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What is Ben Harper's most famous song?
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Original Artist

Ben Harper

Slavery
We need to talk about it
I say Black Lives Matter
'Cause history says we don't
You're either a Christian or a racist
You can't be both

Slavery
We need to talk about it
What does it say about America
What does it say about Africa
What does it say about all of us

Whoever said time heals all wounds
Wasn't a slave I'm guessing
Hundreds of years
That's just too long of a lesson
What does it say about the buyer
What does it say about the seller
What does it say about all of us

How does a ghost forgive
How are we supposed to live
With 12 million taken
Not one single reparation
What does it say about forgiveness
What does it say about compassion
About justice
About fairness
About the law and the land
About then
What does it say about now

Performed By:

Ben Harper – Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Piano, Vocals
Chavonne Stewart, De'Ante Duckett, Alethea Mills – Background Vocals

Ben Harper Scrutinizes Slavery’s Long-Lasting Wounds on ‘We Need to Talk About It’

Track will appear on the musician's new album, Bloodline Maintenance, out this summer

Ben Harper bluntly addresses the deep-seated and longstanding wounds of slavery on his new song, “We Need to Talk About It.” The track will appear on Harper’s next album, Bloodline Maintenance, set to arrive July 22 via Chrysalis Records.

“We Need to Talk About It” boasts a potent blend of gospel, funk, and blues, with Harper singing back-and-forth with a choir over a steady groove of rumbling percussion and wobbling guitar licks. Towards the end of the song, Harper’s clear-eyed lyrics — “How does a ghost forgive… How are we supposed to live/With 12 million taken/Not one single reparation” — are punctuated with a fierce reply from the choir: “We need to talk about it.”

“Silence and stillness are the enemy of progress. Racial inequity in America is not an accident, but by design and it’s time for an honest and historically holistic reconstruction of the way we approach race and racial diversity in America,” Harper tells Rolling Stone, noting the song’s arrival ahead of Juneteenth. “This is the moment. If we are to sincerely celebrate Juneteenth at its core definition, which is ending slavery, we must level the playing field once and for all, starting with eradicating black student debt along with a separate black interest rate and tax bracket.”

“We Need to Talk About It” is the first offering from Bloodline Maintenance, which will follow Harper’s 2020 solo lap steel album, Winter Is For Lovers. In the years since that LP, he’s released a handful of singles, including “If Ever,” “Spin It Faster,” and “He Was a Friend of Mine,” the latter featuring singer-songwriter Tom Freund.

On top of prepping Bloodline Maintenance, Harper has a busy year of touring ahead of him, with dates scheduled throughout Europe in July and August. In September, he’ll play a handful of West Coast shows before opening up for Harry Styles during his lengthy residency at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Oct. 23 through Nov. 15.

We Need to Talk About It Lyrics by Ben Harper is latest English song with music also given by Ben Harper, Sheldon Gomberg. We Need to Talk About It song lyrics are written by Ben Harper.

We Need to Talk About It Song Detail

Song Name:	We Need to Talk About It
Singer:	Ben Harper
Composer:	Ben Harper, Sheldon Gomberg
Lyrics by:	Ben Harper

Slavery
We need to talk about it
We need to talk about it
I say black lives matter
’cause history says we don’t
You’re either a christian or a racist
You can’t be both

Slavery
We need to talk about it
We need to talk about it
What does it say about america?
What does it say about africa?
And what (what) does it say
About all of us? (all of us)

Whoever said time heals all wounds
Wasn’t a slave, I’m guessing
Hundreds of years
That’s just too long of a lesson
We need to talk about it
What does it say about the buyer?
And what does it say about the seller?
And what (what) does it say
About all of us? (all of us)

How does a ghost forgive?
We need to talk about it
How are we supposеd to live?
We need to talk about it
With 12 million taken
Not onе single reparation
We need to talk about slavery
What does it say about forgiveness?
We need to talk about it
What does it say about compassion?
We need to talk about slavery
About justice and about fairness
We need to talk about slavery
About the law and the land
We need to talk about it
About then
What does it say about now?
We need to talk about slavery

We Need to Talk About It Song Video

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What is Ben Harper's most famous song?

# 1 – Diamonds On The Inside We close out our top 10 songs list with one of Ben Harper's most famous songs entitled “Diamonds On The Inside.” The song has a vibe that always reminded us of The Band. The song was released on the album entitled Diamonds on the Inside. The album was released in 2003.

What ethnicity is Ben Harper?

Harper was born in Pomona, California. His late father, Leonard Harper, was of African-American and Cherokee ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Harper Verdries (née Chase), is Jewish. His maternal great-grandmother was a Russian-Lithuanian Jew.