To do wid me (2001)


Another brilliant poem by Benjamin Zephaniah: "To Do Wid Me", first published in 2001 and republished in 2011 in his book "Too black, too strong" by Bloodaxe Books (UK).


To Do Wid Me

There’s a man beating his wife
De woman juss lost her life
Dem called dat domestic strife?
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Babies are buried under floors
In a church behind closed doors
I don’t know de bloody cause
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

I’ve seen all de documentaries
An there’s nothing I can do
I’ve listened to de commentaries
Why should I listen to you?
If I am told to I go vote
If I need more money I strike
If I’m told not to then I won’t
I want de best deal out of life

De fit cannot go jogging
Coz there’s someone out there mugging
When they should be spreading luving
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

You an me must juss stand back
Coz they’re gonna bomb Iraq
It’s a surgical attack so
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

I juss wanna live my life mate
So juss leave me alone
Why should I fight de state?
When I’m trying to buy my home,
I juss wanna earn my bread guy
An feed my family
You may starve and you may die
But wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Poets are dying in Nigeria
Or forced to leave de area
Multinationals are superior
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

An in somewherestan I’ve heard
Dat she can’t say a word
An he must grow a beard
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Wot has dis gotta do wid me
I’m juss dis guy from Birmingham
An all I want to do is live good in de hood,
It’s got nothing to do wid me
I’m juss your average football fan
An hey sum foreign teams are very, very good,
Why should you worry yourself?
You cannot change a single thing
All you gotta do is tek wot you can get,
Why should you worry yourself?
Try hard an you will die trying
Wot can any of us do about Tibet?

I see a million refugees
On twenty million TVs
An I think who de fuck are these?
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Hurry up I’ve got no time
Don’t you mess wid wot is mine
Yes I signed de dotted line but
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Your school has juss been closed down
Your tax is buying bombs
An although you come from downtown
You don’t know where you’re coming from,
You don’t know wot you are eating
Your food has a terrible taste
An you can be sure dat you are drinking
Sum kinda chemical waste
There’s a price upon your head
Even though you’re newly wed
A police juss shot you dead
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

An down in de police station
They are killing de black nation
But dat’s normal race relations
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

Wot has dat gotta do wid
De man upon de corner dat is selling guns
So we can kill each other as we rave,
Or de crackhead who is trying to crack up everyone
Teking all your cash as you become a slave,
Or de mother in de gutter who is begging bread
Where de man dressed in de Gucci hails a cab,
All I am trying to do is praise de Lord it must be said
Wot has dis to do wid anything I’ve had

A baby in Pakistan
Is making footballs for de man
Or is she an Indian?
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

There’s no propa propaganda
About Malawi or Rwanda
An all dis makes me wonder
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

I used to go on demonstrations
Now me feet can’t tek de pace,
I’ve tried be a vegan
But there’s egg upon me face,
My last stand was de Miners Strike
I did de cop patrol,
Now it’s central heating dat I like
An I juss don’t need no coal

Indonesia needs more
British arms for East Timor
More western bombs to bomb de poor
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

An over in Algeria
They say there’s another massacre
Isn’t dat a part of Africa
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

An I don’t plan to go
To an American death row
There’s no compassion there I know but
Wot has dat gotta do wid me?

My God, I can see you have been tortured
An your wife has been drawn an quartered
An your children have been slaughtered
But wot has dat gotta do wid me?


[Comment by Benjamin Zephaniah on this poem, printed below the poem:] This rant was created for performance and for a long time I insisted that it should never be written down or published. But at my performances I began to receive so many requests for copies that I have been forced to change my mind.










Also check out these poems by Benjamin Zephaniah: