In his song “Whitey on the Moon”, the American musician Gil Scott-Heron addressed social injustice in the USA in 1970. The black population lived in poverty while white men flew to the moon in the expensive Apollo project.
Transkription
We have a poem here, it's called "Whitey On The Moon"
It was inspired by some whiteys on the moon
So I wanna give credit where credit is due
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With whitey on the moon
Her face and arms began to swell
And whitey's on the moon
I can't pay no doctor bills
But whitey's on the moon
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still
While whitey's on the moon
The man just upped my rent last night
Cause whitey's on the moon
No hot water, no toilets, no lights
But whitey's on the moon
I wonder why he's upping me?
Cause whitey's on the moon?
Well I was already giving him fifty a week
With whitey on the moon
Taxes taking my whole damn check
Junkies making me a nervous wreck
The price of food is going up
And as if all that shit wasn't enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With whitey on the moon
Her face and arm began to swell
And whitey's on the moon
Was all that money I made last year
For whitey on the moon?
How come I ain't got no money here?
Hmm! Whitey's on the moon
Y'know I just 'bout had my fill
Of whitey on the moon
I think I'll send these doctor bills
Airmail special
To whitey on the moon.
Gil Scott-Heron (* April 1, 1949 in Chicago; † May 27, 2011 in New York)
American musician and poet.