Living Color
๐ต 2075 characters
โฑ๏ธ 4:31 duration
๐ ID: 3279660
๐ Lyrics
Whatever happened to Carlton Bell?
My best friend in the seventh grade
We played our snare drums side-by-side
In the middle school marching band
Disney parade
Raised our money to ride the bus to Orlando
Knocking on doors up and down the street
Selling those bars of the world's finest chocolate
Splitting every third one between him and me
And his skin was black
And my skin was white
And the sky was blue
And the future was bright
And our blood ran red
In both our veins
And we were looking at the world
In living color
He moved away the first year of high school
No phones, no internet so we just lost touch
But I think about him every now and then in marching band
Laughing loud, windows down in the back row of the bus
And his skin was dark
And my skin was light
But all we saw was a friend
In each other's eyes
And our blood ran red
In both our hearts
We were looking at the world
In living color
So I did a little search and I found his picture
I recognized his smile immediately
He moved out west raising kids
Working in a factory
Got sick, passed away in 2016
Looking at his face as a grown man got me thinking
How different life can be while so much stays the same
His friend said he was a good man
He loved his God and loved his family
Did not surprise me that his good heart remained
But his skin was black and I wonder if my friend
Felt judged and afraid
In ways that I've never been
And it weighs heavy on my heart
But then I think of where he is now
In living color
Well I know these things are all way more complicated
So much is so broken beyond fixing it can seem
And if I'm honest I'm scared
To even write and sing this song
I don't want to somehow say the wrong thing
But I was thinking maybe if I told our story
Maybe I could help someone remember and believe
There's a lot of goodness and wonder left in this broken world
Just like there was back then for Carlton and me
And his skin was black
And my skin was white
And the sky was blue
And our future was bright
And the blood ran red
In both our veins
And we were looking at the world
In living color
My best friend in the seventh grade
We played our snare drums side-by-side
In the middle school marching band
Disney parade
Raised our money to ride the bus to Orlando
Knocking on doors up and down the street
Selling those bars of the world's finest chocolate
Splitting every third one between him and me
And his skin was black
And my skin was white
And the sky was blue
And the future was bright
And our blood ran red
In both our veins
And we were looking at the world
In living color
He moved away the first year of high school
No phones, no internet so we just lost touch
But I think about him every now and then in marching band
Laughing loud, windows down in the back row of the bus
And his skin was dark
And my skin was light
But all we saw was a friend
In each other's eyes
And our blood ran red
In both our hearts
We were looking at the world
In living color
So I did a little search and I found his picture
I recognized his smile immediately
He moved out west raising kids
Working in a factory
Got sick, passed away in 2016
Looking at his face as a grown man got me thinking
How different life can be while so much stays the same
His friend said he was a good man
He loved his God and loved his family
Did not surprise me that his good heart remained
But his skin was black and I wonder if my friend
Felt judged and afraid
In ways that I've never been
And it weighs heavy on my heart
But then I think of where he is now
In living color
Well I know these things are all way more complicated
So much is so broken beyond fixing it can seem
And if I'm honest I'm scared
To even write and sing this song
I don't want to somehow say the wrong thing
But I was thinking maybe if I told our story
Maybe I could help someone remember and believe
There's a lot of goodness and wonder left in this broken world
Just like there was back then for Carlton and me
And his skin was black
And my skin was white
And the sky was blue
And our future was bright
And the blood ran red
In both our veins
And we were looking at the world
In living color