Lyrics

I Grew Up (Kaye’s Place)
Allan Harris
I took the train up to Harlem
Dressed to the nines, a spring afternoon
Going to the Apollo
Hear all that jazz, and some down-home blues
Nina, Sarah, and Ella
Duke and Basie would swing, that’s a fact
Jackie, Smokey, and Marvin
BB and Satchmo never walked through the back
I Grew Up!
With a people who believed in heard work
I Grew Up!
Never heard them use the N-word
I Grew Up!
Stood on the shoulders where I learned how to give
Yes, Harlem is the place I live
A jukebox sat in the corner
Your favorite tune, would play while you danced
Afro hair “Right on Brother”
Platform shoes, Motown grooves gangster hats
Doo-wop groups on the corner
Girls double-dutch, and man they could twist
Buy a deuce-and-quarter
Play a number, you hope that it hits
I Grew Up!
With a people who believed in heard work
I Grew Up!
Never heard them use the N-word
I Grew Up!
Stood on the shoulders where I learned how to give
Yes, Harlem is the place I live
Now I see folks are rapping
Lay down those beats, sample some tracks
But Malcolm said from the pulpit
Better learn how your rhythms are jacked
Folks stepped off the plantation
A place of pain where our families were sold
Oh miss Tubman, she saved some
Robert Smith - says there’s still far to go
I Grew Up!
With a people who believed in heard work
I Grew Up!
Never heard them use the N-word
I Grew Up!
Stood on the shoulders where I learned how to give
Yes, Harlem is the place I live