Up in the mornin’ and out to school
The teacher is teachin’ the Golden Rule
American history and practical math
You study ’em hard and hopin’ to pass
Workin’ your fingers right down to the bone
And the guy behind you won’t leave you alone
Soon as three o’clock rolls around
You finally lay your burden down
Close up your books, get out of your seat
Down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and ’round the bend
Right to the juke joint, you go in
Drop the coin right into the slot
You gotta hear something that’s really hot
With the one you love, you’re makin’ romance
All day long, you been wanting to dance
Feelin’ the music from head to toe
‘Round and ’round and ’round you go
Chuck Berry summed up my psychological state from age 12 to 16 … maybe 18…maybe 81! I’ve always been an excitable boy.
I’m sad and angry knowing America’s racism has inflicted and is inflicting harm on innumerable Black geniuses like Mr. Berry. Why did having a richer endowment of melanin than I have to face so many absurd indignities?!
As I became more attentive to the structure and the business of music, I understood why John Lennon said, “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, maybe you’d call it Chuck Berry.” He was a genius.
Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll!
Deliver me from the days of old!
