Get a call from vance heand's an old friend
heand's got some you-wonand't-believe-story to share
heand's the place that i go when i need someone who knows me
he brings the smile of a billionaire
And i laugh when he pretends heand's a white guy
and'cause he knows how bad i fail playing black
he says, andquot;if even you could, i donand't advise that you should
and'cause once you go there you might not want to turn backandquot;
(chorus)
there isnand't a thing
in this god-all-mighty world that i wouldnand't do
to help him outta trouble
seeinand' as how weand're friends and
that goes deeper than skin can go
to a translucent soul
deeper than color will show
translucent soul
he says, andquot;now, you and i, i know we look a little different,
but, i was raised middle class, same as you.
but, letand's make it clear even on the way here,
i had to watch for blue lights in the rear view andquot;
he says, andquot;last week, i was visiting l.a.,
walking the streets where the riots went down.
you got black killing black killing black killing black,
while all the whites were sweating bullets across townandquot;
(chorus)
he says, andquot;in l.a., theyand're whispering race war,
like itand's something that has yet to begin
like they can plug up the cracks
in four hundred years of history
and prove that the melting potand's not brokenandquot;
he says, andquot;in the event of some unlikely disaster,
we find ourselves armed, and face to face andquot;
i said, andquot;iand'd turn around, i would protect your groundandquot;
he said, andquot;iand'd do the same thing for you at your placeandquot;
(chorus)
there isnand't a thing
in this god-all-mighty world that he wouldnand't do
to help me outta trouble . . .
Embrace what you have in common,
celebrate what sets you apart
it takes more than the color
that you find on a palate
to turn humanity into an art
into the form of an art
translucent soul
translucent soul
soul
