The “Revolution is Live”
A short reflection — musically inspired by DJ Badala’s rework of Gil Scott Heron’s seminal poem
On the 15th September 2023, I heard an unfamiliar version of the seminal Gil Scott Heron work — the Revolution will not be Televised — on the UK’s 6 Music digital radio station.
The remixed lyrics were even more captivating than the original; they resonated as ideal for reflecting on “Intellectual Leadership” as part of my work at CATLAN.
Oddly, even though I was not the only person to hear it, none of us could find the track on the record listing for the day. Weird!
After intensive research I found what might have been the track that captivated my attention so intensively.
I thought I’d share it here for wider and future reference.
“…the revolution will not be televised.
You see… a lot of times people see…battles and skirmishes on TV;
And they say, ‘Aha, the revolution is being televised.’
Nah. The results of the revolution are being televised.
The first revolution is when you change your mind about how you look at things, and see that there might be another way to look at it that you have not been shown.
What you see later on is the results of that, but the revolution — that change that takes place — will not be televised”.
Why not listen to the full track below and leave your responses to the lyrics as responses on this page. If you know any similar edits, do let me know. Otherwise, why not read more about the original track here from Matt Frati.
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