Beyoncé did not let Juneteenth pass without dropping one of her signature surprises — a new single called “Black Parade”, her first new solo music since she contributed to The Lion King companion album last year.
“I’m going back to the South, I’m going back where my roots ain’t watered down,” Beyoncé sings, opening the track. At several points on Friday’s release, the singer tells listeners to “Follow my parade.”
Proceeds from the song will benefit Black-owned small businesses, a message entitled “Black Parade Route” on the singer’s website said. The post included links to dozens of Black-owned businesses.
“Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right,” the message said.
Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. While the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South beginning Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.
“We got rhythm, we got pride, we birth kings, we birth tribes,” Beyoncé sings toward the end of the nearly five-minute song.
Juneteenth — typically a day of both joy and pain — was marked with new urgency this year, amid weekslong protests over police brutality and racism sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Beyoncé spoke out on social media in the wake of Floyd’s death.
“We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain,” she said in an Instagram video that called for people to sign a petition demanding justice for Floyd.
The singer also joined the call for charges against the officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was gunned down in March by officers who burst into her Kentucky home. Beyoncé wrote in a letter Sunday to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron that the three Louisville police officers “must be held accountable for their actions.” Cameron has asked for patience amid a probe, but Louisville’s mayor announced Friday that one of the officers would be fired.
Listen to the song below:
Beyoncé Black Parade Lyrics
[Intro]
Ah
[Verse 1]
I’m goin’ back to the South
I’m goin’ back, back, back, back
Where my roots ain’t watered down
Growin’, growin’ like a Baobab tree
All fly, above of the ground, ancestors put me on game
Ankh charm on gold chains, with my Oshun energy, oh
Drip all on me, woo, Ankh or the Dashiki print
Hol’ up, don’t I smell like such a nag champa incense?
Yeah, pure ice (Ice), ice (Ice), buss down
Uh, flooded (Flooded), flooded (Flooded), on my wrist, out
Ooh, goin’ up, goin’ up, motherland, motherland drip on me
Ooh, melanin, melanin, my drip is skin deep, like
Ooh, motherland, motherland, motherland, motherland drip on me
Ooh, yeah, I can’t forget my history is her-story, yeah
Being black, maybe that’s the reason why they always mad
Yeah, they always mad, yeah
Been past ’em, I know that’s the reason why they all big mad
And they always have been
[Chorus]
Honey, come around my way, around my
Whenever momma says so, momma say
Here I come on my throne, sittin’ high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade
Talkin’ slick to my folk (My folk), lift that lip like lipo (Lipo)
You hear them swarmin’, right? Bees is known to bite
Now here we come on our thrones, sittin’ high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade
[Verse 2]
Yeah, yeah, I’m for us, all black
All chrome (Yeah), black-owned (Yeah)
Black tints (Yeah), matte black (Yeah, yeah)
Roll by, my window down, let ’em see who in it
Crack a big smile (Ding)
Go figure, me and Jigga, fifty ‘leven children
They like, “Chick, how?”
I charge my crystals in a full moon
You could send them missiles, I’ma send my goons
Baby sister reppin’ Yemaya (Yemaya)
Trust me, they gon’ need an army (Ah)
Rubber bullets bouncin’ off me (Ah)
Made a picket sign off your picket fence (Ah)
Take it as a warning (Ah, ah)
Waist beads from Yoruba (Woo)
Four hunnid billi’, Mansa Musa (Woo)
Straw line to the barbeque
Put us any-damn-where, we gon’ make it look cute
Pandemic fly on the runway, in my hazmat
Judgin’, runnin’ through the house to my art, all black
Ancestors on the wall, let the ghosts chit-chat
(Ancestors on the wall, let the ghosts chit-chat)
Hold my hands, we gon’ pray together
Lay down, face down in the gravel
Woo, wearin’ all attire white to the funeral
Black love, we gon’ stay together
Curtis Mayfield on the speaker (Woo)
Lil’ Malcolm, I miss ’em, momma Tina (Woo)
Need another march, lemme call Tamika (Woo)
Need peace and reparation for my people (Woo)
Fuck these laid edges, I’ma let it shrivel up (Shrivel up)
Fuck this fade and waves I’ma let it dread all up (Dread all up)
Put your fists up in the air, show black love (Show black love)
Motherland drip on me, motherland, motherland drip on me
[Chorus]
Honey, come around my way, around my
Whenever momma says so, momma say
Here I come on my throne, sittin’ high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade
Talkin’ slick to my folk (My folk), lift that lip like lipo (Lipo)
Hear ’em swarmin’, right? (Zz) Bees is known to bite (Zz, zz)
Now here we come on our thrones, sittin’ high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade
[Bridge]
We got rhythm (We got rhythm), we got pride (We got pride)
We birth kings (We birth kings), we birth tribes (We birth tribes)
Holy river (Holy river), holy tongue (Holy tongue)
Speak the glory (Speak the glory), feel the love (Feel the love)
Motherland, motherland drip on me, hey, hey, hey
Motherland, motherland drip on me, hey, hey, hey
I can’t forget my history, it’s her-story
Motherland drip on me, motherland, motherland drip on me
[Chorus]
Honey, come around my way, around my (My)
Whenever momma says so (Hey), momma say (Hey, hey)
Here I come on my throne, sittin’ high (High)
Follow my parade, oh, my parade (Hey, hey, hey)
Talkin’ slick to my folk (My folk), lift that lip like lipo (Lipo)
Hear ’em swarmin’, right? (Zz) Bees is known to bite (Zz, zz)
Now here we come on our thrones, sittin’ high
Follow my parade, oh, black parade