Black People Played Their Part
A special song looking back at the contributions of Black Britons throughout history.
MUSIC BY
Richie Webb
FROM
Series 9 Episode 1 (British Black History Animated Special)
LYRICS:
Please lend me your ears
For this news I shall impart
You may not have been told
We have been here from the start.
We worked in the Stone Age,
Went to war with Bonaparte;
Before these isles were British
Black people played their part.
Cheddar man was Mesolithic
10, 000 years from now,
When the animals were terrific
(You should see his giant cow.)
And the Roman Emperor General
And the brave Aurelian Moors,
Were just a few of several
Who walked upon these shores.
Listen to the tales
And these words I shall impart
Before Harold lost at Hastings
Black people played their part.
Queen Catherine and Henry
Had a trumpeter called John
And a maid call Catalina
But from history books they're gone!
Of naked Georgian writers
And the stars of boxing rings
To the battlefields of Europe
And the Windrush I can sing
Please lend me your ears
For this news I shall impart
Before Harold lost at Hastings
Black people played their part.
These histories are just stories, there's truths for us to see
That for 10, 000 British years some Brits have looked like me.
And today the future's hopeful; Rashford and Stormzy light the way
Evaristo, Blackman, Hamilton, Kaluuya and many more names to say.
Listen to the tales
There are words to fill your heart
You may not have been told
We have been here from the start.
Try to map our journey
You will need a bigger chart
Before these isles were British
Black people played their part.









