Lyrics:

Music and Lyrics by Stevie Wonder

Jobless people starving babies spreading
Over the land
More oppression to the have nots is how you
Play your hand
More world fighting is the writing from those
Say they know
And if that's true we know just who
You'll be picking to go

But the beat you are playing to what Jah is
Saying is wrong
And we do recommend that you stop before
It's too far gone

And I just got to say
You're playing us too close

We in the ghettos
You're playing us too close
The jobless and the hungry
You're playing us too close
Filling up more and more with Frustration
You're playing us too close
We're losing our patience

So take heed and do let it be known that
I've told you today
You're playing us much too close yea

All the teaching of JAH bible you don't
Want to obey
But you're writing your own ticket to the price
You will pay
Us you hold hock but the drawback is not
To us alone
Time will make you too a victim before you
See the wrong

And the melody that you are playing is
In the wrong key
For Jah's choirs that sings out to all live
In world harmony

And I just got to say
You're playing us too close
We in the ghettos
You're playing us too close
Red black white brown and yellow poor people
You're playing us too close
The babies are crying
You're playing us too close
Good people are dying

So take heed and do let it be known that
I've told you today
Jah say you're playing us much too close

Now when I was just a little boy my grandfather
Use to say to me, 'Brother B, trust no shadow
After dark... 'It's not till I grew to be a man that
I understand what the old brother was talking
About. You see some people take the liberty to
Treat you any way they want to, they feel
Some times that you don't have no dignity. But
Brother fire de ah mus mus tail him think ah
Cool breeze, better watch out easy squeeze
Makes no riot my brethren

You're playing us much too close, so why the
Don't you people out there all get up off your
Backsides and do something for the worlds for
Every living boy, woman, man and girl. There's
Hungry people all over starving, have no place
To lay their heads Huh Don't play us so close
Don't play us so close Don't play us so close

(Chorus during rap)
Some a dem rap, none a dem a holler
'Cause Jah say all the musicians shall be there
The players on instruments shall gather
At His feet

You need to raise your conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world

We need to raise our conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world

You need to raise your conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world

(Percussion)

We're gonna raise our conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world



I'm gonna raise my conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world

We're gonna raise our conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world

You've gotta raise your conscious high
So Jab Jah Love can rule the world

I'm gonna raise my conscious high
So Jah Jah Love can rule the world