Pieces Of A Man
Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson Lyrics

Jagged jigsaw pieces
The broken fragments of a man's life that are disorderly and unclear

Tossed about the room
Thrown and scattered carelessly around the place

I saw my grandma sweeping
The image of an old woman cleaning up the mess of a broken man's life

With her old straw broom
Using a simple tool to try to clean up a complex problem

She didn't know what she was doing
Not understanding the full scope and depth of the problem she was trying to solve

She could hardly understand
Struggling to make sense of the shattered pieces of this man's life

That she was really sweeping up,
The fact that she was really trying to pick up the pieces of a man's broken life

Pieces of a man
The remnants and fragments of a man's life

I saw my daddy greet the mailman
Observing a father figure engaging with the outside world

And I heard the mailman say
Eavesdropping on a conversation that involves a life-altering message

"Now don't you take this letter to heart now Jimmy
Words of caution being said to someone about a piece of correspondence they received

Cause they've laid off nine others today"
A revelation that puts the letter in perspective and shows how this is part of a larger problem

He didn't know what he was saying
The messenger not understanding the full impact of the information he was conveying

He could hardly understand
The messenger not being fully aware of the context around the message he was delivering

That he was only talking to
The fact that the letter and its contents are just a small part of this man's life

Pieces of a man
A man who is more than just his job and the letters he receives

I saw the thunder and heard the lightning!
Experiencing a violent storm and all the tumultuous emotions that go with it

And felt the burden of his shame
Feeling the weight of this man's guilt and shame for what has happened in his life

And for some unknown reason
The mystery of why this man is in the situation he is in

He never turned my way
The idea that it's difficult to connect with someone who is deeply troubled

Pieces of that letter
The fragments of correspondence that have been scattered around

Were tossed about that room
The idea that even the written words have been scattered and disrupted

And now I hear the sound of sirens
The arrival of law enforcement and the chaos they bring

Come knifing through the gloom
The sudden and violent presence of the authorities

They don't know what they are doing
The law enforcement officers being ignorant of the full scope of the situation they are dealing with

They could hardly understand
The lack of insight and compassion from the officers arresting this man

That they're only arresting
The fact that they are taking this man into custody for only a part of who he really is

Pieces of a man
Reducing him to a small fragment of who he really is

I saw him go to pieces
Watching someone succumb to the pressure and fall apart

He was always such a good man
Remembering how he used to be prior to his downfall

He was always such a strong man
Recalling his strength and conviction that has since been eroded

Yeah, I saw him go to pieces
Remembering how heartbreaking and devastating it was to see this man fall apart