Freedom of Speech
Ice‐T Lyrics

Freedom of Speech, that's some motherfuckin' bullshit
Ice-T thinks Freedom of Speech is bullshit because if you say the wrong thing, you can be arrested.

You say the wrong thing, they'll lock your ass up quick
If you say something offensive or wrong, you can be arrested.

The FCC says "Profanity - No Airplay"?
The FCC prohibits profanity on radio and television.

They can suck my dick while I take a shit all day
Ice-T doesn't care about the FCC's restrictions and feels that they have no power.

Think I give a fuck about some silly bitch named Gore?
Ice-T doesn't care about the opinions of people like Gore who want to regulate music and censorship.

Yo PMRC, here we go, raw
Ice-T criticizes the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) for their attempts to censor music.

Yo Tip, what's the matter? You ain't gettin' no dick?
Ice-T insults Tipper Gore, who was a member of the PMRC.

You're bitchin' about rock'n'roll, that's censorship, dumb bitch
Ice-T thinks that Tipper Gore's attacks on rock and roll music is censorship.

The Constitution says we all got a right to speak
The Constitution states that everyone has the right to free speech.

Say what we want Tip, your argument is weak
Ice-T thinks that Tipper Gore and the PMRC's arguments for censorship are weak.

Censor records, TV, school books too
Ice-T points out that censorship is not limited to music, but can also extend to other forms of media like TV and books.

And who decides what's right to hear? You?
Ice-T questions who gets to decide what is appropriate for people to hear and who has the right to censor them.

Hey PMRC, you stupid fuckin' assholes
Ice-T insults the PMRC again for their attempts at censorship.

The sticker on the record is what makes 'em sell gold
Ice-T thinks that the PMRC's censorship stickers actually helped the record sell more copies.

Can't you see, you alcoholic idiots
Ice-T insults the PMRC again, this time implying that they are alcoholics and idiots.

The more you try to suppress us, the larger we get
Ice-T suggests that attempts to censor music or ideas only make those things more popular.

Fuck that right! I want the right to talk
Ice-T is frustrated by people telling him to remain silent and wants to speak his mind.

I want the right to speak, I want the right to walk
Ice-T wants the freedom to express himself and move around freely.

Where I wanna, yell and I'm gonna
Ice-T wants to be able to yell and express himself freely.

Tell and rebel every time I'm on a
Ice-T wants to speak his mind and challenge authority.

Microphone on the stage cold illin'
Ice-T wants to perform and express himself through his music.

The knowledge I drop will be heard by millions
Ice-T believes that his music can reach and affect many people.

We ain't the problems, we ain't the villains
Ice-T thinks that musicians are not to blame for society's problems.

It's the suckers deprivin' the truth from our children
Ice-T thinks that censorship is limiting children's access to important truths.

You can't hide the fact, Jack
Ice-T believes that censorship can't obscure the truth.

There's violence in the streets every day, any fool can recognize that
Ice-T believes that censorship won't hide the fact that there's violence in society.

But you try to lie and lie
Ice-T accuses politicians and other figures of lying to people.

And say America's some motherfuckin' apple pie
Ice-T sarcastically criticizes the idea that America is a perfect country with no flaws.

Yo, you gotta be high to believe that
Ice-T thinks only naive people would believe that America is perfect.

You're gonna change the world by a sticker on a record sleeve
Ice-T doesn't believe that censorship can change society for the better.

Cos once you take away my right to speak, Everybody in the world's up shit creek
Ice-T believes that freedom of speech is crucial for everyone's well-being.

Let me tell you about down south
Ice-T is discussing an incident in Columbus, Georgia.

Where a motherfucker might as well not even have a mouth
Ice-T thinks that people in Columbus have no freedom of speech.

Columbus, Georgia, said they'd lock me up If I got on the stage in my show and said "Fuck"
Ice-T was threatened with arrest if he used profanity during his performance in Columbus.

So I thought for a minute and said "No, I wasn't even gonna do a damned show"
Ice-T chose not to perform to protest the censorship.

Cos for me to change my words from my rhymes, Is never gonna happen cos there's no sell outs on mine
Ice-T will not change his music to please censors because he is not a sell-out.

But I vowed to get those motherfuckers one day
Ice-T plans to protest the censorship in the future.

They even arrested Bobby Brown and Cool J
Ice-T thinks that the censorship in Columbus is extreme and has already affected other musicians.

Yo, they got their's comin', cos I'm mad and I'm gunnin'
Ice-T is angry at the censorship and plans to confront it.

Homeboys, and there's no runnin'
Ice-T's peers support him and won't let censorship defeat them.

I'm gonna tell you how I feel about you
Ice-T plans to express his anger, frustration, and criticism towards censorship.

No bull, no lies, no slack, just straight fact
Ice-T will be honest and straightforward in his criticism.

Columbus, Georgia, you can suck my dick, You ain't nothin' but a piece of fuckin' shit on the damned map
Ice-T is extremely critical of Columbus's censorship and thinks it is a bad place.

Freedom of Speech, let 'em take it from me
Ice-T worries that his right to free speech will be taken away.

Next they'll take it from you, then what you gonna do?
Ice-T is concerned that censorship will become worse and more people will lose their right to free speech.

PMRC, this is where the witch hunt starts
Ice-T believes that censorship is like a witch hunt that targets certain people and ideas.

You'll censor what we see, we read, we hear, we learn, The books will burn
Ice-T thinks that censorship limits people's access to information and threatens free speech.

You better think it out
Ice-T advises people to carefully consider censorship and its consequences.

We should be able to say anything, our lungs were meant to shout
Ice-T believes that people should have the right to express themselves loudly and freely.

Say what we feel, yell out what's real
Ice-T wants people to be honest and truthful in their speech.

Even though it may not bring mass appeal
Ice-T thinks that unpopular ideas or speech should still be allowed.

Your opinion is yours, my opinion is mine
Ice-T believes that everyone has the right to their own opinions and expression.

If you don't like what I'm sayin'? Fine
Ice-T thinks that people can disagree with him, but they shouldn't try to silence him.

But don't close it, always keep an open mind
Ice-T urges people to keep an open mind and not shut down free speech.

A man who fails to listen is blind
Ice-T thinks that people who don't listen to others' ideas are ignorant.

We only got one right left in the world today, Let me have it or throw The Constitution away
Ice-T thinks that freedom of speech is the most important right and shouldn't be taken away.

What they're trying to do with radio, with this, uh, McCarron-Walter Act and a lot of other ways, is start by saying that they're protecting the public from wicked rock bands, or girlie magazines, or whatever.
Ice-T observes that censorship attempts often start with claims of protecting the public.

But, if you follow the chain of dominoes that falls down, what they're really trying to do is shut off our access to information itself
Ice-T believes that censorship is really about controlling access to information and ideas.

If they can't do it by law they know there's other ways to do it.
Ice-T thinks that even if censorship can't be accomplished legally, there are other ways that people can be silenced.