Lyrics to Fateful Intersection
A seven year old named Gavin on a sidewalk with his cousin
In the Crown Heights part of Brooklyn, August 1991
A few blocks down a motorcade would head in their direction
And a fateful intersection had begun
The motorcade was carrying the Rabbi of a Jewish Sect
The neighborhood had many Jews, and also many blacks
Uneasy tensions simmered just because of who seemed different
Now a car and two young children were on track
A limo in the entourage lost control and hopped the curb
It struck the playing cousins, killing one and nearly two
The neighborhood electrified, the tension proved unbearable
The victim was a black kid, and the driver was a Jew
A private Jewish ambulance was first to find the mayhem
It's crew began to help the child pinned beneath the car
While angry blacks began to beat the driver of the limo
As frustration and offense became a blur
A New York City ambulance came, its crew chief saw the escalation
Of the scene and got that beaten driver whisked away
While two young children still lay bleeding on that Brooklyn sidewalk
It wasn't fair, that's what some would say
It meant another Jew would have to pay
That same night not far away a young man with a yarmulke
Was walking in the neighborhood like many times before
But now this night is different from all other nights, on this night
Yankel Rosenbaum was walking into war
A mob of angry men observed his clothing and came running toward him
Gaining speed and getting crazed with cries of "Get the Jew"
And get the Jew they did that night, they crushed a total stranger's life
A mob of angry men had come unglued
A Holocaust in Brooklyn now renewed
Tempers strong, deep and wrong
Talk is cheap, families weeping
No one loving, pushing shoving
Anger growing, blood is flowing
Fast forward to the present time, eleven years and counting
That part of town has never quite recovered from that day
Will bigotry and blindnesses that run through every culture
Ever go away
A black hand and a white one reach through time and touch the present
It's the father of the little boy, the brother of the Jew
Today they come together to find meaning in two madnesses
Embracing one another in plain view
This is what the father had to say
We are strong
We are loving
We will keep
That loving going
In the Crown Heights part of Brooklyn, August 1991
A few blocks down a motorcade would head in their direction
And a fateful intersection had begun
The motorcade was carrying the Rabbi of a Jewish Sect
The neighborhood had many Jews, and also many blacks
Uneasy tensions simmered just because of who seemed different
Now a car and two young children were on track
A limo in the entourage lost control and hopped the curb
It struck the playing cousins, killing one and nearly two
The neighborhood electrified, the tension proved unbearable
The victim was a black kid, and the driver was a Jew
A private Jewish ambulance was first to find the mayhem
It's crew began to help the child pinned beneath the car
While angry blacks began to beat the driver of the limo
As frustration and offense became a blur
A New York City ambulance came, its crew chief saw the escalation
Of the scene and got that beaten driver whisked away
While two young children still lay bleeding on that Brooklyn sidewalk
It wasn't fair, that's what some would say
It meant another Jew would have to pay
That same night not far away a young man with a yarmulke
Was walking in the neighborhood like many times before
But now this night is different from all other nights, on this night
Yankel Rosenbaum was walking into war
A mob of angry men observed his clothing and came running toward him
Gaining speed and getting crazed with cries of "Get the Jew"
And get the Jew they did that night, they crushed a total stranger's life
A mob of angry men had come unglued
A Holocaust in Brooklyn now renewed
Tempers strong, deep and wrong
Talk is cheap, families weeping
No one loving, pushing shoving
Anger growing, blood is flowing
Fast forward to the present time, eleven years and counting
That part of town has never quite recovered from that day
Will bigotry and blindnesses that run through every culture
Ever go away
A black hand and a white one reach through time and touch the present
It's the father of the little boy, the brother of the Jew
Today they come together to find meaning in two madnesses
Embracing one another in plain view
This is what the father had to say
We are strong
We are loving
We will keep
That loving going
Songwriters:
Publisher:
Powered by LyricFind
Publisher:
Powered by LyricFind
