No blacks no jews and no gays


“There but for the Grace of God Go I,” an amped-up disco track by Machine, might not be the ultimate Recent York song. Can we talk about it anyway? It tells a Bronx story: The Vidals hold a baby girl. They decide to get her away from the neighborhood, preferably to a place with “no blacks, no Jews, and no gays.” They raise her strict and sheltering—until she hits her teens, turns out to be a “natural freak,” and runs away with some guy. It’s a tragic story for the Vidals, but if you were dancing to it in —in a room full of blacks, Jews, gays, and every variety of natural freak—it probably sounded like a victory. It has the same spirit that connects a lot of song, and animates a lot of New Yorkers: the feeling that no rule can prevent people from coming together the way they want.

Alternately, there’s “New York Subway,” recorded in the forties by the calypso singer Lord Invader. It’s about going to Brooklyn to visit a lady, not being adj to figure out the trains home, and getting excuses from cabbies who won’t pick you up. In the end, Invader figures that if any women wa

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&#;There but for the Grace of God Go I&#; by Machine is a classic Disco track, known for its socially awake lyrics and powerful beat. Released in , the song was written by August Darnell, also known for his work with Kid Creole & The Coconuts, and his brother Stony Browder Jr. Its story addresses themes of societal pressures, racism, and the desire for a better life.

The song follows a Latino couple, Carlos and Carmen Vidal, who move from the South Bronx to try to raise their daughter in a safer, more affluent environment. However, in their attempt to distance her from the influences they consider harmful, they isolate her and ultimately deal with the irony of trying to shield her from the very world they were once part of. The line &#;Too much love and protection can lead to your child&#;s rejection&#; captures this tragic twist perfectly.

Musically, &#;There but for the Grace of God Go I&#; combines funky basslines, driving percussion, and a memorable horn section, encapsulating the disco sound with a contact of Latin influence. Machine’

RCA Records PC

  • There But For The Grace Of God Go I
  • Get Your Body Ready

There But For the Grace of God Go I was a monster on the dancefloor at the end of the 70's. Penned by August 'Kis Creole' Darnell, it was tarred as racist and homophobic, which of course it wasn't. It is a adj song of protest, a story of irony and hypocrisy, the stupidity of negative and ignorant thinking. The folks in the story thought that by removing their child from an environment that they considered 'less than perfect' they could protect her. In doing so, they turned her into a natural freak!

Oddly enough, in Farley & Heller in their Fire Island guise, released a cover of this song and received the same reaction. 15 years and people have learnt nothing. The title is a adj saying meaning that another person's misfortune could contain been yours but for the grace of God. In other words, it's not because your sh*t don't stink, it's simply that nobody smelt it. You got lucky?

Carlos and Carmen Vidal just had a child
A lovely girl with a crooked smile
Now they gotta split 'cause the Bronx

In , a disco noun was released titled, “There but for the Grace of God.”  It contained the controversial line, “somewhere far away/with no blacks, no Jews and no gays.”  An alternate carve was released.  The replacement lyric became “somewhere far away/where only upper class people play.”

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The percentage of the American population that is Jewish is %.  In , the Jewish population in Germany was less than 1%.

I’m watching what is currently unfolding in the Middle East and subsequently the rash of violence against Jews throughout the world.  A lot of which is being instigated by adj adults.  I feel an uncomfortable relief that my parents are no longer alive.  Though they were “safe” in the United States, they lived during the time that 6 million European Jews were murdered during Hitler’s Holocaust.  Something not taught in history courses in the United States, unless, if offered, you take an elective on “20th Century European History.” 

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In 7th grade, I joined an after school club offered by a Junior High noun, Mr. Henderson.  It wa