Kool & the Gang

Hey
Mmm-mmm...
Oh, yeah

Little girl in a big town born with a silver spoon
One parent black, one parent white
Made her way to a school
With the children of the rainbow
But inside her eyes she was color blind
But then she met a black child
Who the people call a victim of a messed up system
They both tried but they couldn't see eye to eye
He said, "Girl you gotta choose
Which side you wanna stand on
If you wanna stand with me
I wanna know, who do you think you really are?"
And she said

"Tell me where do I stand
When I stand on the color line?
We're so quick to judge, nobody knows
Tell me what I should be
When I stand on the color line?
I wonder who really knows"

She made her way into a college
When the girl turned seventeen
So beautiful, so very wise
She had a vision of a family home and her own career
She remained the apple of her parents' eyes
Then she met a white child
Who said that he loved her
Didn't care about culture
"You can be whatever you want today
But you know you gotta choose
Which side you wanna stand on
If you wanna stand with me
I wanna know, who do you think you really are?"
And she said

"Tell me where do I stand
When I stand on the color line?
We're so quick to judge, nobody knows
Tell me what I should be
When I stand on the color line?
I wonder who really knows"

Yeah

Where do we stand, oh, yeah
Where do we stand

A grown woman in a bed at a local sanitarium
The nurse feeds her food and then combs her hair
In a place where her mind used to be she remembers
How her life was good when she used to care
Then her mind flashed back
To the night when both men asked her to marry
But every offer comes along with a deal
They both said, "You gotta choose
Which side you wanna stand on
If you wanna stand with me
How do you know
How do you know who you really are?"
(Where do we stand)

"Tell me where do I stand
When I stand on the color line?
We're so quick to judge, nobody knows
Tell me what I should be
When I stand on the color line?
And I wonder who really knows"

Where do we stand
I need to know right now
Where do we stand
Please, will somebody tell me
Where do we stand
Oh, where do we stand, woman to man
On the color line, yeah

Kool & the Gang is an American jazz, R&B, soul, funk, and disco group from Jersey City. They were originally named the Jazziacs when they formed the group in 1964.

They went through several musical phases during their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then funk and R&B, progressing to a smooth pop-funk ensemble, and in the post-millennium creating music with a modern, electro-pop sound.

The group was becoming prominent in the music industry in the 1970s with hits such as “Holly Wood Swinging”, “Jungle Boogie” and “Summer Madness”. However they cemented their legendary status after the addition of lead vocalist James “J.T.” Taylor. With his help they went on to create classic hits such as “Ladies Night”, “Celebration”, “Get Down On It”, “Cherish” and countless others.

more tracks from the album

State of Affairs

From the album

State of Affairs (1995)

Kool & the Gang popular songs

Color LineKool & the Gang

Kool & the Gang

State of Affairs