The Ballad of Sylvia and Marsha P.

Some say they both were there the night that it went down
Marsha P, she threw the shot glass that was heard around
The world; then Sylvie hurled a brick
Said, it's the revolution-- I'm not missing this
Admittedly, there are conflicting accounts

Cuz Sylvia Rivera, she wrote her own history
Born in the Bronx but raised on 42nd St
She was turning tricks at 10 years old
So no wonder that she wants it how she wants it told
Cuz every night she'd scrub herself clean
Thinking, is this how it's s'posed to be

And they were there-- oh
But we didn't take care of our Queens
They were there-- oh
Sylvia and Marsha P

Pay it no mind-- now, that's what Marsha P stood for
She said that to a judge and he threw her case out of court
And she was in court quite a bit
Cuz every day babygirl was hustling
And most of what she made, she gave away

Cuz more than beauty, more than sparkling personality
She'd give the shirt right off her back for anyone in need
And Sylvia lived on the docks
Why should they be out here when I am not?
The down-and-out mayors of Gay Pier and Christopher Street

And they were there-- oh
But we didn't take care of our Queens
They were there-- oh
Sylvia and Marsha

There was one thing, Sylvia, she never could believe
Why would Marsha take her own life-- why would she leave
With so much work yet to be done
They were supposed to go together if they crossed Jordan
And Marsha made her promise: stay and fight

But Sylvia was so distressed
And liked to drink, to be honest
And she was sick of living 'neath the sky

Cups, cups full of beer and gin
She went down to the river they found Marsha in
And stepped into the Hudson's sluggish tide
But she didn't die

I can feel her spirit on the river, she said
I can see her beautiful smile
Whispering like cattails, You're not done, girl
We've miles and miles to go before we sleep

Now you know the truth: Sylvia spent much of her life
More depressed than activist, too weak to tend the light
I'm saying this lest we forget
That nobody in history is a monolith
Each soul has brightest days and darkest nights

And one day
Sylvia, she fell in love
And love gave her the impetus
Get sober for her Julia
Address the inequalities
At work in our society
She fed the homeless, tirelessly
In her death throes she was winning seats

She crossed the river Jordan in a hospital bed
Liver cancer is what finally did her in
Well, it's been 18 years now, 2020
And a trans person of color's murdered once a week
It's plain to see that nothing much has changed
What would Sylvie say

I can hear them calling from the river
I can see their beautiful smiles
Singing from the cattails, You're not done, girl
We've miles and miles to go before we sleep
Miles and miles to go before we sleep
No one's free 'til everyone is free

And they we were there-- oh
But we didn't take care of our Queens
They were there-- oh
They were there-- oh
But why didn't we take care of our Queens
They were there-- oh
And we've still miles and miles to go before we sleep