Scott-Heron, Gil - Bottle Lyrics






See that black boy over there runnin' scared
His old man in a bottle
He done quit his 9 to 5
He drink full time and now he's livin' in a bottle

See that black boy over there runnin' scared
His old man got a problem
And it's a bad one
He done pawned off damn near everything,
His old woman's weddin' ring for a bottle

And don't you think it's a crime when
Time after time after time
People in the bottle
There's people livin' in the bottle

Listen to me
See that sister, sho' was fine
Before she started drinkin' wine in a bottle
She told me her old man committed a crime
He's doin' time and now she's hangin' in a bottle
I seen her out there on the avenue
All by herself, she sho' need help from the bottle
I seen a preacherman try to help her out
She cussed him out and hit him in the head with a bottle
They turn to me, and they ask me, Gil,

Don't you think it's a crime the way
Time after time after time
People in the bottle
There's people sho' nuff in the bottle

I'll give you another good example

You see that gent in the wrinkled suit
He done damn near blown his cool to the bottle
He was a doctor helpin' young girls along
If they wasn't too far gone in her problems
But defenders of the dollar eagle said,
“What you doin, man, ain't legal”
Now he's in the bottle
And now we watch him everyday
He's tryin' to chase the prisons away from the bottle
He turned to me and he said to me, hey now

Don't you think it's a crime the way
Time after time
Friends of mine in the bottle
There's people sho nuff in the bottle

Come on, hit me the lick one time, stick
Uuh

I'll tell you a little secret
If you ever come lookin' for me
You know where I'm bound to be,
In the bottle
Turn around
Look around on any corner
If you see some brother lookin' like a goner
It's gonna be me
Sing the song
Na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na

A dollar nine or a bottle of wine
A dollar nine, get a bottle of wine
A dollar nine, get a bottle of wine
A dollar nine, get a bottle of wine
The bottle

All that I'm concerned about is a bottle
It can turn me inside out for the bottle
All I want
Said all I want
Said all I want
Said all I want since I'm livin in the bottle
A bottle

Sho nuff
Sho nuff
Sho nuff
Sho nuff sho nuff sho nuff sho nuff
Sho nuff





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Scott-Heron, Gil Bottle Comments
  1. i.... ....

    Sing it Gil Scott heron.

  2. R.... H....

    At University Of NH 1978 with Scott Calwell

  3. l.... ....

    YES LAWD

  4. C.... Y....

    Brothers and Sisters PLEASE put down the Bottle ,The bubble, and The syringe , I N J E S U S HEALING NAME !!! Cause no good E V E R came out of that ... That crap is holding you back, and keeping you down AND YOU KNOW IT !!!!!!! Drop down on your knees and SURRENDER. But ONLY to the Lord Jesus Christ . Bless you in accordance with your need, In Jesus Holy name Amen . The WAY , The TRUTH and The LIFE get it ? Bless you again ... LOVE , Preacher

  5. F.... L....

    Great rip gil scott héron

  6. A.... C....

    The great gill Scott , my favorite is my way home

  7. B.... Z....

    This is everything. Love this gem.

  8. B.... M....

    Hey check out my remixed version
    https://youtu.be/fGccJhTBwP8

  9. R.... M....

    The uh great grandfather of rap!

  10. R.... M....

    "Hit him in the head with a bottle....."

  11. R.... M....

    A master at his craft!

    R.... M....

    Gil is one of America's greatest poets....living or dead.

  12. S.... R....

    I love this tune since a lot of time. That bass line is so good, a lot of variation and always tight and groovy !!! Who's on the bass here ?

  13. a.... p....

    Pure awesomeness!

  14. D.... P....

    A video of Democrat run city!

  15. A.... B....

    HE WAS SO AHEAD OF HIS TIME, RIP GIL SCOTT HERON

  16. T.... F....

    An ultimate masterpiece is this tune, the uncomparable man is G. Scott Heron, one top of what is the American Culture (I know what I'm talkin' about since I'm a french-frog myself : chauvinistic in my own way, since no one around here can't avoid this unhappy failing). Anyway I really wish I would have seen him on stage once in my life, since he's one of my few musician hero. Not only this, for me Scott Heron is one of the classiest man ever... Bref, je l'aime et aime tout chez lui ;-) !

  17. R.... V....

    are there folks recognizing themselfes in this videoclip ?

  18. N.... L....

    Look how young Gil is... what a song & great video!

  19. G.... U....

    Would it be rude to send this song to an alcoholic I know?

    G.... U....

    Probably.

  20. S.... R....

    Masters at work

  21. r.... ....

    Finally I got to known the name of this song. Always hear it on the radio in the early 70s growing up in the South Bronx.

  22. P.... W....

    Brother definitely was prescient! Just look around and see how much he was!

  23. P.... P....

    Another one of those brilliant black men who got involved with the "slave master's daughter" and went down the tubes. RIP wonderful artist.

  24. P.... P....

    Perfect song - lyrics and melody. Perfect video - this was my life in Chicago as a kid - good and bad.

  25. �.... ....

    好聽!

  26. j.... d....

    Biblical,..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AeRMrZCPGk

  27. j.... d....

    Hmm. UB40 - One In Ten. Thanks. heard a hundred times but missed a WHOLE lot so totally, ( ....check written lyrics,.. ) Biblical.
    First to mind then,..Gill Scott-Heron, The Bottle,..


    I am the one in ten
    A number on a list
    I am the one in ten
    Even though I don`t exist
    Nobody Knows me
    Even though I`m always there
    A statistic, a reminder
    Of a world that doesn`t care

    My arms enfold the dole queue
    Malnutrition dulls my hair
    My eyes are black and lifeless
    With an underprivileged stare
    I`m the beggar on the corner
    Will no-one spare a dime?
    I`m the child that never learns to read
    `Cause no-one spared the time

    [Chorus]

    I`m the murderer and the victim
    The licence with the gun
    I`m a sad and bruised old lady
    In an ally in a slum
    I`m a middle aged businessman
    With chronic heart disease
    I`m another teenaged suicide
    In a street that has no trees

    [Chorus]

    I`m a starving third world mother
    A refugee without a home
    I`m a house wife hooked on Valium
    I`m a Pensioner alone
    I`m a cancer ridden spectre
    Covering the earth
    I`m another hungry baby
    I`m an accident of birth.

  28. E.... ....

    Such a great composition! Such an underrated artist!

  29. T.... P....

    $O$/SameOle$hit. From post-WW2 ongoin' anti social Anglow Fa$cist RIGHTards' Corrupt Industrial Military Complex. TRA$HING TRILLION$ on killin' brown folks Worldwide including pregnant women, babies & innocent kids. And then TRA$HING their own True Vets returned on the 4th of July! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ

  30. j.... ....

    So missed. Loved this artist. Took every risk. Told the truth. Extraordinary vocalist, so gwriter, bandleader, musician, human being. So missed.

  31. J.... T....

    Kid drinking water from the street road, I don’t miss this old NYC.

  32. y.... t....

    2019
    Good song

  33. C.... T....

    Man, spent my 17th year 1978 listening to his majestic, true dat lyrics driving from Detroit to Miami..
    This shits the shits....in-in-out for last 15 years. 81 days in REAL life. Grace from above..

  34. J.... T....

    I believe Gil Scott Heron is the most brilliant song writer of all Time. RIP GIL you have made a difference.

  35. J.... K....

    I also struggle with alcohol addiction. Old
    school 🎸 JAM!

  36. E.... W....

    Addiction Anthem

  37. C.... B....

    I am still listening to this song, August 27, 2019. This was my favorite song by Gil Scott-Heron.

  38. T.... M....

    yes it is a crime ...living your life in a bottle....I had a alcohol problem too when I was younger, and very foolish.....almost got me killed a few times....Weed...and Peyote set me straight....so now, I have not been a drunk for over 40 yrs....and never will again, no matter WHAT happens to me in life, there is NO WAY I will ever go back to that shit.....

  39. Y.... Y....

    New York Died, when the Yellow Plates turned Blue

  40. T.... B....

    Lay-Z Here 👁️💯

  41. S.... B....

    Knxwledge × Suede 🤘🏾

  42. L.... G....

    Sad, but beautiful

  43. R.... T....

    Big fan of this talented man and his music, those lyrics and his voice and music, spoke to a lot of the issues of life especially in urban life,sorry his life taken a sour turn before the end of his life, He is missed, Gil Scott Heron.

  44. J.... J....

    Been a alcoholic fir 15 years. One month clean today

  45. M.... ....

    Alcoholic message aside, just look at this video! This was real video of real people really living their daily lives in the 70's... this is what it really looked like back then! Amazing how Gil Scott-Heron blessed us with this time-machine. I mean obviously some of the street footage was of actors asked to perform a specific task but you can tell the parts that truly are just the cameraman panning along a typical ghetto street of the time. I wonder how many people realize just how precious that footage is.

  46. s.... s....

    Fluid ....

  47. D.... F....

    R. I. P. Brother Gil Scott

  48. A.... R....

    Jill Scott dad

  49. E.... B....

    Quel bon souvenir, un sacré tube chez nous en France, j'adore 👍

  50. K.... C....

    I have Cyndi BiBeneditto to thank, for turning me on to this song during high school

  51. f.... c....

    Music I love

  52. R.... M....

    I seen that sister show was fine before she started drinkin' wine....from the bottle. I seen a preacherman tryin' to help her out....she cussed him out and hit him in the head with a bottle.

  53. R.... M....

    C'mon, hit me a lick...one time "STICK"

  54. R.... M....

    That bass....THAT BASS!!!

  55. R.... M....

    Gil was one of America's greatest poets....living or dead.

  56. J.... G....

    More unity BACK then

  57. F.... M....

    Oh yes let’s goooo!!!!

  58. J.... B....

    https://twitter.com/defandorfan

  59. P.... A....

    quel tube monstrueux !!!

  60. g.... e....

    Although Gil's style was so versatile, he was the original godfather of what came to be known as rap/hip hop later on. An amazing and important man in the evolution of music.

  61. h.... ....

    Ain’t no gods brother, song is special to me too, m still in the bottle and ain’t no gods helping me, only ME. Ain’t no tooth fairy, ain’t no Santa, ain’t no Easter bunny, ain’t no gods. You did it yourself, get some credit.

  62. P.... M....

    Timeless Truth

  63. M.... S....

    Just nothing like this anymore, Anderson Paak comes close

  64. A.... ....

    The vid is definitely after 1973 as that's the year the mass-graffiti exploded on the subway system, sad to say.

  65. M.... C....

    The girl at 1:20 is BEAUTIFUL

  66. R.... M....

    A doctor helping young girls along if they wasn't too far gone....

  67. R.... M....

    "$1.09 get a bottle of wine....."

  68. R.... M....

    R.I.P. (Rhyme In Paradise) Gil....

  69. R.... M....

    "A preacherman tried to help her out, she cussed him out and hit him in the head with a bottle....."

  70. R.... M....

    A master at his craft....

  71. B.... ....

    Precious Man, So Great!!!

  72. P.... b....

    ....that feeling of finding an artist that's so magnetic their discography is a journey of escape

  73. H.... R....

    Masterpiece!

  74. P.... M....

    This Song & Artist Truly Are Epic & Timeless!! 70's Best Era of Music!! Rest In Paradise Gil

  75. W.... T....

    The imagery in this video is genius

  76. b.... ....

    whitey still sucks; and, I come from white people.

  77. L.... d....

    🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾

  78. E.... r....

    Neen Williams skate video on Instagram brought me here

  79. J.... G....

    My dad would like this song

  80. V.... H....

    Amen thank God you stop drinking

  81. M.... P....

    Thought of Gil last night with the song "Willing." I miss him. What would he sing about today? What would have sung about the last 8 years?

  82. J.... T....

    I find in this world without the understanding of others believes and differences I have no choice but to live in a bottle. I hope some day we can accept are differences as peace and not hate.🙂 I live to learn from each other.

  83. D.... k....

    To all my friends in the East village, San Diego, & skid-row Los Angeles

  84. T.... R....

    How many came here after watching Family Guy mention Gil Scott-Heron?

  85. D.... k....

    I think Heron used to date movie-actress Brenda Sykes back in the 70's. The liz-dick/ Pitt-Jolie of the community back in the 70's.

  86. D.... k....

    Too bad Heron couldn't take his own advice & wound up a crack-head in the 80's. Still one of the best song's on addiction.

  87. e.... ....

    Does anyone know who the bass player is ?

  88. n.... m....

    25 years without touching it. Praise God!

  89. K.... S....

    I was living in the bottle for 11 years straight. After suffering multiple withdrawal seizures and spending nights in the hospital. it's been 6 years since I last had a drink. I hope and pray whoever reads this will never drink. and if you are drinking seek professional medical help. Do not try to quit or your own, and do not try to wean it off on your own. And listen to your body before the shit hits the fan. Your body usually gives you warnings signs. I wish I would have listened to the warnings my body gave me.

  90. M.... ....

    Winter in America and Pieces of a Man,to me,his most sublime albums.

  91. H.... H....

    Thanks to Gil my life is on track. Thank God 16 years

  92. H.... H....

    This is a good song for the only thing I was living in a bat

  93. M.... K....

    34 years clean - lets go!! - It is possible!!

  94. B.... S....

    Anderson paak you damn genius!!! Smh!

  95. O.... C....

    The HUNT, manor rd, Staten island, ny, this was a huge disco hit, before disco was mainstream, wbls, Frankie Crocker