HIStory

Track 57 on The Indispensable Collection

Producers

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis & Michael Jackson

History, the title track of Michael Jackson’s 1995 album, was released as a single on July 30, 1997. The song was written and composed by Michael and co-produced by… Read More

Jun. 16, 19951 viewer64.7K views

HIStory Lyrics

[Intro]
"Monday, March 26, 1827"
"November 28, 1929"
*record scratching*
"Whatever I sing, that's what I really mean, like, I'm singing a song, I don't sing it if I don't mean it"
"Remember, that this will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place"
"He made it, Charles A. Lindbergh, first person to fly in New York to Paris non-stop"
"And that was a page of history that'll probably stand for a long time"

[Verse 1: Michael Jackson]
He got kicked in the back
He say that he needed that
He hot willed in the face
Keep daring to motivate
He say, one day, you will see
His place in world history
He dares to be recognized
The fire's deep in his eyes

[Pre-Chorus: Michael Jackson]
How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many struggles must there be
Before we choose to live the prophet's plan
Everybody sing

[Chorus: Michael Jackson]
Every day, create your history
Every path you take, you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty

[Interlude]
"Great ball history for Hank Aaron, 715th, look into the crowd"
"I'm the greatest of all time"
"By any means necessary"

[Verse 2: Michael Jackson]
Don't let no one get you down
Keep moving on higher ground
Keep flying until
You are the king of the hill
No force of nature can break
Your will to self-motivate
She say this face that you see
Is destined for history

[Pre-Chorus: Michael Jackson]
How many people have to cry
The song of pain and grief across the land
And how many children have to die
Before we stand to lend a healing hand
Everybody sing

[Chorus: Boyz II Men]
Every day, create your history
Every path you take, you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty
Every day, create your history
Every page you turn, you're writing your legacy
("I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth")
Every hero dreams of chivalry ("I have a dream")
Every child should sing together in harmony

[Post-Chorus: Michael Jackson]
All nations sing
Let's harmonize all around the world

[Interlude]
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation"

[Pre-Chorus: Michael Jackson]
How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many children must we see
Before we learn to live as brothers
And leave one family, oh

[Chorus: Choir, Michael Jackson, Choir & Michael Jackson]
Every day, create your history (History)
Every path you take, you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory (His glory) ("—ptember 1928")
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty, yeah
Every day, create your history, yeah (History) ("July 17th…")
Every page you turn, you're writing your legacy (Nations sing, sing)
Every hero dreams of chivalry, oh (All around the world, we sing) ("November 8th…")
Every child should sing together in harmony (Yeah, yeah, together, together)

[Post-Chorus: Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson & Child, Child]
A soldier dies (A soldier dies)
Her mother cries (A mother cries)
And the promised child (The promised child)
Shines in a baby's eyes (In a baby's eyes)
All nations sing (All nations sing)
Let's harmonize all around the world

[Outro]
"And that was a page of history that'll probably stand for a long time"
"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, and God bless all of you on the good Earth"
"February 11th, 1847, Thomas Edison is born"
"January 18th, 1858, Daniel Hale Williams is born"
"November 19th, 1863, Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address"
"April 9th, 1865, The Civil War ends"
"December 30th, 1865, Rudyard Kipling is born"
"August 8th, 1866, Matthew Henson is born"
"October 28th, 1886, The Statue of Liberty is dedicated"
"December 5th, 1901, Walt Disney is born"
"May 29th, 1917, John F. Kennedy is born"
"January 31st, 1919, Jackie Robinson is born"
"November 2nd, 1920, the first commercial radio station opens"
"September, 1928, discovery of penicillin"
"January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King is born"
"November 28th, 1929, Berry Gordy is born"
"October 9th, 1940, John Lennon is born"
"January 17th, 1942, Muhammad Ali is born as Cassius Clay"
"October 14th, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier"
"July 17th, 1955, Disneyland opens"
"December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white passenger"
"April 12th, 1961, Yuri Gagarin's first space flight"
"February 9th, 1964, Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show"
"July 20th, 1969, Astronauts land on the moon"
"April 12th, 1981, the first shuttle flight"
"November 10th, 1989, the Berlin Wall comes down"
"I am the Edison phonograph, created by the great wizard of the New World to delight those who would have melody or be amused"
"Some men see things as they are, and say why? I dream things that never were, and say why not?"
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

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About

Genius Annotation

History, the title track of Michael Jackson’s 1995 album, was released as a single on July 30, 1997. The song was written and composed by Michael and co-produced by long-time collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. To create a ceremonial, historic theme, the track incorporates audio samples from such pivotal historical moments as Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, and Neil Armstrong’s famous quote from the moon, “one small step from man, one giant leap for mankind”.