Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey On the Moon (Official Audio)

Ace Records · music · Watch on YouTube

What it is

Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 spoken-word piece, in an official audio upload. It contrasts the Apollo moon program with poverty and neglect at home.

Posted in space-spending threads as a classic critique of priorities, usually with a quip.

“There's a great Gil Scott Heron song with the same theme.”
Song critiquing priorities, poverty and healthcare in the 60s
rospaya, 2018-07 · Recommendation · in “Liquid water 'lake' revealed on Mars”
“This spoken-word work from 1970 conveys the sentiment well”
Spoken-word critique of space spending versus needs on Earth
lordlic, 2021-01 · Recommendation · in “One hull crack located in ISS, another one suspected”
“Only two minutes, worth a listen”
Short two-minute spoken-word piece on space spending
bloak, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “Whitey on the Moon”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: gil scott-heron, apollo, spoken word, inequality, protest music