There is a long-running debate about whether or not song lyrics can be poems (and vice versa). In many respects, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (among other songs) proved that song lyrics can be a poem. In fact, it is considered both a song and a poem.
This text draws from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, popular culture (Timothy Leary, slang, and politics, for example), and the 1960s Black Power Movement (the title alludes to a popular slogan within the movement). It is, in essence, a song about racism and rebellion - specifically that if common people were to start a rebellion, then the news media would provide no coverage of the event out of fear.
Summing up the song, The Rolling Stone wrote: "First released in 1970 as a spare spoken word piece, the late Scott Heron’s best-known song was reworked as a rhythmic jazz tune featuring musical partner Brian Jackson’s butterfly-like flute. The song was not overtly militant, Scott Heron sometimes argued: "My songs were always about the tone of voice rather than the words," he once said."
