The Sound of Drums
The sound of drums beat in our ears and carries news from afar
A village is being attacked or a marriage is taking place
A chief has died and his wife now mourns and everyone mourns with her
A hunting party goes out to the forest to get food for the tribe
Mothers sit around the fire cooking for the family
One day when the men are hunting a large canoe can be seen on the water
It is filled with men who are very strange to our eyes
They talk about peace and trading, how we can all benefit from the union
We take them in on trust, give them food, water, and a place to sleep
Whips and clubs, chains and drugs, taken away from home
We walk all night until our feet grow weary without any rest
In the morning our village will awake and notice we were stolen away
They will run out to the ocean and see the ships sailing and beat upon the drums
Inside ships dark and gloomy we pray unto our gods
It seems as if they have turned their back and left us all alone
Out of the hold only once a week chained together without thought
Old bread and stale water is what we must live upon
Not many people make it to where we are going
Some jump and others just lie down and die
Upon reaching another land filled with these strange people we are sold, sold off like precious stones
Babies are snatched from screaming mother's arms and husbands are separated from their wives
Sun or heat, rain or cold, we are treated no better then wild animals
Jump the broom and now we've wed, mass burials for our dead
We sneak around just to pray and worship our gods
Then brave people, from where the North Star points, start a train of deliverance
A song is sang to tell of the night when the train shall leave this place
Our very own Moses comes out of the wilderness to lead the train to the promise land
We jump aboard and it starts up but some want to turn back
Moses just pulls out her gun and says go on or die and so we all make it to the other side
A cry rises from far and wide about a war that could set us free
Picking our weapons up and going out to fight, our men are true warriors again
No one can stop us, no one will dare, and we are strong once again with righteousness on our side
Freed by Abe and ready to live, the sound of drums reach our ears once more
Freedom from slavery is given and we leave the plantations and try to find a place where we can be human once more
Segregated and put down, we struggle to make sense of where we belong
A king rises among our people to help us become equal and strong
We march and march, we sing and sing and get spit upon
Dogs are set upon us and strong water burns our legs
But for freedom for our children we continue
A gun goes off and our king falls, once again we hear the drums
We will never forget what our king has done to bring men together as one
As men turn towards their home they mourn a great mans passing
A bright light shines in the darkness and we lift our voices in joy, joy because we know his dream will come true
We go to college and get jobs to try and make our way though life
But still on nights we look away, away to a land from long ago
A land that is rich in soil, and free of animosity
Some day we know that we will be free to live in peace as equal among men
Then and only then, we will sing a song that no one else can, a song that says
Free at last, free at least, we as a people are free at last.