[Intro | A Minor | 92 BPM | muted acoustic guitar skank, upright bass, rim-click drums, distant banjo] Day brought a plant 'cross da sea Den taught de earth To bleed [Verse 1 | folk-punk acoustic guitar, reggae bass groove] Sugarcane was not born here It crossed de ocean In dem ships Men carried roots Across de world And called de harvest Deirs Day found da Caribbean Green and warm With soil dat wanted rain Den someone looked At all da sweetness Den started linking chains [Pre-Chorus | mandolin enters] A sweet ting Can hide A terrible price When someone else's blood paid de debt [Chorus | reggae groove, full band] Sugar tasted sweet While de whip came down White gold piled high While de blood ran brown Every spoonful carried Someting we forgot Da wealth of de islands Was built on what was stolen [Verse 2 | heavier folk-punk strumming, reggae bass prominent] Day carved da forests down Den burned de fields bare Den measured land in rows Day brought more people In chains To make da cane grow No rest No choice No way back Just work until you died And ships kept carrying Sugar home While ships kept bringing More sweet blood [Pre-Chorus | stripped back] De ledger knew da price De plantation knew Da name De merchant saw A profit Den called it Fair trade [Chorus | bigger reggae rhythm, gang harmonies] Sugar tasted sweet While De whip came down White gold piled high While de blood ran brown Every spoonful carried Someting we forgot Da wealth of de islands Was built on what was stolen [Verse 3 | acoustic guitar, upright bass, restrained drums] Da mills ran Through da night De cane grew In da sun Children learned Da sound of chains Before day learned To how to run And Europe built Its fortunes On sweetness From afar While Caribbean people Paid da cost For every sugar jar [Bridge | reggae breakdown | A Minor | 84 BPM | bass and guitar only] Don't tell me It was just sugar Don't tell me It was fair trade There were names Behind de numbers Dere were lives Behind da weight Dere were mothers Dere were fathers Dere were children Dere were graves And an empire Doesn't become innocent Because de product Was well received [Bridge Build | folk-punk drums return, banjo and mandolin build] De cane grew tall De ships grew full De merchants grew rich Da people stayed chained De cane grew tall De ships grew full De merchants grew rich Da people stayed chained [Final Chorus | full folk-punk/reggae fusion] Sugar tasted sweet But da history does not White gold built an empire On everyting day stole De islands kept da scars Long after chains were gone And every generation Has had to carry on So when you taste da sweetness Remember where it come from Not shame for what you inherited But truth about what was done Because history isn't poison Just because it hurts to swallow You can't change what happened But you can refuse To let it disappear [Outro | muted guitar skank, upright bass] A little cane A little rain A little land A little human life Turned into a little profit Den forgotten [Final acoustic chord]
