[Instrumental Intro] (Sub bass + 808 + sparse kora) [Verse 1] Sun comes hard on the zinc roof line, Market wakes before first light shines, Kids cut through where the buses crawl, Shutters rise one by one down the wall. Mama hums low while the kettle sings, Papa leaves with the tools he brings, One door opens, then ten more do, Day comes heavy — we push it through. [Pre-Chorus] Hear that skin when the drumhead talks, Dust lifts up underneath our walk, One voice starts, then the whole street knows, Beat runs deep where the river flows. [Chorus] Freedom drum, beat it loud (oh yeah), Raise your voice above the crowd (oh yeah), No chain can own the pulse we hold, One beat moves, then the whole thing rolls. [Instrumental Transition – ad libs] [Verse 2] Dusty road, still we find our step, Night comes down, we ain't done yet, Cooking fires, radios low, Drumline answers row by row. Someone laughs from an open door, Someone calls from across the yard, Every beat pulls another one in, Quiet breaks and the night begins. [Pre-Chorus] Hear that skin when the drumhead talks, Dust lifts up underneath our walk, One voice starts, then the whole street knows, Beat runs deep where the river flows. [Chorus] Freedom drum, beat it loud (oh yeah), Raise your voice above the crowd (oh yeah), No chain can own the pulse we hold, One beat moves, then the whole thing rolls. [Instrumental Transition – ad libs] "hey-ya-hey" [Verse 3] Names we lost still live in song, Old hands show where the beat belongs, Kids catch time on a wooden chair, Rhythm jumps through the evening air. Roots run deep, but the sound moves on, New words rise where the old ones rang, From the yard to the city glow, Freedom travels where the drumbeats go. [Pre-Chorus] Hear that skin when the drumhead talks, Dust lifts up underneath our walk, One voice starts, then the whole street knows, Beat runs deep where the river flows. [Chorus] Freedom drum, beat it loud (oh yeah), Raise your voice above the crowd (oh yeah), No chain can own the pulse we hold, One beat moves, then the whole thing rolls. [Instrumental Break – ad libs] "eh-yo, eh-yo" [Bridge] No chosen voice, no chosen one, No freedom handed down by anyone, What we build, we build in time, Hand to hand and line by line. [Drop – kora + group voices] "Freedom... freedom..." [Final Chorus] Freedom drum, shake the ground (oh yeah), Let the whole block hear the sound (oh yeah), One voice starts and the rest come through, Old beat, new day, something true. Freedom drum, carry on (oh yeah), Through the night into the dawn (oh yeah), What we keep, what we pass along, Lives in the beat and lives in the song. [Outro Instrumental] (Kora arpeggio + distant group ad-libs)
