[Verse 1: Gullah ring-shout male lead, heavy and close, broomstick on the floorboards] They put Cutty in the ground on a Tuesday, sky the color of lead Every word the preacher read me I had heard about the dead Friday was the watch night at the praise house on the hill Benches pushed against the wall, the lamp turned low and still Miss Ola raised the first line and the stick man found the floor And the basers started clappin' like they done for years before I was standin' by the door, I didn't have the heart to move Cutty used to shout beside me, Cutty always found the groove [Hook: Gullah ring-shout male lead, full ring, heavy kick and handclaps] Don't cross your feet, keep 'em flat on the boards Slide 'em to the left like the ones who went before Don't cross your feet, hear the stick tellin' you You can grieve inside the ring, but you ain't crossin' through [Verse 2: Gullah ring-shout male lead, harder, handclaps tight] She said comeyah, oonuh ain't gon' hold up no door tonight Pulled me in the circle by the sleeve and held it tight In the praise house you can shout, but feet don't cross, she said Crossin' is for dancin', this is somethin' else instead I went round once, I went round twice, I wanted to lie down Wanted to cross where Cutty crossed and leave this salt-marsh ground And every time my foot went over, Ola caught it with a call And the stick came down like thunder and it held me through it all [Call and Response: female songster calls, Gullah ring-shout male lead answers, floorboard thunder on every answer] Who's still in the ring tonight? Binyah, still in Whose feet are on the floor? Mine, both flat, and they ain't givin' Who's goin' home tonight? Not me, not yet, not now Who's carryin' Cutty's part? Me, and I'm learnin' how Who's shoutin' for him? Me, until the lamp burns out Who's crossin' over? Nobody, that's what this is all about [Verse 3: Gullah ring-shout male lead, full ring, pounding kick] Round about the third hour I could feel the gap he left Not a haint, just the place where he'd be shoutin' out of breath So I filled it, took his part, the high one and the hard one And the stick man looked at me and nodded, Cutty's line was mine to run Then the sun came up on Saturday, pink across the marsh And my voice was shot to gravel and the mornin' air was harsh And I finally heard what Ola meant, it wasn't 'bout the boards Don't cross your feet means don't you cross, not yet, there's more, Lord [Hook: Gullah ring-shout male lead, full ring, heavy kick and handclaps] Don't cross your feet, keep 'em flat on the boards Slide 'em to the left like the ones who went before Don't cross your feet, hear the stick tellin' you You can grieve inside the ring, but you ain't crossin' through [End]
