Intro (Spoken / Chant) Hear nah… listen close, Caribbean. Not party talk… not flag fight… Is people… is pain… is family. From 1972 we stand up so— Tonight, we standing up again. ⸻ Verse 1 I watching the news and my chest get tight, Whole island sweating through the hungry night, Not because them lazy, not because them bad, But chains on the port and the market gone mad. Yet when we get mash up by storm and sea, Cuba never ask what party we be. Doctors come first with the simplest kit, But the biggest heart— yes, Cuba bring it. Chorus (with Spanish touch) Is it fair we watch Cuba suffer, and we don’t lift a hand? Is it fear that hold we back now, when our neighbour need we stand? This is not politics, nah, this is humanity— ¡Cuba, hermana y hermano, aquí estamos pa’ ti! They help we through the hard times, they never turn away, So we cast aside the fear now— ¡Cuba, vamos a ayudar! ⸻ Verse 2 Scholarship open up plenty door, Country pickney turn doctor, teacher, more. Some come back home with a brand-new skill, Some stay abroad, still sending love uphill. So tell me now, when Cuba crying out, We going hush up and start to doubt? I say no— this region know that story: When one hand fall, the whole body sorry. Chorus Is it fair we watch Cuba suffer, and we don’t lift a hand? Is it fear that hold we back now, when our neighbour need we stand? This is not politics, nah, this is humanity— ¡Cuba, hermana y hermano, aquí estamos pa’ ti! They help we through the hard times, they never turn away, So we cast aside the fear now— ¡Cuba, vamos a ayudar! ⸻ Verse 3 (Picong + straight talk) Some people say, “Careful, don’t get in trouble,” But fear is a tax— and it double and double. If conscience could talk, it would shout in we ear: “Since when compassion does require permission here?” When medicine short and the lights go out, Is not a slogan that does help them out. So move with sense, yes, move with plan— But move with heart— like Caribbean man. ⸻ Cuban Break / Son-Montuno (Call & Response) (Drop into a Cuban groove — percussion, claps, crowd response) Lead: Oye, mi gente… ¿qué vamos a hacer? Crowd: ¡Ayudar, ayudar! Lead: ¿Con miedo o con alma? Crowd: ¡Con alma, con alma! Lead: Mano a mano, de isla a isla, Crowd: ¡Cuba no está sola! Lead: From Kingston to Castries, Belize to Bim, Crowd: ¡Cuba, estamos aquí! Lead: When family hurting, we don’t debate— Crowd: ¡Se comparte lo que hay! (We share what we have!) (Short instrumental “tres” feel) ⸻ Bridge (Slow lift / chant) Send the food barrel, send the basics quick, Send the baby milk, send the diabetic stick, Send the solar light, send the parts and tool, Send the simple things— save a household too. Not just talk on radio, not just posts online— We love must show up, in real-world time. ⸻ Final Chorus (bigger, with extra Spanish line) Is it fair we watch Cuba suffer, and we don’t lift a hand? Is it fear that hold we back now, when our neighbour need we stand? This is not politics, nah, this is humanity— ¡Cuba, hermana y hermano, aquí estamos pa’ ti! They help we through the hard times, they never turn away, So we cast aside the fear now— ¡Cuba, vamos a ayudar! ¡No tenemos miedo—amor es la verdad! (We are not afraid—love is the truth!) Outro (Spoken) Caribbean… remember who we are. When Cuba give, Cuba didn’t ask for passport— Cuba ask for heart. So tonight we answer: mano a mano.
