[Intro: soul-rap male MC, spoken over towering piano chords] Oluwaseun Adebayo Say it slow, it's all there [Verse 1: Soul-rap male MC, hard soul-rap flow over big boom drums] Twelve years back I touched down with two bags and a name Nobody at the counter ever said it right, the same First badge said Olu, second badge said Ollie Mail came addressed to a man called Wally, sorry I swore in Yoruba when the bus pulled off without me Swore in French at the landlord when the heat went out and froze me Swore in Spanish with the crew on the overnight line Swore in English at a form I filled out nine more times [Hook: female vocalist Denise, towering over big boom drums and piano] You swore in four languages to make it to this room Swore at every night bus and the mornin' came too soon Now your right hand's up and you are swearin' one more time Swore in, and this time the words are yours to sign [Verse 2: Soul-rap male MC, building, every bar on the snare] Federal court on a Thursday and the benches all packed Seventy of us from forty places, front row to the back Lady from Manila in her church shoes with her son Man from Kyiv holdin' up his phone for everyone Judge says raise your right and I can feel my arm shake Twelve years in a sentence and I'm not about to break Every word I'm sayin' I been sayin' in my sleep Lagos in my mouth and now a promise I can keep [Hook: female vocalist Denise, towering over big boom drums and piano] You swore in four languages to make it to this room Swore at every night bus and the mornin' came too soon Now your right hand's up and you are swearin' one more time Swore in, and this time the words are yours to sign [Bridge: Soul-rap male MC, flag snap, everything stops for the snap of a flag unfurling, then the drums return huge] Clerk calls the names one at a time down the row Gets to me and doesn't stop, she says it whole and says it slow Hands me the paper and I look at every letter in the line Twelve years of wrong, and every letter here is mine [Final Hook: female vocalist Denise and soul-rap male MC, full drums, towering piano] You swore in four languages to make it to this room Swore at every night bus and the mornin' came too soon Now your right hand's up and you are swearin' one more time Swore in, and this time the words are yours to sign [End]
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