[INTRO - SPOKEN (CHANTWELL)] Gather round, gather round, leh we talk it clean, Is not bacchanal for bacchanal, is democracy we mean. When paper start to play smart, and people start to guess, Yuh does get confusion dressed up in officialness. Crowd: Tell dem! Chantwell: I gine tell dem. [VERSE 1] I dress up decent, feeling civic and bright, Say, “Today I gine vote and do the country thing right.” Walk up by the desk, polite as a priest, And the clerk look at me like I begging for a feast. She scroll, she squint, she sigh from deep, Like I wake she up from a government sleep. She say, “Yuh name not here.” I say, “Check again, my dear.” She say, “Well according to we list… you disappear.” I say, “Disappear? But I standing in yuh face!” She say, “Maybe yuh dead.” I say, “Well dead got style and grace!” Next man shout, “Dem ship me overseas!” But he ain’t lef’ Oistins since fish fry and breeze. And the office keep cool, like this is normal day, Like misplacing citizens is a small small play. [CHORUS A - SING-ALONG] Check yuh name, check yuh name, check yuh name, Cause the list acting wild like it ain’t got shame. Check yuh name, check yuh name, check yuh name, And if dem tell yuh “quiet,” tell dem “Answer the same!” Crowd: Answer! Lead: Answer! [VERSE 2] Now leh we do the maths, quick-quick, no lies, Voters list big so, it nearly touch the skies. Two-seventy-one thousand names, population two-seventy, So who voting, the living, the dead, and plenty plenty? Babies in pampers with a pencil in hand, Cats from St. Lucy marking X like dem understand, Dogs in collar line up calm, tail wagging in place, And the goat from St. John like, “Boss, I got a case!” If everybody eligible, then bring the pot and spoon, Let the fowl vote early, and the donkey vote noon! And when we ask, “How so?”—the answer is air, A next level hush like nobody care. [CHORUS B - PICONG HOOK] Silence like church… but the bells jam, We asking questions and dem playing dumb, bam-bam. Silence like church… but the bells jam, List mash up like crop-over traffic and dem acting calm. [BREAK - CALL & RESPONSE (CROWD)] Lead: Who list is dis? Crowd: We list! Lead: Who vote is dis? Crowd: We vote! Lead: Who country is dis? Crowd: We country! Lead: Then why dem treating we like— Crowd: We don’t matter! [VERSE 3] Now I ain’t fighting public servants, hear me straight, But some does wear the title like a personal gate. “Servant of the people” sound nice in a speech, But attitude does get served like hot pepper in each. Some talk to yuh short like yuh wasting dem time, Yet is we tax dollars paying for that line. But leh a big name pass, and watch dem tone shift sweet, “Good morning, Hon!”—suddenly manners complete. So doh preach duty when respect ain’t living, Cause citizens ain’t children, and voting ain’t forgiven. If the process muddy, confidence does drown, And a quiet people today is a loud people tomorrow. [RAPSO BREAK - HALF-TIME] Hear nah— Dem want we calm while the numbers playing tricks, Want we hush while the system need fix. Want we trust, but the list can’t stand test, When yuh lose people name, yuh lose people rest. Doh tell me “move along,” doh sell me smoke, A vote is not a joke, and citizens not broke. We asking simple questions, give simple reply, Cause democracy can’t fly if truth cyan’t tie. [FINAL CHORUS - BIG FINISH] Check yuh name, check yuh name, check yuh name, Cause the list acting wild like it ain’t got shame. Silence like church… but the bells jam, We asking questions and dem playing dumb, bam-bam. Check yuh name, check yuh name, check yuh name, If dem tell yuh “quiet,” tell dem “Answer the same!” Silence like church… but the bells jam, Fix it in daylight, doh wait till bacchanal lamb! [OUTRO - SPOKEN (TAG)] And leh me leave this with allyuh— When a country start to lose people on paper, It soon start to lose people in spirit.
