[Intro] [Solo mbira guitar] Seventy-eight, a schoolboy came home to fight The officer said the war was nearly won Go learn to build, this land will need builders So Strive went and learned [Verse 1] Harare morning, engineer on the state phone line Principal engineer, top of the only ladder One company owned every wire in the land One company decided who could talk He climbed back down and started on his own Wiring houses, running crews, his name on the contract Money of his own in his own two hands Before he asked the state for anything [Pre-Chorus] They tell it like a phone genius story Anybody could buy the phone Nobody could buy the license That was the whole fight [Chorus] [Melody climbs each line] When the gate is a rule, appeal it higher When they shut the office, appeal it higher Find the law above the law, appeal it higher Masiyiwa, appeal it higher [Verse 2] He took the plan back to his old bosses You keep the majority, let me run it Put a phone in every hand in this country They waved it off, said mobile had no future So he went to court and he asked for the license They said no, so his lawyers asked a bigger question What is a telephone for A telephone is how a person speaks If one office owns every line That office owns whose voice gets through Ninety-five, the highest court agreed Next year the order came down from the top [Pre-Chorus] Back to court Back to court Five long years Back to court [Chorus] [Melody climbs each line] When the gate is a rule, appeal it higher When they shut the office, appeal it higher Find the law above the law, appeal it higher Masiyiwa, appeal it higher [Breakdown] [Mbira only, quiet close vocal] Now the part that costs It took a court that would rule against the head of state It took a business already paying him Five years of lawyers on no revenue breaks most people Two years after the network came on, he left the country anyway The room in your city is smaller Permit board, zoning hearing, public comment line Same question What is this rule for [Verse 3] [Full band returns] Ninety-eight, the first line lit A phone rang on the network they said had no future And the door he forced stayed open For everybody coming through behind him Then the phone learned to carry money Then the wire went under the ground Fiber running border to border Every mile began with one argument [Final Chorus] [Key change up] When the gate is a rule, appeal it higher When they shut the office, appeal it higher Find the law above the law, appeal it higher Strive Masiyiwa, appeal it higher Appeal it higher [Outro] [Mbira only, fading] Find the rule in front of you Ask it what it's for Then take it to a higher room Strive
