(Intro) I remembah da wind through da ‘Ōhi‘a Mornin’ rain on rusty roofs. Da press would hum, an’ we’d gaddh— Ink an’ coffee, all da same ol’ truth. Dey tell me, "No bite da hand dat feed you"— But I seen da hands split to da bone. So I write ‘bout steel an’ picket lines, An’ strikes dat light da ‘Āina’s stones. (Chorus) An’ I watch through iron gates, As da red flags cross da town. Saw longshoremen link arms, An’ da Big Five start to drown. Dey lock me up fo’ keep me still— But da people move da hill. (Verse 2) Molokai to Honokaa, Da eye eL double you yoU stay proud. Mills wen’ quiet, fields wen’ wild, When da labor roared out loud. Keiki marched wi'd rice in baskets, Wahineh wit’ placards in dey hands. No more silence, servitude, On sugar’s sacred lands. (Chorus) An’ I watch trough iron gates, As McCarthy’s echo crack. Da red-baiters lose dey breath When da workers take it back. Dey try fo’ jail one point o’ view— But couldn’t stop what justice grew. (Bridge) Dey thought da steel bars would mute da fire Dat labor’s breath had blown. But each arrest, each blacklist name Just make da movement known. An’ while dey lock my body down, Da islands broke dey chain. From Pu‘unēnē to Pālama, Workers rise in heat an’ rain. (Verse 3) I read da news dey let me carry, Folded din, between da lines. Names I knew now shape da islands, Da old machines run outta time. Somewhere beyond dis warden’s shadow, Da union sings undah da palms. Da men who marched beside da millstones Lift dey voice in victory song. (Final Chorus) I saw Maui’s mills fall silent, Strike lines drawn in muddy shoes. Saw Kalihi Keiki wit’ placards An’ a future dey could choose. O‘ahu marched wit’ unity, Kaua‘i raised dey fists wit pride. We fed each oddah on da picket lines When da sugar kings denied. (Outro) So let da sugar barons vanish, Let us have a say in da land we live. I walk out, not just one prisoner— But one witness to da end.
