[Intro - spoken] Caribbean… listen nah. Stand on yuh feet… not on yuh knees! [Chorus] Stand up, not kneel down (stand up!) Caribbean, hold yuh ground (hold it!) If you banning Cuba help, Show we what you bringing ‘round! No deal in the dark, no hush-hush talk, No sell-out for a visa stamp, Health and mind is we lifeline— Stand up, not kneel down! [Verse 1] Quiet weekend, then the signal come loud, Leader make a statement, people vex in the crowd. “Geopolitics,” knocking hard on we door, So why we cutting pipeline we depend on before? He ask in the meeting, “Cuban-trained in here?” Three hands rise up—courage in the air. “Best doctors,” he say, “experienced, top class,” So why you breaking system like you breaking glass? [Pre-Chorus - call/response] Who minding we health? (We!) Who minding we future? (We!) Who writing we policy? (We, not them!) [Chorus] Stand up, not kneel down (stand up!) Caribbean, hold yuh ground (hold it!) If you banning Cuba help, Show we what you bringing ‘round! No deal in the dark, no hush-hush talk, No sell-out for a visa stamp, Health and mind is we lifeline— Stand up, not kneel down! [Verse 2] Cuba give scholarship—doctor in the ward, Cuba build capacity—steady, quiet, hard. Train the poor youth, turn struggle into skill, So the clinic could run and the pharmacy could fill. Now show me the substitute, show me the plan, Show me the programme from Washington hand. If you telling we “stop,” then fill up the space, You can’t leave we with a blank and expect we to smile in yuh face! [Chorus] Stand up, not kneel down (stand up!) Caribbean, hold yuh ground (hold it!) If you banning Cuba help, Show we what you bringing ‘round! No deal in the dark, no hush-hush talk, No sell-out for a visa stamp, Health and mind is we lifeline— Stand up, not kneel down! [Verse 3] They come one-by-one, not as bloc, not as crew, Divide and conquer is an old-time move. Today it’s “bilateral,” tomorrow “compliance,” Next thing you know—region lose defiance. Where is the meeting where leaders draw line? Where is the stance where the islands align? If OECS say “No,” it [Verse 4 - Trade reality (McCook link)] Ambassador say plain: “tumultuous” year, Rules-based system cracking—uncertainty here. Trade tension, supply chain, protectionism rise, Global fragmentation right before we eyes. So if trade getting wicked and the big powers flex, Why we facing them single, like we want be next? Regional cooperation is the shield and the sword, Or we go get boxed-in—by a fractured world order!
