ROOTS RUN DEEP

"ROOTS RUN DEEP" Reggae / Roots / Dub / Modern Roots BPM: 76 | Key: D Major [Intro] (Nyabinghi drums, distant ocean waves, one-drop rhythm enters) [Verse 1] Grandfather's hands in the red dirt ground Planting seeds where no rain was found He said "boy, don't chase what the city sells The mountain don't move, but the river still swells" Concrete jungle got a million faces But I see the masks and the empty spaces They got the gold but they lost the soul Running fast but they got no goal [Pre-Chorus] (Hammond organ skank, bassline deepens) The system want you tired and broke Want you coughing from the factory smoke But I remember what the elders spoke [Chorus] (Full band, uplifting harmonies) MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP UNDERGROUND WHERE THE ANCIENTS SLEEP MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP THEY CAN CUT THE BRANCH BUT THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE NO, THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE [Verse 2] (Dub delay on vocals, space in the mix) Police sirens where the children play Another brother taken away But the river keep flowing to the sea And the truth keep rising, wild and free Mama cried when the letter came Said "son, don't you carry that pain" But pain is the teacher, pain is the proof That the seed gotta break before it grows the fruit [Pre-Chorus] (Bass drops out, hand drums only) The system want you on your knees Want you begging for the crumbs you see But I remember what the elders spoke [Chorus] (Full energy, call-and-response style) MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP UNDERGROUND WHERE THE ANCIENTS SLEEP MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP THEY CAN CUT THE BRANCH BUT THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE NO, THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE [Bridge - Dub Break] (Heavy reverb, delay, bass solo, sparse percussion) (Spoken word texture) "From the soil of the motherland... To the concrete of Babylon... The root don't forget... The root don't forget..." [Verse 3] (Intimate, acoustic guitar enters) I met a man with a hundred years Eyes like fire, no trace of fears He said "young lion, your time will come When the drum of the heart beat louder than the gun" So I walk with the ancestors by my side Every step is a prayer, every breath is a tide And when the storm try to shake my ground I remember — the root is where I'm found [Final Chorus - Full Power] (Horns enter, maximum uplift, crowd chant feel) MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP UNDERGROUND WHERE THE ANCIENTS SLEEP MY ROOTS RUN DEEP, DEEP, DEEP THEY CAN CUT THE BRANCH BUT THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE NO, THEY CAN'T KILL THE TREE [Outro] (Nyabinghi drums fade, ocean returns, single guitar chord rings out) Roots run deep... Roots run deep...