"Before The Anthem" | African Highlife Song скачать в хорошем качестве

"Before The Anthem" | African Highlife Song

Lyrics: Before the anthem… Before the anthem was learned by heart Before the flag knew how to fly There was a morning And a people Clearing their throats to sing Dawn breaks slow on a dusty capital Sunlight slips through louvered dreams Radio hums in the neighbor’s window Newsman’s voice like a distant drumbeat School shoes lined by the doorway Mother’s hands smell like soap and hope Fathers tying borrowed courage In the knot of a Sunday coat The streets still carry yesterday Colonial names fading from stone But the air is thick with promise Like rain clouds finding their tone Before the brass bands practiced marching Before the speeches found their rhyme We were standing in the quiet Learning how to hold our time Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem rose We were humming something older Than the words everybody knows Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem’s claim There was a song in every heartbeat Still waiting for its name Highlife guitar on the corner bar Palm wine laughter, vinyl crackle James Brown echo from Lagos to Accra Kinshasa nights got the floorboards rattling Bell-bottom trousers, flared like futures Sewed by tailors who believed That style itself could be freedom If you wore it hard enough to breathe Old men argue under mango trees About borders drawn with foreign hands Young ones talk about tomorrow Like it’s something they can plan There’s a church bell calling heaven And a drum calling the street Somewhere between the cross and dance Africa finds her feet Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem’s sound We were tuning our voices To the heartbeat of the ground Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem’s flame There was a fire in the silence Still waiting for its name Do you remember the waiting? We remember Do you remember the prayer? We remember When freedom was a rumor Mmm—yes And hope sat heavy in the air No choir robes, no silver trumpets Just bare feet and faith No written score, no conductor Just breath we learned to save Children practice new flags in chalk On classroom walls and city gates Teachers whisper careful lessons About patience, pride, and dates Some names spoken like scripture Some erased but not forgot History knocking soft but firm On every door we’ve got Factories rise like tired giants Fields still sing the old refrain Tractors stall, but the rhythm don’t Even hunger keeps its swing We dance not because it’s easy We dance to stay alive Every step a small defiance Every smile a way to survive Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem played We were singing in the minor keys Of choices being made Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem’s throne There was a choir of ordinary souls Learning how to sing alone Mmm—mmm—mmm Eh—eh—eh Ooo—ooo—ooo Radio preacher late at night Says freedom is a daily bread Not just a song you stand up for But a life you gotta live instead He says love is a longer march Than any parade can be And God listens closest Before the crowd agrees Somewhere a band is rehearsing Horns shining like borrowed suns They practice the anthem slowly But the intro weighs a ton Because before the first big chorus Before the final stand There’s that quiet trembling moment When a nation clears its hands Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem’s rise We were praying with our bodies And dreaming with our eyes Oh—before the anthem Before the anthem rang There was a sacred hesitation Right before the sang Before the anthem— There was a breath Before the anthem— There was a choice Before the anthem— There was a people Learning how to trust their voice Before the anthem— Before the drumroll, before the cheer We were already singing We were already here.