Madiba

The dry grass bends in the scorching heat

But the human beings won’t stay neat

And the hidden drums thud a quickening beat

And the drumbeats cry of freedom!

Their sorrow speaks in a thousand tears

Of the pain they’ve borne for too many years

The black man’s torture and the white man’s fears

And the drumbeats cry of freedom.

They lock a man in a dark, dark place

They name his words as a deep disgrace

For they cannot bear to see his face,

And the drumbeats cry of freedom.

But who is prisoner, who is free

Where racism holds sovereignty

And hatred holds the mastery?

And the drumbeats cry of freedom?

Forgiveness comes at a costly price

But peace must make the sacrifice

Truth isn’t easy and it isn’t nice

And the drumbeats cry of freedom.

The man who conquers his heart’s rage

Is the man who steps up to the stage

For he’s walked the darkness and he’s paid the wage

And the drumbeats cry of freedom.