Текст песни: Universal Souls + перевод

We have not always found comfort in killers.

We have not always found solace being rocked

in the bosoms of those who silently pray

and openly destroy.

No, not always have we mistaken mimicry for mastery

or pretending for knowing

or enslavement for freedom.

But across my memory —-

across my memory marches millions -—

bold, regal, resilient, confident —-

unshackled feet stumping up spirits

to guide us through this fickle material world.

We like sun and moon folk,

universal souls praying our prayers,

singing our songs.

ESHU, OGOUN, SHANGO, YEMAJA, OSHUN, OBATALA, OYA,

DAMBALLAH, AYIDA WEDO, LOA, NKONGO, OLODUMARE, YAMI

RA

We know all of you by name.

We are people of beginnings, of culture, of strength.

Not always have we given into the empty threats

and scare tactics of the powerless ones.

Not always have we allowed the blood of our sons and daughters

to color the streets while we’re walking asleep,

marching to the beat of that siren song.

They’re still wearing their sheets,

with nooses in reach,

showing their teeth and smiling, it seems.

But I hear in the breeze

in the rustle of the trees

and the dangling of the feet,

they say, please, don’t let them ever forget.

You see, not always have we suffered from amnesia.

Not always have we forgotten how to conjure up spirits,

ancestor wisdom,

fix up a mixture,

spiritual elixir,

ancient traditions.

We, like magicians,

god-like vision, we -—

we are people of sight.

So, no, not always have we fallen

for this okie doke

or inhaled the hazardous smoke of the manipulators

or been satisfied with crumbs for meals

our hands have prepared.

Hughes said life for us ain’t been no crystal stair,

but at least the steps are there

to push us up higher,

teach us how to go beyond the destroyer’s disguises,

look them in the eyes and be able to see.

Because what’s surprising when you know the nature of a beast

and especially when they’ve shown the same face for centuries?

End

Перевод песни Universal Souls