I'm learning to live alive
because I'm learning to 'Love Supreme'
I couldn't understand it before so I had to start digging
digging in rhythm, digging in beats,
digging in sound, till I was moving my feet, 
moving my hands, moving my heart to talk
to talk in psalms, 
to talk in truth, 
to talk in thought,
to talk to you,

Memories of how my village sang sweet harmonies and chants 
for God to bless a child
transformed into Old Negro Spirituals by my new native tongue
and as I 'Wade the Water' I'm torn from my family
you can torture my body But my 
soul my you can not slaughter
Now my daughter is not allowed to speak so 
she sings the blues in her 'Solitude'
accompanied by swing time jazz
and it just keeps on evolving
so even though I keep fallen

I know that I have to get up, 
I need to get up, 
I shout out to the world, 
"Wake up Everybody" 
But nobody wants to listen
if only my people were a 'Piece of Clay'
then I could change how they use this influence
this... this music

But I see, 
the beat inside my foot 
is derived from my soul
it calls out from the Congo drums.
to the hums of hymns in my mind
to sound in action
surpassing my pain
now refrain is repeated
so I string these chords of hope
string these chords of hope
so I can refrain from living on a 
living on a downhill slope
living on a downhill slope
I'm learning to cope

This is so vivid it's busting out my chest,
Got me movin’ my hands,
bobbin my feet 
shaking my legs, 
till the point where I am no longer in my 
short-legged stance,
this is dance

Dancing to the ‘Rhythm of the Night' 
awakening the dead, but 'Round Midnight' 
I drift into a 'Quiet Storm' of self-thought 
my new native tongue
is no longer my native tongue
it's been taken away
I have so much to say and no way to say it
I have so much to say but no way to say it
I’m havin’ so much to say but no way to say it
but now the beat is coming back
creativity is on track

I hear, I listen, I mimic, I flip it,
I hear, I listen, I mimic, I flip it,
no description, It's intrinsic, 
self-sufficient and interdependent 
because, just as much as I need it
it needs me

I speak in whispers that shout out truth 
from elder to youth
I induce conscious labor
active isms
spiritual psalms
that calm through the palms of hands 
you know, we really did write this
and through this new speech 
chained men stand
hidden truths are now seen
'Songs of Caged Birds' are now freed 
and I'd like to say I chose these words 
but the words chose me 

this is poetry

So now I'm learning to heal 
I'm learning to feel
I couldn't understand it before
so I had to start digging 
digging in rhythm, 
digging in beats, 
digging in sound, till I was moving my feet, 
digging in rhythm, 
digging in beats, 
digging in sound, till I was moving my feet, 
digging in rhythm, 
digging in beats, 
digging in sound, till I was moving my feet, 

moving my hands, moving my heart
moving my hands, moving my heart
to talk
to talk in psalms, to talk in truth, 
to talk in thought, to talk to you
to talk in psalms, to talk in truth, 
to talk in thought, to talk to you


Written by Kendrick Dial