Get all 10 Grand Union Orchestra releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Made By Human Hands, Love That Day (Single), Can't Chain Up Me Mind (Single), 12 For 12, If Paradise, Now Comes The Dragon's Hour, Around The World In 80 Minutes, The Rhythm Of Tides, and 2 more.
1. |
Ça Ira
09:51
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Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Le peuple en ce jour sans cesse repète
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira
Malgré les mutins tour réussira
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2. |
Worksong
06:16
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Five hundred years and more a slave
- some time, uh huh, some time
Each year being told you’re just not much
And Africans are found in herds
All up and down the continent
And boy you better dig it, gal
- some time, uh huh, some time
Five hundred years and more the coon
- some time, uh huh, some time
Five hundred times around the sun
Burned black for beauty and for kicks
And hunted down with bright blue eyes
And boy you better dig it, gal
- some time, uh huh, some time
And boy you better dig it, gal, some time
Before five hundred years ago
- some time, uh huh, some time
The world resolved its spinning course
From dawn to midnight, spring to spring
And all the beasts were wonderful
But now you gotta dig it, man
- some time, uh huh, some time
And boy you better dig it, gal, some time
Five hundred years to come they say
- some time, uh huh, some time
The strong must overcome the weak
And make them starve to balance books
In case slave ships run out of steam
And boy you better dig it, gal
- some time, uh huh, some time
And boy you better dig it, gal, some time
It’s time for the millennium
- some time, uh huh, some time
And Jesus Christ who works for God
Who’s full time for the Vatican
Which sponsored the Americas
Which didn’t need no Indians
All wrong on this side of the world
And wanted muscle brought across
From shores which never should have left
America, continents drift
And suddenly there’s different strains
Of animals across the seas
And some are good and some are bad
And some drink out of cyanide streams
And some are worked until they’re dead
To bring the goodies from the earth
Onto the table of the Lord
And of his lady and their brood
And Jesus Christ so sez the Prez
Will come to bless this cancered thing
And of this is good good good
And boy you keep on digging, gal
- some time, uh huh, some time
And you won’t get no extra scratch
From working harder at that patch
You’ll never be the owner, kid
Relax? What now? You never did
And boy you better dig it, gal
- some time, uh huh, some time
And boy you better dig it, gal
- some time
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3. |
Thank God I'm Free
04:03
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I see a little blackbird in the tree
I see a little hedgehog in the bushes
A little brown fox peers out at me
And I just thank God I’m free
I smell the salt from an angry sea
I watch the smoke rise from the chimneys
I hold a baby on my knee
And I just thank God I’m free
Sometimes I hope and pray
This affliction would go away
Or death would come and rescue me
But then I remember others
My not so lucky brothers
And I thank God I’m free
So now a buzzing bumblebee
The sound of shouts and cries and laughter
Are music in the perfect key
And I just thank God I’m free
Yes I just thank God I’m free
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4. |
Santiago de Chile
08:20
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Santiago, Santiago que amaneces
Santiago en las calles silenciadas
Santiago, Santiago que amaneces
Santiago un martes de semana
Santiago, Santiago at dawn
When will I hear your singing again
Children of my land?
When the darkness embraces my land
Submerged in the void of the sky
Silence surrounds the city girls
Listening to the sound of military boots
Breathing the terror that spreads in the air
Every night in the shadows I dream
The solitude of the stars under siege
Santiago handcuffed in her sleep
The children’s dreams flying in the night
There are no voices singing away
In Santiago at dawn
Santiago, Santiago at dawn
Withering the smiles
Concealing the seed
In a hidden war
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5. |
Song Somewhere Near Roma
01:38
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If I could
I’d like to talk about
Riding on your back
Through Sotho-speaking
Mountains in the snow
Lost naked
In an overwhelming sky
We’d talk about
How nice today has been
How still you could learn
Life from me
From my tribe
But how can we now
With all this blood?
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6. |
Santiago Continued
05:46
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Santiago, Santiago que amaneces
Santiago en las calles silenciadas
Santiago, Santiago que amaneces
Santiago un martes de semana
When the darkness releases my land
I think of tomorrow’s brotherly hands
Santiago, no more silence
Awaken the voices of the people from downtown
Why are those hands joined
And the sorrow vanishes from their faces?
Who are those joining hands at dawn
Like birds’ wings announcing their flight to freedom?
They are not dwellers in solitude
Deterred by banishment in the winter of life
They shall fly to freedom – vamos a volar
Santiago, Santiago at dawn
When will I hear your singing
Your singing once again
Children of my land?
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7. |
Can't Chain Up Me Mind
05:39
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Massa put de heavy ole chain round me ankle dem
Massa put de jackass rope around me han
Massa tell me what fe say
Massa tell me what fe do
Massa tell me how fe look like sey me blind
But no care how him try
Till the day dat him die
Massa can’t find a way fe chain me mind
So massa do yuh best (do yuh best, yes)
Mek de Devil do de rest (me no care)
But yuh can’t chain up me mind
No yuh can’t chain up me mind
Oh no yuh can’t chain
No yuh can’t chain up me mind
For me mind is fe me
And me mind it is free
And yuh can’t chain up me mind
Massa tell me when fe get up and fe go to bed
Massa tell me what fe wear and what fe eat
Massa tell me whey fe live
Massa tell me whey fe walk
Massa tell me how much pickney me fe hab
But though him kill me husband, Ned
But though him sell me pickney, Ted
Massa can’t find a way fe chain me mind
Massa bruck me han an foot dem when me run away
Massa hang Ned when him burn down de canepiece
For massa know dat de law
Is a law for backra
Massa know him can do what him want wid we
But though me grin when him laugh
Bow and scrape when him pass
Massa know him can’t find a way fe chain me mind
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8. |
Silence Is Consent
04:20
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Daily…the world is changing
Slowly…the beast that feeds upon our weakness is advancing
Have we nothing more to offer than our silent tears?
For silence is consent
Easy…to turn our backs now
Knowing…that all we need is to be forceful and attack now
Have we nothing more to offer than our silent tears?
For silence is consent
Wipe the sleep
Wipe the sleep from your eyes
Wipe the sleep
Wipe the sleep from your eyes
Lend a hand – life is passing you by
Take a stand – life is passing you by
Hear the cry but don’t weep
Wipe the sleep, wipe the sleep
Wipe the sleep from your eyes
Somewhere…a man is dying
Somehow you can understand what this event is underlying
And that this has more to do with you than first appears
But silence is consent
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9. |
Freedom Calls
17:38
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Hedzola hedzola, yehefee yei
[Ga: Freedom, freedom everywhere]
Owh thal, lento apartheid um zhal
[Xhosa: Don’t mess with apartheid, my friend]
Vamos a volar
[Spanish: Let’s get up and fly”]
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10. |
No More Apartheid!
06:26
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There’s a certain day coming, it’s coming for sure
When people will starve in their homeland no more
And colour won’t separate rich man from poor
There’ll be no more apartheid
There’s a certain day coming, that day is so near
Freedom cries are already charging the air
And the wicked are shaking in this country where
There’ll be no more apartheid
For there’ll be freedom, freedom
Freedom everywhere
There’ll be freedom, freedom
Shout it loud and clear
There’ll be freedom, freedom
Freedom bought so dear
This precious freedom from apartheid
There’s a certain day coming, it won’t be too long
When people live on the land where they belong
And spirits like Biko’s will join in the song
The song of freedom from apartheid
There’s a certain day coming when after all the pain
Every man will unite with his family again
The open graves at Dimbaza are waiting in vain
For the victims of apartheid
Well it’s a freedom
Bought with blood and pain
It’s a freedom, freedom
Fought with might and main
And it’s freedom, freedom
Which will not be lost again
This precious freedom from apartheid
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Grand Union Orchestra London, UK
Grand Union Orchestra is a multicultural world jazz ensemble based in London. It has been performing, touring and recording large-scale shows for over 30 years and is well known for its educational work. Grand Union specialises in large-scale musical performances that reflect the backgrounds of its performers and often invites participation from amateur musicians and community groups. ... more
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