Lyrics
2) Pon di Balcony
Pon di balcony where di cold wind sweep
Whole heap a people sleep, but I nah sleep
Ashtray glow and di skyline grey
Moon look tired at di end of day
Concrete rail and a plastic chair
But Zion visit anywhere prayer deh
One cup a tea and a herb-light flame
And all of di silence start call I name
Under me feet all di road dem bend
Siren far off like a wounded friend
Satellite blink inna clouded dome
Yet I never feel too far from home
Cause home nah always timber and stone
Sometimes home is di place yuh groan
Sometimes home is a breath yuh save
When yuh hold firm and yuh spirit brave
Pon di balcony, I chant soft, low
Send up smoke where di night breeze blow
Pon di balcony, I reason deep
Jah guard di wakeful when di rest a sleep
Memory come wid a barefoot pace
Old love drift through di charcoal space
Not fi return, just fi pass on by
Like one old tune inna midnight sky
I thank di hurt and I thank di grace
Every scar write truth pon I face
No need fi run from di ache inside
I let it sit and I let it ride
Seen di city? It shine then fade
Whole heap a glitter, whole heap a shade
But one clean heart inna cool night air
More rich than all dem kingdom deh out there
Pon di balcony, I chant soft, low
Send up smoke where di night breeze blow
Pon di balcony, I reason deep
Jah guard di wakeful when di rest a sleep
2) Ember Psalm
Evening drop soft pon di avenue line
Last light bleed out inna copper sky shine
Window dem flicker, then dem fade one by one
Babylon hush now, and di long night come
I and I step wid a slow heart beat
Dust and drizzle on di worn-down street
One likkle spark inna chalice head glow
Like Jah leave a sign inna di dark below
Cold breeze carry old sorrow away
But some still linger like smoke weh stay
Concrete canyon, iron and wire
Still cyaan quench di inward fire
Footstep echo like a dubwise drum
Calling to di places weh di quiet come
No crowd, no noise, no bright display
Just embers whisper what di shadows say
Ember psalm, burn low, burn wise
Red-gold flicker inna midnight skies
Ember psalm, guide I trod
Through di hush-hush city to di heart of Jah
Taxi light pass like a comet tail
Some man rush fast, but I nah fail
I deh pon a mission too deep fi name
Seeking out di peace inside di flame
Night nah empty, night full up with sign
Rain on di railing keep a steady time
I lift up breath and I close I eye
And hear di bassline hum like a lullaby
Burn low, burn true
Jah know di night and Jah know I too
Burn low, burn bright
Carry I gentle inna reggae after dark tonight
3) Streetlamp Scriptures
Streetlamp scripture pon di wet black lane
Golden halo inna soft night rain
Puddle dem tremble wid di bassline beat
Like little stars fall down pon di street
Old wall crack and di paint peel thin
Still pure wisdom hide underneath skin
Babylon write loud wid steel and glass
But Jah words deh inna places people pass
Inna bus stop shadow, inna alley mist
Inna cab smoke trail and di lover’s kiss
Inna lone man leaning by di shop
Inna heartbeat after di club drum stop
Every corner hold a parable
Every silence deep and terrible
Yet beautiful too, if yuh stand and hear
How di dark can sing when yuh draw near
Streetlamp scripture, read it slow
Truth nah always inna bright light show
Streetlamp scripture, line by line
Jah write mercy inna city sign
One woman laugh from a fourth floor high
One bottle roll and a train pass by
One youth stare out from a takeaway door
Dreaming of a place him see before
Whole heap a souls inna hidden pain
Still dem rise up every day again
So I chant fi dem and I chant fi me
Fi all lost hearts seeking liberty
Read di night, read di glow
Read di things weh di fast world never know
Read di rain, read di sign
Streetlamp scripture inna after-dark time
4) Concrete Zion
Concrete Zion, no hillside view
Still Jah dew fall fresh and new
Tower block rise where di wild grass gone
Yet di soul still chant before di dawn
Elevator hum like a monotone hymn
Hallway dim, but di light nah dim
Cause inward lantern cyaan switch off
Even when di world get bitter and rough
Babylon build high and Babylon boast
But dem nah know who haunt dem most
A righteous heart wid a patient sound
Can shake di wall from underground
Sub bass roll through cement floor
Wake old visions behind closed door
Make di lonely remember say
Love still live though it hide away
Concrete Zion, hold firm tonight
Roots inna shadow, crown inna light
Concrete Zion, I know yuh near
Even inna places made of doubt and fear
Stairwell smell of rain and smoke
Truth come plain when di hour get broke
No Sunday suit, no polished phrase
Just raw prayer through di urban haze
I and I trod where di wild dogs bark
Where moonlight cut through di parking dark
And every step say, clear and strong
Jah nah leave di suffering one too long
No field of cane, no mountain stream
Still di spirit move through di machine dream
Seen? Di kingdom nah far from sight
It bloom inna soul after midnight
5) Chalice in the Rain
Chalice inna rainfall, ember inna storm
Cup of meditation keep di spirit warm
Water pon di jacket, water pon di face
But di herb-light draw one sacred space
Each drop tap out a slow one beat
Dub from di cloud to di midnight street
Thunder far off like a bass amp roll
And di vapor rise from di deep soul bowl
Rain wash billboard, wash neon stain
But some kinda sorrow nah wash so plain
It cling like scent pon a borrowed scarf
It linger inna silence after laughter half
Still I nah curse what I carry through
Every ache cut shape and make I true
And inna dis weather, cold and sweet
Jah plant patience under I feet
Chalice inna rain, steam to di sky
Carry up di burden, let di rest pass by
Chalice inna rain, glow through di grey
Bless di wandering heart pon its midnight way
One stranger pass and nod dem head
As if dem hear di same things said
No words needed inna hours like dis
Just mutual knowing inna misty abyss
Sleepless people of di concrete sea
Whole heap a them deh same like me
Searching for a note, a sign, a thread
To pull dem gently from di noise inna dem head
Rain keep falling, bass keep roll
Jah keep watch over body and soul
Rain keep talking, night keep plain
And wisdom rise from di chalice inna rain
6) Neon Dread
Neon dread inna basement cave
Red light pulse and di whole place wave
Kick drum steady like a militant heart
One-drop spirit inna techno art
Sweat pon di wall and haze inna beam
Whole room float like a fever dream
But through di flashing and di heavy air
I feel old roots vibrating there
Selector spin and di echo fly
Smoke draw serpent to di ceiling high
Every face blur inna strobe-cut frame
Still all a we chase one nameless flame
Some come dance and some come hide
Some come bury what dem hold inside
Some come pray wid dem eyes half-shut
While di sub bass open every shut-up cut
Neon dread, lion inna light
Roots man spirit inna club all night
Neon dread, step and sway
Jah deh deh too where di shadows play
No contradiction, hear I clear
Sacred can live where di wild ones cheer
A bass bin can preach like a country drum
And redemption still through speakers come
So move yuh waist and free yuh chest
Let di burden drop, let di pulse do rest
Cause healing nah always wear white robe
Sometimes it come inna dark dance mode
Flame inna laser, prayer inna smoke
Truth inna bassline hit like joke
Laugh fi survive, wine fi release
Dubwise pressure can still bring peace
7) Haze over Babylon
Haze over Babylon, thick and slow
Cover all di places where di restless go
Over taxi roof and di shuttered bar
Over lonely room where di dreamers are
City look wounded under sodium gold
Young and hungry, tired and old
Whole heap a glitter, whole heap a grime
Whole heap a people losing track of time
Babylon promise nuff bright things
Chrome and comfort and golden rings
But dem nah mend di fracture seam
Dem nah feed di soul or sweeten dream
So I seek truth inna lower tone
Inna deeper pulse and a quieter zone
Where di smoke cloud curl like psalm
And a midnight riddim can carry balm
Haze over Babylon, let it roll
Cover di sorrow, reveal di soul
Haze over Babylon, dim di lies
Let I see truth through di half-lit skies
I see youths dem pacing wid no direction
Old ones bent by debt and tension
Lovers parting by di station gate
Workers staring at a plate gone late
And still, inna all dis ache and strain
One little kindness fall like rain
A hand, a glance, a shared small fire
Enough fi lift one sinking choir
Haze over Babylon, hush di noise
Guide di daughters, guide di boys
Haze over Babylon, deep and wide
Leave a path where di roots can hide
8) Psalm for the Sleepless
Psalm fi di sleepless, hear dis cry
Fi every soul wid a wakeful eye
Fi every head full up of storm
Fi every bed that never feel warm
Fi every memory knock-knock late
Fi every heart that carry weight
Fi every mind weh spin and race
Jah, put cool mercy inna dem space
Some count sheep and some count crack
Inna di ceiling, inna di past, looking back
Some scroll screen till di spirit numb
Some light herb till di morning come
Some just stare at di curtain seam
Caught between di world and dream
So I send dis chant through wall and wire
A low-lit prayer through di ember fire
Psalm fi di sleepless, low and deep
Jah keep watch when we cannot sleep
Psalm fi di sleepless, soft and long
Hold di tired inna dubwise song
No shame inna di midnight ache
No sin inna di hours yuh wake
Mind is a river, not a chain
Let it flow through di dark and rain
Breathe in slow and exhale fear
Hear di bassline say, “I’m here”
Not every battle need hard fight
Some wounds mend inna patient night
Seen, brethren, seen, sistren too
Night reveal what di day cut through
And even when yuh feel alone
Jah deh pon di line like a hidden tone
9) Ashes on the Skyline
Ashes pon di skyline, dawn not yet
Old flame living inna cigarette
Wind from di river carry salt and rust
Teach I plainly what fi keep and trust
Nuff tings burn out, nuff ties done
Nuff road end before dem begun
Still one ember refuse fi drown
Even when di whole world dim right down
I remember days when di laugh come easy
When di heart less guarded and di breeze more breezy
Now I move slower, but I move more wise
Learn fi read thunder inna people eyes
Loss is a teacher wid a hard hand
Still it shape di soul and help it stand
Pain write poetry inna hidden way
Turn black smoke to a break of day
Ashes pon di skyline, still I see gold
Story of di broken yet brave untold
Ashes pon di skyline, ember nah dead
Jah keep a small fire where tears once shed
No need fi boast, no need fi prove
A humble root still know fi move
Under asphalt, under stone
Life still push where it once was gone
So when di skyline wear its scars
I bless di cracks and I bless di stars
Cause not all beauty come polished clean
Some glow brightest where di wound have been
Ashes rise, drift and spin
Night outside and light within
Ashes rise, skyline wide
Jah walk silent by I side
10) Morning through the Smoke
Morning through di smoke, blue-grey veil
Night still whisper inna every trail
Birdsong start where di siren cease
Thin likkle line between grief and peace
Sky unbutton over block and crane
Fresh light settle pon di soaked windowpane
I and I stand wid di same old scars
Yet something softer breathe through di bars
Whole night long I reason and trod
Through di city, through miself, through God
Through dub echo, through rain and steam
Through memory lane and broken dream
Now dawn nah come like a flashy parade
It come like mercy inna cooler shade
Quiet and plain, but true all through
Like Jah say gently, “I still deh wid you.”
Morning through di smoke, carry I on
From di deepest watch to di edge of dawn
Morning through di smoke, clear I sight
Roots inna darkness, crown inna light
Last ember fade, but di warmth remain
Not every ending wash away pain
Some tings stay, but dem lose dem sting
When yuh hear creation begin fi sing
So I give thanks fi di night just passed
Fi every lesson hidden inna cast
Fi every shadow that taught I grace
Fi every silence that show Jah face
Morning through di smoke, seen? we rise
Not spotless, but stronger and more wise
Morning through di smoke, one more day
Reggae after dark still lead di way
- Lyrics Mix - 4am Haze
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