This is the cry of a people;
Who were robbed and raped from their homeland,
And their loved ones.
A people stripped of their culture,
Their dignity, their liberty and their rights.
And by the cruel and presumptuous,
Hands of the colonial and imperialistic slavers,
Were cargoed into the west,
Where for over 400 years they have toiled and laboured,
And with their blood, their sweat, them tears and hands,
They have built the great city of Babylon,
Only to be paid with the wages of the taskmaster's whip,
Torture and death.

Oh yea yea! This is my history!
Oh yea yea yes! Oh!

We've been down, in the valley much too long.
We've been down, in captivity oh so long.
We've been down, in humility much too long.
We've been down, in slavery oh so long.

But we're gonna rise and shine!
And win our liberation, for now is the time,
When all nations must be free.
So rise and shine!
Restore your strength and power, waste no more time,
Remember your history.

We've been down, in a sufferation much too long.
We've been down, in a condemnation oh so long.
We've been down, in a segregation much too long.
We've been down, in humiliation oh so long.

But we're gonna rise!
As the morning sun that surrounds you,
It's international morality time,
Where mankind must be born anew.
So rise and shine!
For the sake of the younger generations,
Putting hearts and minds, to brotherhood and unity.

Oh yea yea yea yea yes!
Remember the slavemaster's ship!
Remember the taskmaster's whip!
Oh yea!

We've been down, in the valley much too long.
We've been down, in captivity oh so long.
We've been down, in slavery much too long.
We've been down, in humility oh so long.

But we're gonna rise and shine!
And win our liberation, for now is the time,
When all nations must be free.
Rise and shine!
Restore your strength and power, waste no more time,
Remember your history.

Yes we're gonna rise and shine!