[Verse 1]

Historical production in the West is almost exclusively a written affair

History books are compiled from archives

Whose endless sheaves of papers are generally produced

By institutions and figures of authority

The truth suffers many casualties in the process

History as we know it typically explains itself

By way of the actions of Great Men and their consequences

In part, as a way to find coherence out of chaos

But men of action rarely leave behind much indication of what was felt by those around them

As they marched and bayoneted their way through time

Their stories are trapped between the bounds of cause and effect

[Verse 2]

Music, on the other hand, knows no such limitations

Its creation is always marked by the moment and place in which it was made

But songs move more freely in time

As a music tradition travels and evolves, its texture is the sum of all it has been before

A drumbeat comes from West Africa to the Caribbean

Where it is combined with instruments from Spain

And used to describe a life very different

From anything experienced on either continent

Living testimonials, these melodies allow their listeners to perceive history through the senses

Instead of the mind