(Intro - Instrumental)
Percussion pulse, congas and shakers
Horn stab — two notes — call and answer
BPM ~104, heavy bass, open hi-hat groove
(Verse 1)
Offin runs black where the sluice pipes sing,
Collapsing pits gape — children don't laugh, they cling.
Wooden pans, trembling hands, sieving in the night,
Mercury flashes like a broken, hungry light.
Mothers count empty bowls, fingers stained with ore,
Fathers gone by torch, down where the earth is tore.
A school closed to dust — a torn chalkboard dream,
The river carries names like a slow, drowned scream.
(Pre-Chorus - Call & Response)
Call: Eyes on the hillside —
Response: We see the graves.
Call: Boots on the shoreline —
Response: We feel the waves.
(Chorus - Chant)
Echoes of Galamsay — call the night.
Echoes of Galamsay — hold the fight.
Echoes of Galamsay — hear the cry.
Echoes of Galamsay — we won't let it die.
(Verse 2)
Motor engines coughing, diesel on the breeze,
Collapsed pit’s a maw, swallowing cassava trees.
Ankobra and Pra whisper with salt and shame,
Buckets for a day's wage — but who will name the blame?
A child with bare feet, carrying two sticks of fire,
Grandma's bracelet gone, sold for a small desire.
Neighbors trade silence like it's currency tight,
While distant chiefs count coins by lamp's dim light.
(Pre-Chorus - Call & Response)
Call: Who holds the water? —
Response: We all will stand.
Call: Who will mend the banks? —
Response: Every hand.
(Chorus - Tightened)
Echoes of Galamsay — call the night.
Echoes of Galamsay — hold the fight.
Echoes of Galamsay — chant it loud.
Echoes of Galamsay — gather the crowd.
(Bridge - Turning Point / Protest)
Under the moon we gather — drums like a heart,
Voices like machetes, cutting lies apart.
Chant: No more pits that swallow our sons!
Chant: No more poison when the morning comes!
We raise the call — the chorus becomes a rope,
Pulling tired hands up toward a new hope.
Repeat (chant): No more Galamsay — no more pain!
Repeat (chant): Heal the river — bring back the rain!
(Chorus - Consequence & Hope Variation)
Echoes of Galamsay — the rivers call us home.
Echoes of Galamsay — we will rebuild the loam.
Echoes of Galamsay — hands in soil, seeds sown.
Echoes of Galamsay — this land will breathe and grow.
(Outro - Vocal & Chant Layering)
Call: Hear Offin, Pra, Ankobra say —
Response (chants layered): We mend, we plant, we stay.
Horn lifts, percussion fades to a heartbeat,
Children singing names into the clean, clear deep.
Final chant (soft then rising): Echoes of Galamsay — turn the night to day.
(Arrangement Notes)
- Tempo: 100–110 BPM (recommend ~104 BPM)
- Groove: heavy congas, shakers, syncopated snare, deep sub bass pocket
- Horns: stabs for chorus (trumpet/sax harmony), bright call-and-response lines
- Backing vocals: layered chants and call-response in chorus/bridge for authenticity
- Textures: electric guitar clean muted stabs, keys (rhodes) for warmth
- Production touchpoints: gritty field-recording ambience (river, sluice), re
