[Intro]
When time is calling no earthly power can stop it,
Regardless of size, it's time to rise up and give
What belongs to Sisa and what belongs to the people.
(chant: Time a call — rise up now)
[Verse 1]
No power can hold di bell, hear how it swell,
Market Lane drum, feel di rhythm inna di shell.
Copper keys clink at the harbour gate,
Children line by school, patient for their fate.
[Pre-Chorus]
Dawn a skank but the message loud,
Voices gather from every crowd.
Mi seh rise up, mi seh call di crew,
From little yard to avenue.
[Chorus — Main Hook]
Time a call — we rise and take our own! (rise up now)
Time a call — dem cyaan stop we now! (no, dem cyaan)
Give back di keys — give to di people town! (give to di people)
Time a call — we rise and take our own!
[Verse 2]
Bring back di fishing nets, reopen old market stalls,
Bread ovens glow, vendors answer di calls.
Paint di gates with names we used to know,
Mothers selling fish, children laughing inna row.
[Pre-Chorus]
Brass cut clean through di morning heat,
Skanking heartbeat — marching feet.
No law too big, no chain too tight,
We claim our rights here in broad daylight.
[Chorus — Variation]
Time a call — we rise, we take our own! (rise and take)
Time a call — dem cyaan turn we down! (turn we down)
Give back to Sisa, give back to di people now! (give back now)
Time a call — we rise, we take our own!
[Bridge — Clarify Sisa]
Sisa — she a sister, elder, keeper of di keys,
Not a word to fear but a name that frees.
We hand di keys back to Sisa's steady hand,
Open up di house, let di people stand.
Down on Copper Market we form di line,
Keys in hand, we step, one heart, one sign.
[Chorus — Final, Key Lift]
Time a call — we rise and take our own! (answer loud)
Time a call — dem cyaan stop we now! (answer proud)
Give Sisa what’s hers, give to di people’s crown! (give to di people)
Time a call — we rise and take our own! (rise up now)
[Ad-libs / Call & Response]
Lead: When time is calling — Crowd: Rise up now!
Lead: No earthly power — Crowd: Cannot stop it!
Lead: Big or small — Crowd: We rise together!
[Outro]
When time is calling no earthly power can stop it,
Regardless of size, it's time to rise up and give
What belongs to Sisa and what belongs to the people.
(soft: Mi seh — rise up now. Fi di people. Give back di keys.)
[Performance & Production Notes]
- Tempo: 78–82 BPM (one-drop reggae pocket).
- Groove: warm guitar skank on 2/4 and light palm-muted on off-beats; heavy one-drop kick; deep, rounded bass line locking with kick.
- Brass: punchy trumpet/tenor hits on pre-chorus and stabs in chorus variations; harmonized horn pads for final key lift.
- Backing vocals: call-and-response group (male choir) on choruses; subtle female oohs in the bridge for texture.
- Arrangement: intro chant → verse → pre-chorus → chorus; mid-song percussion breakdown before final chorus; last chorus modulates up a whole step for lift with stacked harmonies.
- Instrumental touches: steel pan faintly under verses for island color; hand
