Duppy

Woke to blood on the gate
Witchcraft whispered by maids
The fear under the mask, my father's face ashen
Hands grasping held us back
We were kids laughing
A few months later, the hearse had him

Graveside, women clutch white napkins
Black magic, rumors it wasn't, no accident
State funeral, uniforms and acronyms
Eat with the dead, pour strong spirits, we Africans
Yeah, me and my sister, we never really laughed again

It's obeah we come for and paid good money
Last weapon of the poor, for these children went hungry
Blood on the door, buried charms, paw of monkey
Macbeth palms, dry-eyed in the beloved country
Burglar alarm reach for the heat find nothing
Die quietly in your sleep
They still say your wife did something
Upon your house a pox, a fortnight, body in a box
Don't believe me, just watch

I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a dead man)
I see fire in a

Once upon a lynching
Rank fumes of incense
Root workers herb mixing
Graveyard dirt pinching
Intention imprint
Fragrant oils holy waters
Sacrifice for those who fell before us
Retreat to the forest where the moon don't shine
And the sun barely sweeps the floor

Four corners, crude shrines, brick dust outlines
Maroon, psychic ties
Humbly we commune perfumed resin
Laws of attraction
Bad blood, black arts
Conjure man incantations
Fireside divination
Don't forget to feed the low when the spirit leads
Tell my horse I'll ride sidesaddle

Star charts and dream books
Papa La-Bas live from the botanical
All white attire with a mugwort amulet
Third eye pierce, geode chevron amethyst
Nature my cathedral, backwater crossroads talisman
Gypsy woman with a fever vision
Destiny altered in this land of the living
Elders whisper, listen in the stillness

I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a)
I see fire in a (I see fire in a dead man)
I see fire in a

I see fire in a (I see fire)
I see fire in a (I see fire)
I see fire in a
I see fire in a
I see fire in a

And I'ma party, ooh
Yeah, I'ma go to Montenegro, I'ma go to Vegas
And I'ma go with enough money
In my hip pocket to catch 'em bad bitches
You know what I mean?

That's bullshit
You not gonna do nothing like that
I'll tell you what you gonna do
You gonna get a job
That's what you gonna do
You gonna get a little job
Some job a convict can get
Like scraping of trays in a cafeteria
Or cleaning out toilets

And you're gonna hold on to that job like gold
Because it is gold
Let me tell you Jack, that is gold
You're listening to me?
And when a man walks in at the end of the day
And he comes to see how you done
You ain't gonna look in his eyes
You gonna look at the floor
Pay attention to what I'm saying, motherfucker
And then he's gonna look around the room to see how you done

He's gon' say, "Oh, you missed a lil' spot over there"
And you're gonna suck all that pain inside you
And you're gonna clean that spot
And you're gonna clean that spot
Until you get that shining clean
And on Friday, you pick up your paycheck