Dalit Hymn

Written by: Joshua Moore & Randall Goodgame

Appears on: Share the Well

Lyrics:

Sing from the village, sing from the town
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Sing everyone who has been cast down
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Emancipate, emancipate, Prime Minister, emancipate
Emancipate, emancipate, Prime Minister, emancipate

Sweeping, weaving, tilling the Earth
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Show me the man to deny our worth
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Free the Dalit, free the Dalit, Prime Minister, free the Dalit
Free the Dalit, free the Dalit, Prime Minister, free the Dalit

Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Skin of the buffalo declared unclean
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar, Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar
Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar, Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar

God made every man forward and free
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Rich man, poor man, every man free
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Politically, socially, everybody free
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Rich man, poor man, everybody free
(Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey)
Caste is a lie, caste is a lie, Prime Minister, caste is a lie
Caste is a lie, caste is a lie, Prime Minister, caste is a lie

Emancipate, emancipate, Prime Minister, emancipate
Free the Dalit, free the Dalit, Prime Minister, free the Dalit
Heed Ambedkar, heed Ambedkar, Prime Minister, heed Ambedkar
Caste is a lie, caste is a lie, Prime Minister, caste is a lie

Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey
Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey

See also: MusicBrainz, iTunes.

5 Responses to Dalit Hymn

  1. Chris Hubbs says:
    5/23/2007 at 9:52 pm

    From Randall:

    I wrote the chorus in English to fit the music of the Punjabi lyric, which tells of the Dalit’s plight but resonates in the chorus with “anything is possible with God.” Josh and I stayed up late into the night sweating, eating cold rice and curried chicken, and getting eaten by mosquitos while working out the verses… the next day we recorded the group of Dalits (and one sympathetic non-Dalit musician) singing the chants to the choruses… It was awesome to record and it is inspiring to hear.

  2. Chris Hubbs says:
    5/23/2007 at 9:53 pm

    Sub kooch ho sak-ee dey, translated from the Punjabi, means “Anything is possible with God”.

  3. Chris Hubbs says:
    5/23/2007 at 9:54 pm

    The “Ambedkar” referenced in the third verse is quite likely Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Columbia-educated lawyer who was the prime architect of India’s Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar, a Dalit himself, advocated eradication of illiteracy among the Dalits and non-violent struggle against the symbols of casteism.

  4. Chris Hubbs says:
    5/23/2007 at 9:55 pm

    The characterization of buffalo in the third verse also evokes the terming of Africans as “buffaloes” by Native Americans during the various Indian wars in the American west.

  5. Tim says:
    1/25/2008 at 4:15 pm

    But what the thing at the end of the track? You know what I mean…

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