Ten Lashes

Don’t you worry about the wicked
Who succeed in their evil ways
Soon their memory will fade away
They will die like plants that wither
Disappear like smoke
It may seem a long time coming
And the suffering never ends
When they think they’ve got it all
They will fall like flies in the fire
Disappear like smoke
So stand! Even when the system is turned all against you
Stand! Even when they come to take and rub you out
Stand! Even when they say —
Give him ten lashes, give twenty lashes, shut his mouth forever
Hit him on the head o, beat him on the body too, teach him a lesson
Iduro l’a duro l’onitoun sa’re wa,
O l’oun o je gba’ru e b’o s’oun
Ka f’oju eni gbo’le, ka gba t’owo eni
Ka tun bu’yepe si ni l’enu
Ijoko la joko, l’onitoun sa’re de
O l’oun o je gba’ru e ni t’oun
Ka fi’ya je baba, ka mu’ya s’eru
Ka wa f’omo s’owo ile igbonse
Stand! Even if you don’t believe anything will change
Stand! Even when it seems all hope is lost
Stand! Even when they say —
Give him ten million, pay him in dollars, shut his mouth forever
Hit him on the head o, beat him on the body too, teach him a lesson