MAMA ONILE

[Intro] (Intro: Low, vibrating [Upright Bass] drone. A slow, rhythmic [Dirty 1920s Blues Harmonica] breathing.) (Deep Female Spoken Word: Smoky, authoritative) "Mama Onilé... the ground beneath my feet that never moves. I’m calling to the bone of the world. The ancestors are sleeping in your skin, and I’m just walking on the surface. Quiet... listen to the earth speak." [Verse 1] (Add a heavy, muffled 4/4 Afro-house kick drum. [Log Drum] enters with a heartbeat rhythm) I’m digging down deep where the roots start to gold Touching the stories that never been told The mountain is my sister, the stone is my bed I’m wearing the red clay like a crown on my head The wind can blow lonesome, the sky can turn gray But Mama Onilé keeps the world in its place [Chorus] (Drop: Sub-bass swells. [Layered Gravelly Chants] from a female choir) Onilé fún mi ní àlàáfíà (Oh-nee-leh foon mee nee ah-lah-fee-ah) Mother of Earth, give me your peace Onilé, ìpìlẹ̀ ayé mi (Oh-nee-leh, ee-pee-leh ah-yeh mee) Foundation of my life, never cease (Harmonica: Long, soulful, distorted notes) [Instrumental Break] (Solo: High-energy [Dirty 1920s Blues Harmonica] soloing over a heavy Afro-house [Log Drum] groove. The rhythm is "grassy" and raw, focused on the low-end pulse.) [Verse 2] (Beat remains steady. [Dirty 1920s Blues Harmonica] plays a haunting, echoing riff) I ain't chasing shadows, I ain't running from time I’m drinking the water from the deep-earth mine There’s a power in the stillness, a fire in the cave I’m the daughter of the mountain, I’m the soul you can’t enslave Every step that I take is a prayer to the floor Mama Onilé, open up the iron door [Bridge] (Drums stop. Only a heavy foot stomp and a handclap) (Vocal: Deep, vibrating humming that turns into a growl) The rock don't break. The soil don't lie. We come from the dust... we return by and by. (Build-up: Fast harmonica trill and tribal snare roll) [Peak Chorus] (Full Energy: Heavy Afro-house bass mixed with 1920s slide guitar and brass) [Layered Gravelly Chants] Onilé fún mi ní àlàáfíà! Onilé, ìpìlẹ̀ ayé mi! [Outro] (Music fades to a single [Upright Bass] note and a distant [Dirty 1920s Blues Harmonica] wail) (Vocal: Low, smoky whisper) The earth remembers. Stay grounded. NZØ.