Roots Music Report

Credits:

Lyrics

Down at the cradle of the blues,

there ain’t no rocking blue suede shoes,

standing on the African shore.  

Muddy Waters and Clarksdale

seem so close, yet far away,

standing on the African shore.

Among the ruins and the baobab trees

I felt the other face of slavery.                       

Oh, what a revelation, hallelujah,
seeing both sides of the blues.

The Gambia and the Mississippi

are the same river to me,

standing on the African shore.

Kunta Kinteh and B.B. King

have more in common than you think,

standing on the African shore.

Behind that big smile those kids were giving me

I felt the weight of our cruel history.

Oh, what a revelation, hallelujah,
seeing both sides of the blues.

In New Orleans or Juffureh

music tells the same story,

standing on the African shore.

Their roots are both drenched in red.

No white bluesman should forget,

standing on the African shore.

James-Island was my wake-up call.

I ‘d never felt so humbled and small.

Oh, what a revelation, hallelujah,
seeing both sides of the blues.