People want to be free, people got to be free No matter what color, class or creed you may be I want you to be merry — I hope you're feelin' irie 'Cause I've seen people dancing in the street Some don't have a bite to eat But them a make merry So hot, them a make merry Some try to put the best outside Some try to find a place to hide What you sow, it's that you reap Silent river runs deep, yeah, oh yeah See, never give a man more than he can bear What about your time when you ought to get your share What I mean to say, that if you're wrong, wont you say you're wrong 'Cause this race is not for the swift Neither does the battle for the strong So my people does not care of what the crisis may be Them a make merry, them a make merry Some a rock steady, dancing in the street Dem say this waiting might be long Dem want I to left right — do wrong But this race is not for the swift Neither does the battle for the strong So my people does not care of what this crisis may be Dem a make merry, dem a make merry Yet dem belly empty Dem a make merry. . . .