Season 7 Finale "Lift Up Your Head"

Because righteousness govern the world.

Broadcasting live and direct from the rolling red hills on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica, from a magical place at the intersection of words, sound and power.

The red light is on, your dial is set, the frequency in tune to the Rootsland podcast.

Stories that are music to your ears.

Well, hello, sunshine.

Where's that smile?

Henry, I told you I wasn't in the mood to record this week.

I.

I know, I know.

I thought we weren't going to do a show about the election.

I don't think anybody's in the mood.

I wasn't in the mood either, but we've had a lot of listeners reaching out.

Anyway, read this letter.

Let me get your opinion.

Okay?

Okay.

I'll send it to your phone.

I don't have my phone.

You don't?

All right, here, read it off mine.

Oh, okay.

Okay, go ahead.

Dear Henry and Sia, I woke up this morning once again with a heavy heart.

Last week's news of the presidential election has left me utterly devastated.

My name is Lorna, and I'm a Jamaican born chef and party planner now living in Queens, New York.

Over the past two years, I've come to rely on your show as a source of comfort.

Your voices of reason have helped guide me through some rocky times, anchoring me when my world has felt unsettled and uncertain, and reminding me of my younger days in Jamaica when life was so simple.

I know you're not really a political show per se, and, Henry, you've never really been one to put much faith in politics or politicians, but in this moment, I find myself craving calm and clarity.

The thought of Donald Trump, a man I view as a liar and bully, occupying the highest office in the land is simply too much for me to bear.

As a woman in her mid-60s, I worry deeply for the future of my daughters and grandchildren, their reproductive right and health.

I fear we are poised to take giant leaps backwards.

It may be selfish, but in times like this, I long for the voices.

I trust your voices.

Maybe you can say a few words and offer a shoulder to cry on for a devoted listener.

Sign, Ms.

Lorna.

Well, what do you think?

Well, after listening to this letter.

Yeah, we needed to do a show.

I'll just say a few words like she says.

Well, you know how my few words go.

It may be more than a few.

Okay, just don't drag it out too long.

First of all, thank you for the letter, Ms.

Lorna.

And we're honored that you consider us to be voices of reason.

Right, Sia?

Yeah.

Your mom would Be proud.

Oh, my mom would be shocked.

And Ms.

Lorna, we've been getting messages from all over the world.

You're not the only one stressed out over the outcome of the election, especially after it's been drilled into our collective psyche that this is the most important election of all time.

But, Henry, that was the most important election in our life.

Well, that's what they say every election.

But this time it really was.

Which is also what they say every election.

And believe me, I do understand everyone's apprehension and concern, but everyone needs to take a deep breath, keep their composure.

And most important, Ms.

Lorna, this is not the time to lay down your head in defeat.

Look for a shoulder to cry on.

As reggae great Everton Blender says, this is the time to lift up your head and hold it up high.

Lift up your head and hold it up.

I need you.

Season 7 of Rootsland opened with the prologue Ghetto People song, the name Inspired by the 1999 Everton Blender hit.

And let me take a moment to thank the Roots Land Massive for all your support that episode.

Ghetto People song did take home both gold and bronze honors at this year's Signal Podcast Awards.

That's right.

For the most inspiring and best independent episode.

Thank you everyone for your vote.

Actually, we didn't win the listener's choice, but thank you everybody for voting.

We did win from the judges of the competition.

So thanks all the judges for recognizing the importance of this show.

Yes, thank you.

Now, the final chapter of Rootsland is also aptly named for an Everton Blender song, lift up your Head.

Released on Richard Bello Bell's Star trail label in 1994, Bello, a devout member of the Bobo Ashanti sect of Rastafari, and throughout the 90s, his star trail label put out a constant barrage of singles that dominated street dances, music charts, radio airplay, and the tape deck of my Neva.

The Russian jeep that barely carried me to the studio and back.

Oh, I don't miss that van at all.

Hey, hey, hey.

Jealous don't hate on the Neva.

Whatever.

By keeping Rasta culture front and center and featuring the A list talent of the day, Blender, Berus Hammond, Garnet Silk, Yammy Bolo, Anthony B.

And Tony Rebel.

Star Trail was the prototype for how to successfully bridge the worlds of roots, reggae and conscious dancehall.

Decades later, the timeless quality of their songs demonstrates the foresight and vision of Star Trail.

And none of their tracks more popular or enduring than Lift up youp Head.

With its driving steppers beat, pulsating baseline, and of Course, Everton Blender's distinctive smokey staccato, delivering the uplifting lyrics.

Time is getting harder still.

We're striving for better.

And we're not gonna stop until the battle is won and we get justice.

Cause if you lose your stand Anyone will try to push you over over and over.

So lift up your head and hold it up high.

We know that we'll win the prize.

Yes, lift up your head and hold it up high.

We know that we'll win the prize.

At the height of that song's popularity, I was at the depths of my struggle with the music industry.

The constant indignities, letdowns, disappointments.

I had to crawl to the labels and beg for royalties I was owed.

Yet somehow, whenever Lift up your head would play, I was always filled with hope and optimism.

I'd be in a dance in Kingston, surrounded by kids collecting bottles, not knowing where they would eat or even where they'd be sleeping that night.

And yet they'd be dancing away, singing and smiling, able to be children and find a few hours of joy and solace within the reggae rhythms.

So why couldn't I?

And for me, it all starts by taking the song lift up your head literally.

When I hear it, I stand straight, put my shoulders back, and lift up my head like a soldier at attention.

And guess what?

Without fail, instantly, I feel energized, empowered.

I later discover that doctors and psychiatrists agree that having the correct posture, the way you carry yourself physically, does affect your mood.

And it turns out when you stand up straight, tall and upright, and hold your head up high, your brain releases endorphins that make you feel better about yourself, give you confidence and self esteem.

Imagine something as simple as lifting up your head can change your entire perspective, give you a fresh outlook on life.

Oh, I didn't know that.

I'm gonna start holding my head up high when I walk too.

Okay, just don't trip on anything on the ground because I know you're gonna blame me.

That's funny.

And I don't mean to make light of the situation or anyone's disappointment, but the truth is, Ms.

Lorna, don't look for a shoulder to cry on.

Look for a friend to lean on.

And the Rootsland family is here.

Anytime they say you do not know what you have until it's lost.

You think that's just for love?

No, that's for life.

And for some people, the reality is set in that rights, freedoms and privileges that we were all born with have been taken away.

Rights and freedoms that were encoded in laws with rulings made by judges in the nation's highest courts.

And everybody just assumed that the battle was over.

Thanks to a generation that suffered horrendous indignities to secure these rights.

Thanks to our best and brightest boys and girls who sacrificed their minds and bodies on faraway battlefields to preserve these freedoms.

Maybe so long ago and so far away that we forgot how alienable our unalienable rights truly are.

Did we really think we could just coast along on the sacrifices of others?

Do we really deserve to?

There's a Revolutionary War expression that says the price of liberty is constant vigilance.

And now we know the cost of falling asleep on the job.

You're fired.

The system knows all too well how to divide and distract us.

And while we're busy watching reruns of the Real Housewives and trying to figure out which flavor of Ben and Jerry's to pick up, they're slowly and silently chiseling away at our freedoms.

Complacency their best tool.

Ms.

Lorner.

I wish it was different, but there is no comfort in freedom.

There are sleepless nights and restless days.

And you have to get your hands dirty.

Sticky more than just peeling off an I voted sticker and then posting a pic on ig.

We are the control group in a social experiment called democracy.

The way we act now and how we fight for its survival will determine if it even exists in the future.

So true.

So true.

Sia, have you ever heard of Horace Mann?

Yeah, that name does sound familiar.

Wasn't he a famous black teacher or something?

Yeah, you know, I thought he was black too.

Maybe because there are so many Horace Mann high schools in the inner cities.

I don't know.

Turns out he's a righteous white guy that spent his life fighting to abolish slavery and standing up for the rights of the less fortunate.

He was born in 1796, not even a decade after the ratification of the Constitution.

Horace Mann was the son of a poor farmer, never got a chance for a real education because he spent long hours working on the family farm helping out his dad.

Yet any chance young Horace had, he'd go to the town library, spend hours reading books, learning languages, getting lost in the stories with the wide eyed wonder of a curious child.

And that self taught boy would grow up to become known as the father of American education, spearheading the common school movement that ensured every child could receive a free public education, regardless of race, class, religion or background.

He understood that the best path forward as a nation was to have an educated Knowledgeable and informed population.

He was known for personally inspecting every public school set up under his initiatives to make sure they were up to standard.

I can just imagine what you think about public school nowadays.

Oh, boy, I could imagine.

But that's a whole nother story.

We'll get to that.

He probably turned in his grave.

My favorite quote by Horace Mann is something that he actually lived.

Be ashamed to die until you have won a small victory for humanity.

Small victories.

You don't have to be the first black woman president, although never stop trying.

You don't have to be the one who finds the cure to cancer.

But please, never stop searching.

The ancient Talmudic proverb states that he who saves a life, saves the world entire.

Just one life.

A friend, a family member, a stranger.

Because you never know the ripple effects that one small act of kindness could create.

Now, I'm ashamed to admit it, but as I get older, I realize I have not yet won my small victory for humanity.

But I am proud to say that I am still in the fight.

And this show is where I've planted my flag, make my stand for Bob, Andy and Deadly Headley.

Eddie Fitzroy and Brian from Colorado.

I let them all down while they were alive.

I should have done more for them, could have done more for them.

I was just so young, naive, idealistic.

And all I can do now is my best to preserve their names, memories, accomplishments, and most important, the life lessons that they instilled in me, which I'm passing to you, Ms.

Lorna, Jen J, Margiel, Daylen, Billy, my precious daughter, Asha, the whole Rootsland family.

You know, I remember shortly after Deadly Headley passed away in 2016, I watched an old interview where Headley was asked if he ever felt angry or bitter that the songs he wrote and melodies he composed went on to earn millions of dollars for other people.

While he never financially benefited from his work, the ever so humble Deadly Headley smiled and he said he was just honored that people loved his music and melodies so much they would become hit songs.

Still, the interviewer persisted, and finally Headley admitted that if he ever really dwells on the past for too long, it could stress him out, give him a headache.

But when that happens, you know what Headley said he did?

What was that?

What did he say?

He goes home, makes a cup of tea, draws the shades and gets a good night's rest.

He wakes up to a new day and makes beautiful music.

That's so sweet.

Headley was such a blessing.

Headley was born in the ghetto and he died in the ghetto never owned a car or a house.

And every day up until the day he died at 85, he would gather up his strength, grab his saxophone and take a bus or taxi to the studio.

Looking for some work all along the way, gazing up into the hills surrounding Kingston, staring at the lavish homes, luxury estates of Jamaica's top music producers, studio owners, singers and DJs, many who built their foundations thanks to the artistry and innovation of men like Deadly Hedley Bennett.

And as much as he dreamed of one day owning a home, nothing fancy.

He was never jealous or envious of another musician's success.

Miss Lorna, I hope I'm giving you a little clarity or calm here and I didn't lose you back at Horace.

Man, I know the cure to your ails may not be as simple as Headley's remedy of a cup of tea, a good night's sleep and a new day of making music.

But you're a chef, right, Miss Lorna?

So wake up to a new day and do something you love.

Bake a batch of beautiful chocolate chip cookies and give them to someone who could really use a boost.

Someone who's not on Ozempic.

And no, it's not gonna solve world hunger.

But remember, small victories for now.

And we go from there.

And Ms.

Lorna, you can send a batch to me and.

See ya.

No nuts, right?

You're allergic to nuts?

Yeah.

And no nuts.

So all the nuts.

All nuts except for walnuts.

Okay, walnuts.

You're good.

So tell her where she should send them.

The intersection of words, sound and power.

Until we meet again One love and Lift up your head hold it up high.

Lift up your head and hold it up Fine.

We know that we win the fight.

I'm getting harder still we striving for better and we not going to stop till the battle if one and we get justice Cause if you lose your st Anyone will try to push you.

Over.

Over and over Lift up your head and hold it up high.

We.

Know that we'll win the prize Lift up your head and hold it up.

I.

We know that we win the.

Prize.

Don'T be discouraged baffled Pitfalls and they were riches they enjoy for one night for joy cometh in the morning and if you lose your soul there's nothing to gain it will be over over Lift up your name and only talk eyes we know that we'll win the prize Lift up your man and hold it up Ally we know that we'll win the prize Go cheap because my wife win nasty Kona King Nazi blessing.

I know no blessing.

Cause if you lose your thing, there comes someone to push you over.