Whoa deh deh, oh lord
Whoa these words, these words of thy mouth
Whoa deh deh, woh these words, yes now

I lift my head unto the almighty god
He showed me what I had he said
Stand firm and beat thy drums
An prepare all thy children of Israel
Then wait for thy coming d-a-a-a-why

So I beat the kette drum
And mek it sound in a Jerusalem
And echo round a Jordon-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Echo up in a Zion

So man mi beat di kette, kette
Beat di kette drum 'cause man a no streggae, streggae
From di kette drum unoo get di reggae, reggae
People dem a come an all a say, say ,say ,say
Never know say shocking vibes did deh, deh, deh, deh
Africans a sing a lot a yelleh, yelleh
Beat di kette drum an mek we
Woh, nigh, nigh, Africans a come an dem a
Woh, nigh, nigh, that's why mi sing say

Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
An echo back in a Jordan-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum mek it sound in a Bethlehem
An echo back in a Zion-on-on

So Bingi Man a beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Lick di kette drum Congo Man deh come down
Kick di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Lick di kette drum, Guad Man a come
Marcus Garvey was a prophet, but him still dis di king
Call di king all a coward, and fly a flag against him
Marcus Garvey face death, a could a judgement tek him
But Selassie done did bless him
But 1966 when di king come visit
Ole heap a kette drum a beat a rastaman a beat it
Welve tribe from Israel, Gaud Man dem star it
Watch di bobo dread come, come join it
Well house a dread a come

Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Beat di kette drum, Bingi Man deh come down
Lick di kette drum, bust di kette drum
Knock di kette drum, Congo Man deh come down
Fi beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
An echo up in a Jordan-dan-dan
Kick di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
An echo up in a Zion, one more time
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
Echo back round a Jordan-dan-dan
Lick di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Whoa lord, lord, woh nigh

Whoa, all sons of Selassie me a talk
If unoo love di reggae music, mek di kette drum talk
Indian a beat di kette drum when a war
Ethiopian a answer back from far
Now Jamaicans a beat di kette an a dance
People all a jump an prance
But hear mi sing

[Chorus]

Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Gimmi di kette drum til morning come down
Lick di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Gimmi di kette drum til a morning come

I lift my head unto the almighty god
He showed me what I had he said
Stand firm and beat thy drums
An prepare all thy children of Israel
Then wait for thy coming d-a-a-a-why

So I beat the kette drum
And mek it sound in a Jerusalem
And echo round a Jordon-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Echo up in a Zion

Beat di kette drum, bust di kette drum
Lick di kette drum til a morning come down
Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Beat di kette til a morning, woh lord

Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
An echo back round a Jordan-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem