[Intro]
Heart of Miami
Mind in La Habana
Two flags
One problem
[Verse 1]
I was raised on croquetas and trauma
Abuela still jumps at the sound of a knock
Stories of midnight arrests in pajamas
Names that she whispers then cuts off the talk
I learned freedom from her trembling fingers
Pointing at maps like they’re open wounds
“Don’t you forget where your blood still lingers
Under those boots and those empty tombs”
They eat lies like daily bread there
Here I’m sipping café, but I’m feeling that stare
From ghosts on the Malecón, choking on fear
Telling me, “Hijito, your comfort’s our tears”
I drive past palm trees, can’t enjoy the view
Every luxury lane feels a little untrue
I got cousins in lines for rice and salt
And a passport that walks me out the vault
[Chorus]
They better free Cuba
Before I choose war over regular life
Before I trade peace for the fire and the fight
I’m talking thunder, hard metal, flashing light
Guns, bullets, war cries cutting the night
They better free Cuba
‘Fore I say goodbye to the safer route
Stop dreaming in silence, start screaming it out
If liberty calls, I’m answering now (answering now)
[Verse 2]
I got friends telling me, “Chill, bro, live
You made it out, you got dreams to give”
But my people back home still swallow their rage
While a frail old man still clutches the stage
You call it politics, I call it prison
See the difference in the stories we’re given?
You scroll past headlines, I scroll through scars
Names of the fallen branded on my heart
If justice needs teeth, then I’ll bare mine
I don’t glorify blood, but I know the line
Between living in chains and dying on your feet
And I’d rather see streets in flames than defeat
I’m not a thug, I’m a son of a stolen island
Pushed to the edge, thinking less about silence
If ballots don’t break that rusted door
Then ballots turn to bandanas and something more (hey!)
[Chorus]
They better free Cuba
Before I choose war over regular life
Before I trade peace for the fire and the fight
I’m talking thunder, hard metal, flashing light
Guns, bullets, war cries cutting the night
They better free Cuba
‘Fore I say goodbye to the safer route
Stop dreaming in silence, start screaming it out
If liberty calls, I’m answering now (answering now)
[Bridge]
Pray it’s marches
Not marches of boots
Pray it’s voices
Not smoke in the roofs
But if they keep choking every shout, every chant
Don’t ask me to sit here and say, “I can’t”
[Chorus]
They better free Cuba
Before I choose war over regular life
Before I trade peace for the fire and the fight
I’m talking thunder, hard metal, flashing light
Guns, bullets, war cries cutting the night
They better free Cuba
‘Fore I say goodbye to the safer route
Stop dreaming in silence, start screaming it out
If liberty calls, I’m answering now (answering now)