Ti mari

Ti Mari didn't have a mother, didn't have a father
They took him in, made him work, never sent him to school
And when things go wrong, they beat him with a stick
Ti Mari stays with them, they say he's a beast

Look how the little one eats leftovers
They say it's because he serves people while they walk
That's all they want him to do, they want him to do
But every Saturday night
He takes a bath at the creek, goes to his brother's shack
He shakes the dirt off, throws water, makes you climb (higher, higher)
To talk to the high-class folks, he makes their eyes water

Ti Mari dances samba
Without looking down
Even if he's at the bottom
It's not him they put down

One day it will happen, Ti Mari will rise
Everyone will look at him, everyone is one on earth
Rude Luck says days come and go, better that despite that
Life is like a yo-yo, when it goes down, it goes up
Wednesday night he works, Thursday night he works, Friday night he works...

But every Saturday night
He takes a bath at the creek, goes to his brother's shack
He shakes the dirt off, throws water, makes you climb (higher, higher)
To talk to the high-class folks, he makes their eyes water

Tell me how many mothers shed tears for their families
I'll tell you how many mothers deserve our faith
Tell me why in Haiti children are dying
For the flag, for the country, merchants say laugh, they say laugh

My mind is open but my stomach is tight
I read, I write, I wish I could eat
In the hospital in Port-au-Prince, the children can't cry
Friendship never forgets, one day it will change
No need to talk, no need to shout
Rude Luck is singing for us to listen