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Fela: Tuesday is lady’s night…
Voices: No be tomorrow. Na today. Today! Today!
Fela: Today. Today. Today. Tomorrow. Today. Tomorrow. Welcome. Just put the white man’s machine
for your hand and start confusing yourself, today, tomorrow. When you leave house come here,
Saturday night…Shey you don sleep wake up now? You don come see daylight now. No dey confuse
yourself o. If you wan to confuse yourself, don’t confuse me. Tomorrow, when dey break eh? No be the
one of Ikoyi o, of dead people wey dem dey sleep dey fly, na inside night you get day, night, day, about
four. Dead people. Inside night dey get day, night, day, night, day, night. About three times like that.
Between twelve and six.
Voices: How you take know? How you know?
Fela: How me I know?
Chorus: Yeeeesss!
Fela: Go Ikoyi, you go see show. Wo! You go Ikoyi Cemetery, inside, go enter there. If dem born you
well well. Say you don chop belleful now, you be Oga. Go knock cemetery like about one o’clock, one-
thirty, enter. Come stroll, you know, like say you be Oga. Wo! Dem go turn your head like this…
(indicating backwards). Then you go see show. (Laughter)
Voice: You don go before?
Fela: I don go before? Whether I don go before or not, you go. (Laughter) Na ‘im you go know say…For
Lagos, when I dey for prison, na ‘im I know say, one boy tell me the story of how e go do one work. Him
been dey work for NPA, e come go do one work with three boys gaaaaan! Three Igbo boys. Dem work
be say dem dey dig dead body go sell the bones to one man.
Voice: You’re a liar!
Fela: I’m a liar?
Chorus: Yeees!
Fela: Ehn. I’m a liar, I dey lie on top of toto. (Wild shouting) I must lie on top of toto. I’m a liar. Ode!...Next
week Saturday I go give you that story wey dem dey go dig bones.
Voices: No! Today! Today! Today! Today!
Fela: You wan hear am today?
Chorus: Yeeeees!
Fela: This boy, every time for cell na ‘im e dey give us tory. E give us tory, you know everybody dey
gist. You no go come tell us, ehm, one day there was a Jack and Jill. Na true story ni o. (Laughter) E
say ‘im wan tell us how ‘im loss ‘im four teeth. E say ‘im dey work for NPA. Say ‘im dey live for one house,
everybody go see these boys, dem go go. Dem fit go for like three days. Dem go dey shack, dem don
get money. Him go come see dem for their room, come cack. One day they say ol’ boy, let us teach you
road, say all this 200 naira, 500 naira work you dey do, no be am. No thief o! Legal work gaaaan! Him
come say e go do o. ‘M say you go do? Ok, tonight we dey go. Follow us.
So for night dem come carry jigger, different things, whiskey, shackies, everything, enter moto, come
dey go. Come dey go, dey go, dey go. Come go inside one cemetery wey dey inside bush. They find
that cemetery. Everybody don wear orishirishi juju for their body, everything. Say, you dey fear? Dem
come reach there, dem come throw jigger near one place…
Voice: E no dey there! E no dey there!
Fela: (Addressing the man who interrupted him) I don tell you before…(Laughter) Local monkey…So!
Ha! So say na the work be dis o. Say the work? E say ha! We dey dig dis body now, now, now! We dey
dig the bones. We go carry am go. Say na the money be dat. Ha! Gbosi dey there. No fear o! Say look.
Shack let’s start jo. Na ‘im dem come start. First of all dem know the name of the person, because they
must know the name of the person wey die. Dem start to dig. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. Dem hit the gbosi,
gbaaa! Open the body. Carry the bones. Put am inside bag. Gbru, gbru, gbru gbru, put am inside moto,
yaaam. Carry their thing. Straight! Ijebu Igbo. (Shouts) Dem go meet one man there, one Alhaji like dis.
Voice: Na waa ah!
Fela: The man get one leg, like dis. (Laughter as he moves on one leg) So dey say make ‘im sit down
for parlour. Dem meet the man inside room. So small time all of dem come come out. E done make
money, six thousand. Show am, say, look money. Six thousand. Because you follow us, I go give you
one thousand. Hey eh! Him say one thousaaaand, one night! Ah, the things ‘im wan buy…this one, ‘im
go dey dig dey go ni! (Laughter) E say when dem carry bone give the man, the man go look the bone
like dis. E go say, wetin be the name of the bone? Him go put am like this (Demonstrates the man raising
it up and inspecting it.) If na ‘im, e go pay. If no be ‘im e no go pay. So you must know the name of the
bone.
So every day na so dem dey do. So one day. So..Look this people o. Dem come dey come. Dem come
dey come one night. Dem come reach this village, dem come dey make party. Dem come stop there.
Dem come ask dem say, hey, wetin dey dem do here. Dem come tell dem say dem dey turn the body of
one dead body.
Voices: Fela play now! Ah ah! Stop all this!
Fela: (Continues, ignoring the voices) These boys from Lagos o. Reach village dem dey make party,
dey ask, wetin dem dey do there. Dem say dem dey turn the body of one dead body wey die 40 years
ago. True! Ah! Dem just cack down go sit down yen eh. So, all the thing dem wan do for that party be
say dem wan find out the name of the dead body. Dem come find out sha. Dem come find out where
dem keep the bones. That night na ‘im dem carry the bones. Say that bones na nine thousand the Baba
pay for dem. Ah! So, on the day wey alarm wan blow…
Voice: Which alarm wan blow?
Fela: …dem come go dig the body of one Ogboni man. (Shouts and whistles) E say na so o, say dem no
know o, say this man na Ogboni. E say the man get plot for outside Lagos but e wan make dem bury him
near ‘im house.
Voices: Story o! Fake story!
Fela: Dem come reach there. (Cock crows)
Voice: Morning don reach o!
Fela: Dem come start. Say the man house no far o, like 200 yards. Dem come start. Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki!
Ki! As dem come make the jigger come nack the gbosi like this, gbaaim! Say na ‘im dem see one white
thing come out in their front, yen eh! Say all of them come stand dey look am. Nobody fit move. Na so
dem dey look. Nobody move o! Fit move. So dem come see say dem don put the lights of the house on.
Everybody dey come with ajugba light. So na so dem come jam dem where all of them dey look this
white thing o. So the woman say: “Eyin omo Eko, ekujin jo oku?” Say Lagos boys no dey see dead body
again? Say dem beat. Oh. Dem beat. (Laughter) Say their car, dem lose their car. Dem carry dem go
police station, where dem face charge for stealing dead body (Long laughter and applause)…We’re
going to play for you a tune called M.A.S.S. (Movement Against Second Slavery)
(Music follows)
Voices: No be tomorrow. Na today. Today! Today!
Fela: Today. Today. Today. Tomorrow. Today. Tomorrow. Welcome. Just put the white man’s machine
for your hand and start confusing yourself, today, tomorrow. When you leave house come here,
Saturday night…Shey you don sleep wake up now? You don come see daylight now. No dey confuse
yourself o. If you wan to confuse yourself, don’t confuse me. Tomorrow, when dey break eh? No be the
one of Ikoyi o, of dead people wey dem dey sleep dey fly, na inside night you get day, night, day, about
four. Dead people. Inside night dey get day, night, day, night, day, night. About three times like that.
Between twelve and six.
Voices: How you take know? How you know?
Fela: How me I know?
Chorus: Yeeeesss!
Fela: Go Ikoyi, you go see show. Wo! You go Ikoyi Cemetery, inside, go enter there. If dem born you
well well. Say you don chop belleful now, you be Oga. Go knock cemetery like about one o’clock, one-
thirty, enter. Come stroll, you know, like say you be Oga. Wo! Dem go turn your head like this…
(indicating backwards). Then you go see show. (Laughter)
Voice: You don go before?
Fela: I don go before? Whether I don go before or not, you go. (Laughter) Na ‘im you go know say…For
Lagos, when I dey for prison, na ‘im I know say, one boy tell me the story of how e go do one work. Him
been dey work for NPA, e come go do one work with three boys gaaaaan! Three Igbo boys. Dem work
be say dem dey dig dead body go sell the bones to one man.
Voice: You’re a liar!
Fela: I’m a liar?
Chorus: Yeees!
Fela: Ehn. I’m a liar, I dey lie on top of toto. (Wild shouting) I must lie on top of toto. I’m a liar. Ode!...Next
week Saturday I go give you that story wey dem dey go dig bones.
Voices: No! Today! Today! Today! Today!
Fela: You wan hear am today?
Chorus: Yeeeees!
Fela: This boy, every time for cell na ‘im e dey give us tory. E give us tory, you know everybody dey
gist. You no go come tell us, ehm, one day there was a Jack and Jill. Na true story ni o. (Laughter) E
say ‘im wan tell us how ‘im loss ‘im four teeth. E say ‘im dey work for NPA. Say ‘im dey live for one house,
everybody go see these boys, dem go go. Dem fit go for like three days. Dem go dey shack, dem don
get money. Him go come see dem for their room, come cack. One day they say ol’ boy, let us teach you
road, say all this 200 naira, 500 naira work you dey do, no be am. No thief o! Legal work gaaaan! Him
come say e go do o. ‘M say you go do? Ok, tonight we dey go. Follow us.
So for night dem come carry jigger, different things, whiskey, shackies, everything, enter moto, come
dey go. Come dey go, dey go, dey go. Come go inside one cemetery wey dey inside bush. They find
that cemetery. Everybody don wear orishirishi juju for their body, everything. Say, you dey fear? Dem
come reach there, dem come throw jigger near one place…
Voice: E no dey there! E no dey there!
Fela: (Addressing the man who interrupted him) I don tell you before…(Laughter) Local monkey…So!
Ha! So say na the work be dis o. Say the work? E say ha! We dey dig dis body now, now, now! We dey
dig the bones. We go carry am go. Say na the money be dat. Ha! Gbosi dey there. No fear o! Say look.
Shack let’s start jo. Na ‘im dem come start. First of all dem know the name of the person, because they
must know the name of the person wey die. Dem start to dig. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. Dem hit the gbosi,
gbaaa! Open the body. Carry the bones. Put am inside bag. Gbru, gbru, gbru gbru, put am inside moto,
yaaam. Carry their thing. Straight! Ijebu Igbo. (Shouts) Dem go meet one man there, one Alhaji like dis.
Voice: Na waa ah!
Fela: The man get one leg, like dis. (Laughter as he moves on one leg) So dey say make ‘im sit down
for parlour. Dem meet the man inside room. So small time all of dem come come out. E done make
money, six thousand. Show am, say, look money. Six thousand. Because you follow us, I go give you
one thousand. Hey eh! Him say one thousaaaand, one night! Ah, the things ‘im wan buy…this one, ‘im
go dey dig dey go ni! (Laughter) E say when dem carry bone give the man, the man go look the bone
like dis. E go say, wetin be the name of the bone? Him go put am like this (Demonstrates the man raising
it up and inspecting it.) If na ‘im, e go pay. If no be ‘im e no go pay. So you must know the name of the
bone.
So every day na so dem dey do. So one day. So..Look this people o. Dem come dey come. Dem come
dey come one night. Dem come reach this village, dem come dey make party. Dem come stop there.
Dem come ask dem say, hey, wetin dey dem do here. Dem come tell dem say dem dey turn the body of
one dead body.
Voices: Fela play now! Ah ah! Stop all this!
Fela: (Continues, ignoring the voices) These boys from Lagos o. Reach village dem dey make party,
dey ask, wetin dem dey do there. Dem say dem dey turn the body of one dead body wey die 40 years
ago. True! Ah! Dem just cack down go sit down yen eh. So, all the thing dem wan do for that party be
say dem wan find out the name of the dead body. Dem come find out sha. Dem come find out where
dem keep the bones. That night na ‘im dem carry the bones. Say that bones na nine thousand the Baba
pay for dem. Ah! So, on the day wey alarm wan blow…
Voice: Which alarm wan blow?
Fela: …dem come go dig the body of one Ogboni man. (Shouts and whistles) E say na so o, say dem no
know o, say this man na Ogboni. E say the man get plot for outside Lagos but e wan make dem bury him
near ‘im house.
Voices: Story o! Fake story!
Fela: Dem come reach there. (Cock crows)
Voice: Morning don reach o!
Fela: Dem come start. Say the man house no far o, like 200 yards. Dem come start. Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki! Ki!
Ki! As dem come make the jigger come nack the gbosi like this, gbaaim! Say na ‘im dem see one white
thing come out in their front, yen eh! Say all of them come stand dey look am. Nobody fit move. Na so
dem dey look. Nobody move o! Fit move. So dem come see say dem don put the lights of the house on.
Everybody dey come with ajugba light. So na so dem come jam dem where all of them dey look this
white thing o. So the woman say: “Eyin omo Eko, ekujin jo oku?” Say Lagos boys no dey see dead body
again? Say dem beat. Oh. Dem beat. (Laughter) Say their car, dem lose their car. Dem carry dem go
police station, where dem face charge for stealing dead body (Long laughter and applause)…We’re
going to play for you a tune called M.A.S.S. (Movement Against Second Slavery)
(Music follows)
