Long Way From Yard

Long way from yard (long way)
but the yard never far from me.
Long way from yard (long way)
it's a home I still can see.

Snow on the window of a foreign town,
same grey coat and the same grey frown.
But I close my eyes and the heat come back —
dust on the road and the corrugated track.
Grandma's veranda and the ackee tree,
domino slamming and the whole yard free.
I chase the paper in a colder land,
but my heart still buried in the island sand.

They ask me why I smile when the winter bite —
'cause I carry a summer that they can't fight.
Every mile of ocean, every border guard
can't take the yard out the child of the yard.

I'm a long way from yard tonight, (long way)
yard still burning in the kitchen light. (long way)
In the pot, in the song I hum —
long way from yard, still the yard come.

Long way, long way. (from yard)
Long way, long way. (working hard)
Send the money home on the western wire.

My children speak in a different sound,
but I teach them the roots that hold the ground.
Sunday rice and peas, the steam and the grace,
Grandma's photograph in its wooden place.
The passport heavy and the border cold,
but the yard is a treasure that don't grow old.
One day I'll fly on that homeward plane,
feel the island rain on my face again.

Every mile of ocean, every border guard
can't take the yard out the child of the yard.

I'm a long way from yard tonight, (long way)
yard still burning in the kitchen light. (long way)
In the pot, in the song I hum —
long way from yard, still the yard come.

You can plant a man in the coldest ground,
but the roots go looking for the island sound.
You can freeze the river and you can salt the ground —
still the mango memory come back around.

(long way, long way, from yard)
Count the winters on the foreign wall, (coming home)
long way from yard, but I hear it call.

I'm a long way from yard tonight, (long way)
yard still burning in the kitchen light. (long way)
Save it up and I count the days
till the island hold me in its blaze.

Long way from yard (long way)
but the yard never far from me.
It's a home I still can see.