Hear Me Beat My Drum - Ramadhan Kareem!

A song for children and families celebrating Ramadan, the lunar month of fasting and worship prescribed in the Qur'an. Written and performed by Canadian singer/songwriter Dawud Wharnsby, from his 2013 poetry anthology "Colours of Islam", Illustrated by Shireen Adams and distributed by Kube Publishing (UK).

Hear Me Beat My Drum
(words and music:D.Wharnsby)

The rhythm of your breathing is so soft,
as you lay up in your beds so sweetly dreaming.
Through your windows, smells of bread and sounds of drumming drift and waft,
to fill your nose and ear,
and tell you that the dawn is near.

Wrapped up like baked pastries in your sheets,
I know you're tucked away so warm and cozy.
There's tea, and dates and sweets, a suhur party in the streets,
so get up out of bed!
Come and greet the day ahead!

Hear me beat my drum, as down your street I come.
The moon is falling, I am calling,
to wake you for the day that's on her way.
Get yourselves out of bed, before the night is gone,
to welcome a new day of Ramadan.

Our busy little lives can make us crazy,
and it's so easy to get stuck in a routine.
Doing everything the same way everyday can make us lazy,
so let's take control today,
live our lives in a new way.

So wake up! Stop you're dreaming.
Let us wake the neighbourhood,
to share in all that's good, the pots of ful are steaming,
let's break our dull routine,
let all the world join in the scene.

Hear me beat my drum,
as down your street I come.
The moon is falling, I am calling,
to wake you for the day that's on her way.
Get yourselves out of bed, before the night is gone,
to welcome a new day of Ramadan.

"Hear Me Beat My Drum"
from the book/CD "Colours of Islam"
by Dawud Wharnsby
Illustrated by Shireen Adams
Kube Publishing 2013
www.wharnsby.com
www.kubepublishing.com

"Hear me Beat My Drum was written back in 2006 while I was living in Damascus. How beautiful to have observed Ramadan in that historic city ~ awakened each morning by a joyful drummer in the streets below. I dedicate this song to the people of Syria in their ongoing struggle against oppression."
- D.Wharnsby,
July 9, 2013