If you were to ask me who is the greatest singer/songwriter to be alive in my lifetime, Silvio Rodríguez would be top of the list! His lyrics and melodies touch something so deep someone could say that they have “taproots” of their own. This is the only cover song on the album, though I’ve given it a very distinctly TapRoots flavor. I initially just wanted it to be a simple reggae version of Silvio‘s classic song, staying fairly true to the form, but it very quickly took on a life of its own, and soon was awash with all of the twists, and turns that one might associate with a Taproots musical journey. The opening stomp is a bit that came to me as a separate idea, after wondering what jazz fusion marriage with an Afro Cuban Palo rhythm would sound like and then it just grew from there. Then of course … there was the question of the vocals. For those that know of Silvio's work, he has such a high range and a voice that is so pure that I was fairly sure that I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. I tried singing it an octave lower, but that ultimately didn’t feel right for the power of the song. Then, over the pandemic, a friend of mine began putting together virtual community musical collaborations online when we were quarantined in our homes, as a way to stay connected creatively. On one of the collaborations, there was a young singer, Yaya, whose voice I was immediately taken with. I reached out to her, and it turned out that she was also a big Silvio fan. Her interpretation of his lyrics here captures an emotional depth that I feel like I could never pull off in 100 lifetimes. Thank you Yaya for blessing this track!