Released: February 18, 1997

Featuring: Youssou N’Dour Shaggy

Songwriter: Shaggy Peter Gabriel Youssou N’Dour

Producer: George Acogny Peter Gabriel

[Intro: Shaggy]
Level level level, level off, level off
Level off, yeah
I gotta shake the tree, gotta shake the tree
Let 'em know, let 'em know, let 'em know, ha ha, yeah
Give it up right, give it up right
Shaggy
Get, get it right, right
What I say, what I say, what I say

[Verse 1: Peter Gabriel]
Waiting your time, dreaming of a better life
Waiting your time, you're more than just a wife
Don't have to do
What your mother has done
She has done
This is your life
This new life has begun

[Refrain: Peter Gabriel]
It's your day
Woman's day
It's your day
Woman's day

[Verse 2: Peter Gabriel]
Turning the tide
You are on the incoming wave
Turning the tide
Know you are nobody's slave
Find your sisters and brothers
Who can hear all the truth in what you say
They can support you
When you're on your way

[Refrain: Peter Gabriel]
It's your day
Woman's day
It's your day
Woman's day

[Chorus: Youssou N'Dour]
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree

[Verse 3: Shaggy]
Changing faces in the strangest places
Tastin' the fruits of our roots, a ha ha ha ha ha ha
Is this just a deja vu
Or tell me is this really true
Hit me like a puzzle, I ain't got a clue
Is this really my imagination
That I'm confronted with these altercations, yeah
Gotta shake the tree, gotta shake the tree
Gotta shake the tree, gotta shake the tree
Well, leave it up to me

[Chorus: Youssou N'Dour]
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree

[Verse 4: Peter Gabriel]
There's nothing to gain
When there's nothing to be lost
There's nothing to gain if you stay behind and count the cost
Make a decision, you can be who you can be
You can be
Tasting the fruit
Come to the Liberty Tree

[Refrain: Peter Gabriel]
It's your day
It's your day

[Verse 5: Peter Gabriel]
Changing your ways, changing those surrounding you
Changing your ways, more than any man can do
Find your brothers and sisters
Who can hear all the truth in what you say
They can support you when you're on your way

[Refrain: Peter Gabriel]
It's your day
Your day
It's your day

[Bridge: Peter Gabriel]
We're gonna break it down
We have to shake it down
Shake it all around

[Chorus: Youssou N'Dour]
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree
Souma Yergon, Sou Nou Yergon
We are shakin' the tree

Peter Gabriel

As a member of Genesis in the early ‘70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his first eponymous solo album in 1977, he began exploring darker, more cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist, and with 1982’s Security, he began to move into the mainstream; “Shock the Monkey” became his first Top 40 hit, paving the way for his multi-platinum breakthrough So in 1986. Accompanied by a series of groundbreaking videos and the number one single “Sledgehammer,” So became a multi-platinum hit, and Gabriel became an international star. Instead of capitalizing on his sudden success, he began to explore other interests, including recording soundtracks and running his company Real World. By the time he returned to pop with 1992’s Us, his mass audience had faded away and he spent the remainder of the '90s working on multimedia projects for Real World.