06 ANCIENT Rivers Lyrics

Rivers

I've seen rivers

Ancient rivers

I’ve known rivers:

Aye aye eh eh Siwale misole oh x2

Nyaka cha esarui mokondo obase aitake odoki o monyako

Cow way no get tail na God dey drive am fly.

Bulu bo Simi dimè miso Bana basu

I bona bato BA senga madoi ma ngoso Africa

There's a star that shine upon Ethiopia

Let the nation's bask in all her brilliance eh eh

Oh Africa Wana WA Isange

de djemo o burisewa o morongo eh

Oh Africa Benga ya Bosangi

Bana babè BA kesere o wa edubé eya eh

Rivers

I've seen rivers

Ancient rivers

I've known rivers

Aye aye eh eh Siwale misole oh x2

Nyaka cha esarui mokondo obase aitake odoki o monyako

Cow way no get tail na God dey drive am fly.

I’ve known rivers ancient as the world

I've seen rivers older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. Weeehh

Wee Africa Bana bato mother of all

Munyenge o buri o bonga mama eh

Fembe eh fembe eh fembe na Nyama

Nde bato BA senga madoi ma Bana mab3 eh

Dialect translation

The night hasn't blinded the eyes of the children of Africa

Let humanity hear the sound of Africa's voice

There's a star...

Oh Africa, child of Isange

Let peace bring you forth to light

Oh Africa, jewel of glory

Your children affer you their singular praise.

Deeper meaning

This was inspired by the poem The Negro speaks of River by Langstong Hughes written in 1920.

"The Negro Speaks of River" traces black history from the beginning of human civilization to the present, encompassing both triumphs (like the construction of the Egyptian pyramids) and horrors (like American slavery). The poem argues that the black "soul" has incorporated all of this historical experience, and in the process has become "deep." The poem thus suggests that black cultural identity is continuous, that it stretches across the violence and displacement of slavery to connect with the past—and that black people have made vital, yet often neglected contributions to human civilization.