1. |
Chembe cha ngano
02:10
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for the hungry a grain of wheat
for those who would fight, fight just to eat
forced away from the self-sufficient land
lines of support cut down
taken away from home, subject to an other
now you carry a pass, you carry them on your back
one man owns all of this, not a grain of wheat to call your own
lives displaced, another state born this way
Waiyaki wa Hinga was buried, betrayed and buried alive
fought back when Lugard broke the treaty
buried upside down in the earth
colonialism has people with their heads upside down
and all of these memories buried in the ground
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2. |
Morning
04:01
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(instrumental)
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3. |
Betrayal
05:24
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out into the blue, never to return, out into the blue
a man out at sea is an insect, an insect on a splinter
that’s where I met my end, on the foreigner’s ship
with rats on the lines...
out into the blue, never to return, out into the blue
he will not cooperate with those in control
and goes to file his complaint across the sea
the ship's captain takes a king's bribe
Hasan slipped his cable before he returned
a sailor sewed him up in the canvas
and out of the fog death appeared, out at sea
these crimes at sea will go down like a sunken treasure
secrets that no one will tell
a murdered ghost will warn the son
one day they'll conspire against you as well
go out into the blue...
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4. |
Miseducation
02:15
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at seven years old the son was sent away
to be educated and taught to obey
baptized with a foreign name
an orphan with power alone just the same
the young sultan prays, prays to some god out at sea
like the mariners of all ages and the merchants before him
in the shadow of the sun, they tried to mold this son
as one of their own, trained to sit upon a throne
to ensure cooperation inside a palace of gold
alienated from the people and haunted by his father's ghost
in the shadow of the sun, Yusuf the son of Hasan
then the trade winds collide and there is a strange calm
and a voice said father, father was murdered
and I was raised with lies...
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5. |
Trains to the coast
04:23
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it’s a train whistle in the morning that changes your plans
the Sikhs built the tracks that reach Kisumu from the coast
when the single line’s derailed there will be hours of delay
to get to Mombasa you’ll have to find another way
the railway runs from the shipping ports to the mines
that’s how the system was set, that’s how they built the lines
that’s how they built the lines from the ports to the mines
from the coast into the land
out the window there’s a single lamp light
faces appear from the dark of the night
they are leaving their farms and going to the town
at the dead of night into the arms of fate
now the emptying villages watch as the trains pass by
there’s a fire in that railroad town
there's an accident that burned the whole place down
it's a train whistle in the morning
wake in a strange place, wake up
and there’s a school in this railway town
do these children know what history brought down?
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6. |
Mackinnon Road
02:10
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long before they named the town after Mackinnon
he consorted with Leopold the mad devil king
long before the machetes were gleaming
on the Standard’s front page
men were driven mad by the sun pacing their colonial cage
the brute Stanley worked for Leopold
he took money from Mackinnon
he who works for the English
another captain who will grab as much as he can
shipping subsidies and railway guarantees
the country fails and company profits
what was it called before this? does anyone here know?
there’s a school in this railway town
do these children know what history brought down?
it's controlled by men who never lived here
they have never lived here in Mackinnon Road...
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7. |
Port of Mombasa
02:43
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port of Mombasa where the colonials come
the port of Mombasa where the colonial scum
washes over the town
port of Mombasa where there is always a war
the port of Mombasa where the fire rages
and burns the churches down
war brings wealth to the merchants
slavers and cannibals inhabit this island
these men who have water yet bathe in blood
the empire flat aback, wants to bring others to their knees
former servants keep their posts,
move up to houses with gates
where the signs say mbwa kali and all the lines are drawn
the gunshots ring out from the robbery away in the capital city
I saw the beggars at the station,
former freedom fighters dressed in rags
rewards go to the traitors, rewards to the traitors they said
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8. |
Kilindini Harbor
06:31
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storms rising, swift winds...
was this the place where the warships landed?
where that pirate sultan got himself stranded?
roving has been my ruin and we’re all bound to go
the ocean is exacting and often cruel-acting
there is no mercy, there is only the sea...
down the street at the fort of Jesus
I learned the story of the man
he was outraged by life and by the system in place
and he prayed to his father in a garden
he planned to avenge him and to destroy them
reject their baptism and lies
sink it all out in the deep...
the deep harbor
there is no drought here but there is hunger
there is hunger and there is wheat
at inflated market price hoarded in granaries
they say one man owns all of this
and there's a horde of starving men uprooted
a revolution derailed, just the same sold out
there was a man had a dream
that his brothers would betray him
the story's in all the books, all those holy books
and no prayer beads but an albatross
wrapped around our neck
on the land just dead acacia trees like skeletons
and the marabou storks clacking their beaks
even then the rains fell like clockwork
but now there is flood and there is drought
there is only flood, there is only drought
deconstruction of an empire this is the final stage
pirates run everywhere
piracy is as old as sea-faring and imperialism’s hit the fan
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9. |
A sort of buccaneer
04:04
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washed ashore again, sharpen the dagger
out to sea again with a pirate’s swagger
in the harbor town of Mombasa, a man they called Jeronymo
the boy was called Yusuf the son of Hasan
killed the captain, killed everyone in the town
the lies of the empire he said, I will burn them down
all the lies of the empire stacked up like freight
all stacked up like freight at the port of Mombasa
Portuguese forts line the coasts
from China to the Cape of Good Hope
without a passport no ship sails, no legal ships sail
now they are coming for me
beware the merchants, the tides
the rewards go to the traitors and I go to the sea
there is no fair wind home just this pirate’s life for me
am I a failure not to rebuild?
not to shore up the ruins but raze the town?
it is better to die than surrender
not to live in this manner but to fight
he cried at his father’s grave
he prayed in the garden and that's where they found him
he heard the sea, it was calling
up in the old hotel, hear the porters outside
it’s safer at sea they said
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10. |
Splendid fallback plan
04:16
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in this duel in which we have fallen, this is our defeat
now there is nothing but this splendid fallback plan
when your single line is derailed there will be hours of delay
you’ll have to find a way out of Mombasa
you’ll have to find some other way
take yourself down to the fortress
tell them you won’t play their game
you'll be waking up the nightwatchman
he lives on fear, guilt and shame
take yourself down the garden
where you prayed to your father’s ghost
that maybe one day a change will come here to land
on this accursed coast
it’s not like wild fire, it spreads more like disease
all along the trade routes this imperial greed
this disease it is spreading, everything set for conflict
ready to explode and splendid like fireworks
take yourself down to the harbor
burn everything they’ve built
you'll be waking up the nightwatchman
he lives on fear, shame and guilt
there’s blood again in the harbor, set a new course
as the crow flies, set a new course...
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11. |
Kisiwa cha mvita
01:39
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(instrumental)
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12. |
Monsoon
05:45
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the monsoons go one way then they return
I am an orphan, I am adrift
if I stayed on the land, I’d be buried in the ground
whatever is on earth invokes god
and I have gone to the sea
I killed every last one of them
killed the captain and every other traitor
we will fight when moved to do so
I won't apologize unless you pardon me
there is no mercy...
there is only the sea and this leviathan
lost and alone, no fair wind home
to live out his days as a sort of buccaneer
join the merchants, the sailors, the thieves
give up on this life and any justice
leave nothing but a wake...
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The May Day Orchestra St. Louis, Missouri
The May Day Orchestra was founded in 2008 by songwriter Tim Rakel. The current line-up features drummer Mary DeLeonardis, bassist Jake DeLeonardis and guitarist Charlie Tabing. The band is currently releasing installments of their fourth album.
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