Sierra Leone
Hand cut off in Sierra Leone
My man fled, chasing Morocco
Up through Guinea, through the Western Sahara
One more train to Tangier, then off to Gibraltar
No Marrakesh express for poor Mamadu
He got robbed coming through Adel Bagrou
Now stuck in Tangier, running a colorful merchant stand
My man looks at Spain with tears of an African
Eyes swelling, selling bed bugged ponchos
?One hand sells to hippies, remember the other is cut off now?
Mamadu witnessed his whole family butchered
All 19 screamed, none much louder than his mother did
Her name means flower in Mende
Her free spirit loved and blazed that djembe
Her name was *click click* Sahid
Made that djembe sing, she did
Now Mamadu, in a state of nothingness,
Country-less, considers the razor, moneyless
50 Dirham a day is barely enough,
’96, the year, he killed himself
Took the razor right to his throat
Couldn’t even afford a stool and rope
Screaming, bleeding out in the road
“No more hope, no more hope!”
My man fled, chasing Morocco
Up through Guinea, through the Western Sahara
One more train to Tangier, then off to Gibraltar
No Marrakesh express for poor Mamadu
He got robbed coming through Adel Bagrou
Now stuck in Tangier, running a colorful merchant stand
My man looks at Spain with tears of an African
Eyes swelling, selling bed bugged ponchos
?One hand sells to hippies, remember the other is cut off now?
Mamadu witnessed his whole family butchered
All 19 screamed, none much louder than his mother did
Her name means flower in Mende
Her free spirit loved and blazed that djembe
Her name was *click click* Sahid
Made that djembe sing, she did
Now Mamadu, in a state of nothingness,
Country-less, considers the razor, moneyless
50 Dirham a day is barely enough,
’96, the year, he killed himself
Took the razor right to his throat
Couldn’t even afford a stool and rope
Screaming, bleeding out in the road
“No more hope, no more hope!”