Archive entry · NB-0009
Never Again
Nubian Beats
Cinematic · 5:20
Description
We remember the Rwandan genocide but we also remember the many attrocities committed by those who have not learnt from history.
Lyrics
(Soft whistle alone. Low humming underneath.) Intro — Spoken We gathered again this year… To remember the dead. The hills of Rwanda still remember. The rivers still remember. The bones beneath the earth still remember. And yet humanity keeps sharpening the knife again. Verse 1 April rain falling over Kigali Smoke drifting slowly through the trees Mothers searching empty churches Calling names into the breeze The radio spoke and hatred answered Neighbors turned to hunting men And the world stood watching quietly Whispering, “Never again…” But Darfur cried beneath the fire Juba cried in fear and pain And somewhere deep inside the Congo History began again Chorus Never again Never again How many graves must Africa defend? Never again Brother against brother When will the madness end? Oh Rwanda cried Darfur cried Juba cried the same If hatred can be taught to children Then love can be taught again Verse 2 You the Dinka, the Kikuyu, the Tutsi, the Hutu Tell me now… what color is your soul? You the proud and the forgotten What hatred made your spirit cold? You the Mundari, the Nubian, the Hausa, the Igbo Tell me now… what color is your blood? When the bullet enters the body Does it not spill the same red flood? Bridge — Spoken Tell me something… This Creator we all cry to in the night… Is He Hausa? Is He Mandinka? Is He perhaps Kikuyu? When the rain falls from the heavens Does it choose tribes first? When hunger enters the village Does it ask for language? When death finally arrives… Does the grave separate the bones? Verse 3 You the Acholi, the Luo, the Maasai, the Baganda Did you choose the tribe you claim? Or were you simply born among it Then taught another man to blame? Who divided the human family? Who taught children how to hate? Who whispered poison into villages Then vanished while we sealed our fate? Pre-Chorus And the great Nazarene once told us: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If only we listened… If only we remembered… Perhaps the rivers would still run clear. Perhaps the children would still be here. Final Chorus Never again Never again We cannot become the fire again No more mothers digging graves No more brothers soaked in pain Oh Rwanda cried Darfur cried Juba cried the same If we keep feeding ancient hatred We will repeat the pain Never again… For anyone. Outro (Whistle returns softly.) Tell me… Before the tribes were named… What were we? (Long whistle fades into silence.)