Femi Nylander - A Poem that Migrates through tongues lyrics

I write from the safety of a nation built on slavery and this poem will migrate through tongues The wrongs of our forefathers place us in a world our fathers will escape And the movement of my father through the throngs of the seas Set me here with the children of the fathers who believed they were best but my father was allowed through their barriers because he was educated and did medicine and so came from the dark continent through to the west,, And so a boy was born Many are not so so lucky, many cannot speak to you, they do not grownup surrounded by words you would understand My tongue is like a weapon in my hand, I manipulate it and make noises and try to make you understand The world extends beyond your borders, the mind extends beyond your words, your lives your sons your daughters are one in a billion it's true but the remaining 999 million are just as beautiful I speak to you ولكن ليس لك فقط (But not only to you) نعم، للأطفال من سوريا ( yes the children of syria) أيضا واحد في المليون (also one in a million) منعت من أرضك، وسدت لغتك (Barred from your land, and blocked from your language) أريد أن أتحدث إليكم من خلال لغتك, نعم لغتك (I want to talk to you through your language, yes your language) ربما كلامي تظهر على الشواطئ، وغرق (Maybe my words appear on the beaches, and drowned) ربما تظهر على الشمس (Maybe they appear on the sun) بعد كل ذلك (After all) The sun deals in words and in fear تأشيرة سهلة بالنسبة لنا (easy visa for us) We do not انتظر (wait) to enter there But you flee from war or the النكبة (crisis)we created and you cannot enter here Un lenguaje que se encuentra en la línea de falla de colonizador y colonizado Espanyol, Hoy el lenguaje de los inmigrantes el jardinero, pero una vez el lenguaje del conquistador (A language that is in the fault line of colonizer and colonized Spanish, Today the language of immigrants the gardener, but once the language of the conqueror) Aparentemente toda América del Sur es mexicano No hay inmigración interna al continente Conocimiento perdidos Cuando en ingles tu google, migration in south america, el premario resulto Es south american immigration in … esados unidos (Apparently all of South America is Mexican There is no internal immigration to the continent Knowledge lost When in English your google, migration in south america, the first result It's south american immigration in ... united states) Realmente Es casi una broma Guatemala? Is that a type of cheese? Bro man? Asimilar y aprender el idioma Pero el nombre de su pais? Too much too know man… you're a mexican (Really It's almost a joke Guatemala? Is that a type of cheese? Bro man? Assimilate and learn the language But the name of your country? Too much too know man ... you're a mexican) And show us some respect again because we're american! We'll build a wall to keep you out and then deport the rest of them ¿Crees que nos importa que huyas de los cárteles y de la guerra? O que es natural moverse a través de la tierra No, no nos importa We do not care El mundo termina en Texas and we are the best E embora eu fui para o Brasil para os Jogos Olímpicos, e não pensei em deslocados para que eu pudesse (Do you think we care if you run away from cartels and war? Or that it is natural to move across the earth No, we do not care We do not care The world ends in Texas and we are the best And although I went to Brazil for the Olympics, and did not think of those displaced so I could,) Through all this the englishman is chilling, the Amercan grinning Le Parisien c'est ça, forte sont leurs pa**eports Et les faibles sont leurs consciences Des hommes qui diabolisent l'autre, qui donnent leur soutien à Theresa May et marine le pen Messengers de la haine Nous sommes ici parce que tu étais là-basVous n'avez jamais de visa L'arab le asiatique, le noir Qui représente le damned de la terre dans les paroles de fanon et le دمde la terre,د م en l'Arabie il represent Le sangre de la terre le sangre sur la terre, And blood on the water (“The Parisian is that, strong are their pa**ports And the weak are their consciences Men who demonize the other, who give their support to Theresa May and Marine le pen Messengers of hate We are here because you were there You never had a visa The arab the asian the black We who represent the damned of the earth in the words of Fanon and the دم of the earth, iدم n Arabic it represents The blood of the earth the blood on the earth, And blood on the water) And it was written that young men were detained in prison then shipped back to jamaica When you spent your whole life in Britain Defaced by the state, allegations of s**ual a**ault, no media debate Campsfield is minutes away from the Sheldonian, migrant detention. disgrace The waves cannot be ruled The waves they wash away and start anew The graves remain one cannot wash a tomb The ways we whitewash history cannot stop the waves from breaking The waves of colour grew the Floodgates of calais cannot remain We pave another route to you You paved railroad so you can take your loot and use them as excuses This excuse we refuse, we watch you act unwise in little England setting ground for your Demise You doing an economic block then act as though you're colonised Your fear betrays you We cannot now allay your fears You set the table of your fate and now the plate is almost here Like the language in this song our news is skewed we only hear of the refugees we fear may break our borders soon 26% of the refugees? in Africa sub sahara Nchini cameroon Hawaonge ki swahili Kwasababo Africa si nchi moja south sudan flee to Uganda [They don't speak swahili in Cameroon, Africa is not a country] Awonaraeko-maan dojutee awon araoko [those in lagos look down on the villager] Awonare ilu-oyinbo maan gbagbe ede won [those in the land of the white man lose their language] Timba fe so yoruba mama a ma komi die die [If I try to speak Yoruba my mum teaches me small small] Shu bon English rolls of my tongue [ but English rolls of my tongue] Le français roule à travers le sahara [French rolls across the Sahara] Uranium du Niger puissance pour la tour Eiffel [Uranium from Niger power for the Eiffel Tower] Domin Hausawa mutane, babu wutar lantarki, babu ruwa , c'est pas regel [For the hausa people no water or electricity it's not Regal] Of African refugees 3% in Europe maybe Amanjast tries to find awetu safety Europe is a cultural creation, separated by the other, peninsula of the Asian continent we know Nothing geographical to separate, not large outside mercator, no plate like the subcontinent of India though Africa is a geographical entity, meant to be huge, mostly water of each side with two thousand languages, more lingustic diversity than 30 Europe's, languages die or are they murdered Displaced words like bodies displaced migrate immigrant dirty, negro Native, Go back to the colonies the princess Says Move within the nation-states we drew for you in 1885 internally displaced Lubnan ila bejing kl layl t'amèn layle [Lebanon to Bejing, all night they are tired] While our humanity fails Is par us par, [this side, that side] partitions, Partition the stage Kiska raj kiskar rage, [who's raj, who's rage] hindu, m**m Move to today, ek alag duniya, aaj ka mudda hai, [a different time, today's issues] Loot shabd, hindee se loot liya [The word loot was stolen from hindi] Mahaan kelli Sanskrit shabt, aaryn hei Braahman aur saphedee, [the word aaryan came from sanskrit, Brahmin and white] foundation of fear and, donon jhooth ka nirmaan [both built on lies], kashmir tears and Bangladesh boundtry taut, ichchha par aag, phelaanee khaton kee maut, [line of fire, Felani Khatons d**h] Alain Kurdi mowt [Alain kurdis d**h] Peter Sabally's d**h Others can live if the boundaries will fall, let's start again"