THIRD WORLD CHILD
Bits of songs and broken drums
Are all he could recall
So he spoke to me
In a bastard tongue
Carried on the silence of
The guns
“It’s been a long long time
Since they first came
And marched thru’ our
Village
They taught us to forget
Our past
And live the future in
Their image
Chorus:
They said
‘You should learn to
Speak a little English
Don’t be scared of a suit
And tie
Learn to walk in the
Dreams of the foreigner -
I am a Third World child’
The out world’s dreams
Are the currency
That grip the city streets
I live them out
But I have my own
Hidden somewhere deep
Inside of me
In between my father’s fields
And the citadel of the rule
Lies a no-man’s land which
I must cross
To find my stolen jewel
Chorus:
They said I should
‘Learn to speak a little
Bit of English
Maybe practise birth control
Keep away from
Controversial politics
So to save my Third World soul’
They said
‘You should learn to
Speak a little English
Don’t be scared of a suit
And tie
Learn to walk in the
Dreams of the foreigner -
I am a Third World child’
Wo ilanga lobunzima
Nalo liyashona
Ukuthi nini asazi
Musa ukukhala
Mntanami
Bits of songs and broken drums
Are all he could recall
But the future calls his name
Out loud
Carried on the violence
Of the guns
“I can speak a little bit of English
I am the seed that has survived
I am the fire that has been woken
I am a Third World child.”