Son of Nobody

*SON OF NOBODY* I was born in the Trenches In the walls and roof with no fences Drank from the seasonal rivers Trust me we knew no povereties We labour to live and not to gather properties On the water different catch was our only envies And when father went hunting Meaty dinner was sure with my aunties I was a son of nobody And i lived with no enemy Aside hunger I had no worry Simply respect for my elders My care for my little brothers Much love and prayers to my ailing mother And cold fear to my scolding father That was my life, a son of nobody Known by nobody aside my clans We speak less in in the midst of numbers Contented in my little I craved nothing much than stomach Take no candy from a stranger Just be nice and pleasant For the good you do to others And the pain you inflict on the vulnerable You'll live to reap the reward before you die The simple life rules mama taught us I was a son of nobody Living to wear danshiki Dancing with the masquerades Our joy at the new yam festivals Dusty feet at the market square Stamping to the rhythm of the ancient drums Cheering to the women in aso-oke Wrapped round their bumpy chests That was my joy a son of nobody Under the thatched sheds made from raffia Where mosquitoes bring no fever But the angers of the gods pollute the streams with cholera In my beautiful village where snake venom never kills But the abandoned diety can cripple the children with polio Tales of our grandfather's told at moonlight Hero that fell the elephant with his cap That was how we wrapped our days Son of nobody had his lullaby I'm just a son of nobody Living my life with no worries Dreamt of a day I'll be somebody Meet a princess from ivory Make plenty children of my own Whom I'll tell my stories Here I am a child of many glories As told in the witch doctor's story All the talks and thoughts feel funny Because after the story of the big glory Here I'm still a son of nobody