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The Rose of Kordofan

Carl Cleves

She was born beneath the desert sky
The fairest girl in all of Kordofan
He was a shy boy who plucked his lyre
A nomad in a camel caravan
A father's promise must be kept forever
A silver necklace, a golden ring
They knew that they were born to be together
And every evening he would sing
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light

The devils rode in on white horses
And set the huts on fire
No pity, no remorses
They left a funeral pyre
They took his uncle in the middle of the night
Pulled his nails and broke his bones
They found him in the morning light
Amongst the scorpions and the stones
His mother blessed his heart
Said you must leave now
A young man's life's not worth a thing
She held him to her breast
'Son, don't you grieve now
May your song give you wing'
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light

For 7 days and 7 nights
They marched across the frozen peak
When they saw foreign lights
They were too weak to speak
They told them you must hide
Wait for the guide
In a room below the floor
They squeezed them side by side
They shook with fright
With every knock upon the door
They told them you must wait
Behind this gate
Never knowing what's in store
Don't speculate
Upon your fate
Until you reach a safer shore
The sea was rough
There was no roofing on the boat
The waves came crashing in
He knew the end was near
He shook with fear
But the song sang deep in him
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light

He held onto a tyre
So many drowned but he was found
Through fences of barbed wire
He now sees desert all around
They cannot send him back
They cannot free him
They don't know what to do with him
Another refugee loses his sanity
Just a song that no one sings
Oh what a price to pay to be free?
You lock a man away and throw the key
The days and the months and the years go by
A rose slowly wilts and dies