Said in my journey through the world
Overland and oversea
I see different cultures and different people's ways
I was born where the sun never sets and never rises
I was born where the heat is like a second skin
♪
Children crying on the streets
Automobiles are making noise
The land is growing dry and weak
Spirits dying low
The forefathers calling me
And never tire, never weaken
The pride in me is bursting loose
I'm an African child
♪
On the farm my father called me down behind the tree
He said, "Prostrate at my feet and say a few prayers"
Then he told me all the stories of my brave ancestors
He said, "Look into my eyes son, you were born to great"
So in the twillight I went home
Behind my father with a hoe
Listening to the songs of birds, whispers of the night
I was singing
Seven goats, seven leaves
Seven cowries, seven nuts
Seven lives, that's what've got
I'm an African child
Over, overseas and overland
Over mountains and in the wild
I'll be brave and I'll be strong
I'm an African child
♪
In the evening, mother called me down into her hut
She said, "Lay upon my bossom and say a few prayers"
Then she told me to go forward, never looking back
The spirits are with you and you, you will never fail
So I go into the world, into the deeps, into the wild
In the marketplace, I dance the sound of bata dancing
Seven jumps, seven wriggles
Seven cowries, seven nuts
Seven life, that's what've got
I'm an African boy
Oversea and overland
Over mountains in the world
I'll be brave and I'll be strong
I'm an African child
♪
Oversea, overland
Over mountains and in the wild
I'll be brave and I'll be strong
I'm an African child
Seven jumps, seven wriggles
Seven cowries, seven nuts
Seven lives, that's what I've got
I'm an African boy
Over, over sea and overland
Over mountains in the world
I'll be brave and I'll be strong
I'm an African child
Said I've got a feeling deep in my soul
I was born, deep, deep in my soul
Born to be great
Deep, deep down, down
Deep in my soul
Yeah, this African child
Can feel it, said I can...