He's held the country's reins for 10 to 40 years
He's elected with 99 percent
His ethnic group is called pureblood
His country's supposedly democratic
Opponents, critics, it's either death or political exile
He's been in power since his putsch, his coup
He got rich but his country got into debt
Western powers are annoyed
Bankrolled by his oil and metal revenues
Mafioso collusion, military-financial
Nepotism, spies and mercenaries
President for life is his mandate
He leaves power through natural death or assassination
When it's peace, leaders lead
When it's war, it's war that leads
Here like this, we feel it too
N'dengue uàba, foolish woes
Play well, Africa wake up
N'dengue uàba, foolish woes
Play well, Africa awaken
And when the father dies, the people cry
The radio milks the fear, the enemy's inside
Bitterness and terror drive peace away
Roadblocks go up, the neighbor turns suspect
They declare a dead city and a curfew
Embassies fill up and all the whites flee
There are rumors of looting, rapes, shortages
People are scared, the nation watches peace die
Days of strikes, lynchings more and more frequent
Civil war's imminent, worldwide news on the airwaves
The UN worries, starts talks
Should we act? Abstain? Are there interests?
The cease-fire's broken by the belligerents
There's no management left as the country slips into decay
War's here, everybody feels it
Once again it'll be death, the death of innocents
My heart's broken, love can't be heard
Oh my heart's broken, love can't be heard
Wake up Africa, Africa wake up
Aiué nakuetenu, have pity on me
Have pity on the people, ai ué nakuetenu
My beloved, I'm writing this letter hoping you can read it
Men are dumb, Africa's beautiful, don't make the mistake of hating her
With you I wanted to grow old on these hills, in this house
The horizon ends here, I've come to sing my eulogy
It steals the curve of your hips from me, the softness of your lips
Without respite, Umugwaneza light of all my dreams
I have to leave this harbor, my soul leaves its body
But my love I'll always stay two cable-lengths from your heart
I'm leaving in the next few minutes
My grief's heavy, I hope you'll get this letter
I write these hopeful lines, rivers of doves
Towers of dreams, brief truces in quarrels
It's too late, soldiers swarm the plot
My beauty, I'm writing words of love that I scatter
On this notebook, I end my life and this poem
War caught me off guard before I could say I love you
It's pain, it's pain nakuetenu
It's pain Africa, have pity on the people
Have pity on me, it's pain
Nakuetenu nakuetenu, have pity on the people
Africa wake up, di di di di di di, aiué
It's pain nakuetenu, have pity on me