"Cradle of Civilisation" Lyrics

[Intro]
I remember when I was growing up;
If my mother got angry or frustrated with me,
She'd say..."oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya"
And the basic translation of that is "Oh, how beautiful is freedom"
But where is freedom?
Close my eyes, I can still hear my ummi saying
But where is our freedom?

[Hook]
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya

[Verse 1]
This is for Baghdad, the place of my mother's birth
The cradle of civilization, for what it's worth
The land I've never seen, culture I've never known
Iraq is in my heart, my blood, my flesh and bones
The air I've never breathed, fragrance I've never smelled
The pride I never had, the nationality that I never felt
Saddam was bad, are the American's even more so?
They made me grow like I was missing part of my torso
But I never picked up a grenade in my garden
I never saw people I love die starving
I never saw my family die through many years of sanctions
While the ruler's family lived in palaces and mansions
I never had a family member kidnapped for a ransom
Never lost a friend to violence that was random
Bombings, occupation, torture, intimidation
A million dead people doesn't equal liberation

Close my eyes, I can still hear my ummi saying
Listen!
Where is our freedom?

[Hook]
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya

[Verse 2]
Forget division based on ethnicity or religion
Whether you Sunni, Shia, Kurdish or Christian
Pain is still pain if you're a person that's missing
We all deserve a life in this earth that we live in
Is there enough words that can say
How deeply Baghdad is burning today?
And it's not about pity, hands out or sympathy
It's about pride, respect, honour and dignity
Babies being born with deformities from uranium
Those babies aren't just Iraqi, they're Mesopotamian
What I view on the news is making me shiver
Cause I look at the victims and see the same face in the mirror
This system of division makes it harder for you and me
Peace is a question, the only answer is unity!
So many dreams about this place that I've never seen
The place my family had to leave in the 70's

Close my eyes, I can still hear my ummi saying
Where is our freedom?

[Hook]
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya

[Verse 3]
It rains white phosphorus in Fallujah
This is for those that won't live to see the future
Sorry that I wasn't there, sorry that I couldn't help
I'm sorry for every tear, sorry you've been put through hell
Still I feel like an immigrant,
Englishman amongst Arabs and an Arab amongst Englishmen
Like I said they never gave me the culture
But they did give me Kubdad Haleb, Hakaka and Dolma
Ana isme Kareem
Wa ohmre thalatha wa-'ishrun
Umi min Baghdad, wa abuya min Dover
And that's the combination that I carry on my shoulders
Still I rep, till my death, till they kill and seal my flesh
From now all the way back to Gilgamesh
Such a villainized and criticized nation
You will always be the cradle of civilization

Close my eyes, I can still hear my ummi saying
Where is our freedom?

[Hook]
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya

In my sleep, in my dreams, Motherland I can still feel you calling me
In my sleep, in my dreams, Motherland I can still feel you calling me
In my sleep, in my dreams, Motherland I can still feel you calling me
I can still feel you calling me
I can still feel you calling me