Darfur (Can’t Cry No More)

De sun echoes in de sky
As we push our livestock south.
We must forage for de water,
Surviving hand to mouth.

But distress is a-brewing,
It cries out through de land,
It sweeps de famine and disease
Across de desert sand.

De violence rumbles like boomba,
Boom-boom—ready to bust.
Then soldiers of de nearby tribes,
Dey start dey slaughter of us.

Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Boomba! Tell us what for!

Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
We can’t cry no more.
Once de desert was full of life,
And it was safe to graze.
But now in a time of war,
Sands sweep each secret grave.

Our male children—dey go missing.
Our females—dey are raped.
Wit days of endless killings,
How do you estimate your fate?

Mercenaries come like rumors,
We fight, but dey strike us down.
Dey steal resources from de land,
Pipe blood and oil from de ground.

Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Boomba! What for! What for!

Bridge:
De striving and de fighting,
De bloodbath and de aftermath,
De bloodletting, de forgetting,
How long will it last?

Sky and earth don’t cry no more,
Dey done cried dry all dey tears.
We can barely weep ourselves,
Huddling ’round for daily prayers.

How does a man kill his brother?
It’s beyond me mentally.
I’m only a poor farmer.
I see only in degrees.

Our bodies suffer starvation,
But our enemies suffer dey soul.
We just want de refuge of peace.
Mercy, please let our people go.

Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Boomba! Tell us what for!

Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
Darfur, Darfur. Death in Darfur.
We can’t cry no more,
So who cries for us?

Brian K. Hemphill