Lowkey, Mai Khalil - Cradle of Civilisation lyrics

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?

Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Close my eyes
I can still hear my ummi saying
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
But where is our freedom?

This is for Baghdad
The place of my mothers birth
The cradle of civilisation


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 smelt
The pride I never had
The nationality that I never felt
Saddam was bad
Are the American’s even more so?
They made me groan 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
I never lost a friend to
Violence that was random
Bombings, occupation, torture, intimidation
A million dead people
Doesn’t equal liberation

Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Close my eyes
I can still hear my ummi saying
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya (Listen)
But where is our freedom?

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 burnin' 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

Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Close my eyes
I can still hear my ummi saying
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
Oh, esh ked heluwa el hurriya
But where is our freedom?

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 Kubbat Halab
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 steal my flesh
From now all the way back to Gilgamesh
Such a villianised and criticised nation
You will always be the cradle of civilization

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