If I could show you what my home really meant
In the time before hellfire swallowed it
You'd get a sense that nothing's permanent
Even here, things could go so quick
Humankind, I think we're all so sick
But in the rubble still beauty exists
It's been a war in my homeland for more than
I've been alive, all them years combined
Even in times of peace it was lies
Under the surface some tribes were denied
I always knew we had a sense of false pride
But the stolen land, and the lost lives
Were something new to me
I used to see the country beautifully
But never truthfully
Youthful and free, you could say naive
Child of the east, raised in the west
They only tell you bout their best and leave out the rest
Who got sacrificed, who got left
And who's still suffering yet

Lake Tana sunsets where my soul cries
I've been longing for this moment for my whole life
And I've been wanting all our people to be alright
But I'm feeling like I'm getting hit from all sides
Addis nights, rocking mics in the stage lights
I've been longing for these moments for my whole life
And I've been wanting all our people to be alright
But I hear them bullets flying now from all sides

You could tell a tourist by the scuffs on they shoes
On dirt roads they haven't learned how to move
I'm far removed from knowing what's true
About a country where the news is only one view
But I know enough to know I don't know enough
And neither does anyone who's not in the midst
Of a region where they're in danger of getting hit
Ethiopia has never been a monolith
We got Oromo and Amhara and Somali folks
We got Tigrayan and Sidama and Gurage folks
Indigenous nations, at least 80 more of those
Growing up I only knew about who stayed close
Lived 30 years before the day I ever came home
And who we met then helped me heal my soul up
It wasn't the same country my folks spoke of
Now there's a reckoning of what we know to be us

Lake Tana sunsets where my soul cries
I've been longing for this moment for my whole life
And I've been wanting all our people to be alright
But I'm feeling like I'm getting hit from all sides
Addis nights, rocking mics in the stage lights
I've been longing for these moments for my whole life
And I've been wanting all our people to be alright
But I hear them bullets flying now from all sides

Tigray

I dream of returning to you next time to stay,
and reclaiming what was lost when I first fled.

I dream of who I might've been holding hands
with who I've become, inspired and in solidarity.

I dream of the spirit of my mother, long buried,
rising in recognition and impossible reunion.

I dream of chasing my brothers, gathering
and keeping them safe, whole and alive.

I dream of climbing to Grandma's roof
to get a closer look at God.

I dream of us, blessed and brave.
I dream of us, festive and free.

I dream and dare
expect.