Captain of Faso

[Intro]
From the red dust roads
To the crowded square
They’re lifting one name
Hands up in the air

[Verse 1]
Boots on the ground at twenty-something
Sun in his eyes
But he keeps coming
Pages of history in his rough hands
Saying
“We decide how this land stands”
Old flags falling from the tall mast
Young face staring at the broadcast
Saying to the world with a hard stare
“We’re still poor but we’re not scared”

[Chorus]
Ibrahim Traoré
They chant your name in the heat of the day
From Ouaga all the way to the border line
“You touch one
You touch all” in the people’s mind
Ibrahim Traoré
Burkina stands when you stand that way
Little kids drawing your cap and your face
Saying
“That’s our captain
That’s our place”

[Verse 2]
Dust on the trucks rolling eastward
Mothers at the gate whisper one word
“Come home safe
” as the drums roll
He answers with a hand to his heart
“I know”
Old men talking in the shade of a tree
“Did you think we’d live this to see?
One of our own saying clear
Saying plain
This time our sweat stays with our grain”

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
[low vocal register] Not a king
Not a saint
Just a man with a choice
But the streets grow quiet when they hear that voice
“Stand up straight
Hold your ground
This time
This time
We turn it around” [crescendo]
And the crowd shouts back like a thunder sound

[Chorus]