Cradle of Civilisation

[Intro: Lowkey]
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?

[Hook: Mai Khalil & Lowkey]
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?

[Verse 1: Lowkey]
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

[Hook: Mai Khalil & Lowkey]
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?

[Verse 2: Lowkey]
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

[Hook: Mai Khalil & Lowkey]
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?

[Verse 3: Lowkey]
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

[Outro: Lowkey]
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