Cradle of Civilisation (feat. Mai Khalil)

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 a basic translation of that Is oh how beautiful is freedom But where is freedom? أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية Close my eyes, I can still hear my ummi saying أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية But where is our freedom? This is for Baghdad, the place of my mothers birth The cradle of civilization, for what its worth The land I've never the 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 smelled The pride I never had, the nationality that I never felt Saddam was bad, and the American's even more so They made me grow 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 rulers family lived in palaces and mansions 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 أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية Close my eyes I can still hear my ummi saying أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية(Listen) But where is our freedom Forget division based on ethnicity or religion Whether your Sunni, Shia, Kurdish or Christian Pain is just pain if a person is missing We all deserve a life in this earth that we live in Is there enough words that can say? How deeply Baghdad is burning today Its not about pity, hand outs, or sympathy Its 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 Because 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 a place that I've never seen The place my family had to leave in the 70's أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية Close my eyes I can still hear my ummi saying أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية Yeah "But 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 I'm 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 Kubbad Haleb, Hakaka and Dolma Ana isme Kareem Wa ohmre talatha wa ishreen Umi min Baghdad, wa abuya min Dover And thats the combination i carry on my shoulders Still i rep, till my death, till they kill and seal my flesh From now all the way back to Gilgamesh Such a villianized and criticized nation You will always be the cradle of civilization أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية Close my eyes I can still hear my Umi saying أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية أوي شكد حلوة الحرية But is our Freedom In my sleep, in my dreams Mother land I can still feel you calling' me In my sleep, in my dreams Mother land I can still feel you calling' me In my sleep, in my dreams Mother land I can still feel you calling me I can still feel you calling me I can still feel you calling me