Washing the Sky

Verse 1

Wall

Picture hanging

Men in the cold north

Gave birth among themselves

Promiscuous

Sipping old memories

From lungs of a small child

No shame

Watching nakedness howl

Mannerless ghosts

Chorus

We bathed the oceans again

We made the sand look like the moon

Washing the sky daily

To see what the earth has in stock

We painted the ground

Added color to the rainbow

Life became wet in our palms

Because the womb was made abnormal

Verse 2

Mother

Told a tale

Innocent girl killed them

Father and brothers and her mom

Patted by the king

Ear breaking

Rain came from the dirt

Mirrors in the cloud

Paradise

A burning lie

Chorus

We bathed the oceans again

We made the sand look like the moon

Washing the sky daily

To see what the earth has in stock

We painted the ground

Added color to the rainbow

Life became wet in our palms

Because the womb was made abnormal

Bridge

They said evil gets punished

They said we burn for years

How does a father use fire

How does a spirit burn

How do we tell these lies

Expecting the sun to stay kind

Grandma said it was normal

Watching the dog chase the cat

Watching the cock love the duck

Verse 3

Father

Spoke of spirits

Black water in the stream

Pouring libation for a good wife

Palm fronds

Warding off the demons

White ghosts in the daylight

He saw them in Benin

Achebe

Chimamanda

Wole and the folklores

Retracing every fable

The patient dog gets nothing

The silent cock is dead

Chorus

We bathed the oceans again

We made the sand look like the moon

Washing the sky daily

To see what the earth has in stock

We painted the ground

Added color to the rainbow

Life became wet in our palms

Because the womb was made abnormal

Outro

Mother lied to us

Father lied to us

Grandma lied to us

Grandpa lied also

Teachers lied to us

Teachers lied to us

Teachers lied to us

An illusion

Created

By their lips

We are not who we are

Not who we are

Not who we are