Lyrics Children of Diaspora - LowKey, Mai Khalil

Children of Diaspora

Don’t you wonder what became of the children of diaspora?
Those that innovated in their ways and their vernacular
Those that saw their traces in the faces of the massacred
I wonder what became of them, tell me what became of them.
I wonder what became of them, tell me what became of them.
I wonder what became of them, tell me what became of them.
I wonder what became of them, tell me what became of them.
Lost in this city of fog rarely seen by the sun
Just 'cause you’re both but neither doesn’t mean that you’re none
Never captains of the ship but they mistook us for some
Passengers
Now we’re stuck here singing soul music from diaspora
Your hosts can’t relate to your sense of dislocation
The type of pain that cannot be contained in a dissertation
«Diaspora» the reason that the terrified are setting fires
«Diaspora» the reason they couldn’t jeopardise Zephaniah
Considered as a compliment if your beauty is fetishized
Your history is power, that’s the reason some are petrified
Colonial mimic, mascot crying behind a mask
Or a man with amnesia trying to find his past
Anthony Walker never had a weapon but they still got him
Stephen Lawrence never had a weapon but they still got him
Mark Duggan never had a weapon but they still shot him
They call them first world diaspora problems
Don’t you wonder what became of the children of diaspora?
Those that innovated in their ways and their vernacular
Those that saw their traces in the faces of the massacred
I wonder what became of them
Tell me what became of them
Zoha Hadeed was a child of diaspora
So fear not, fear not
Edward Said was a child of diaspora
So fear not, fear not
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no, no, no, no, no, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no, no, no, no, no, no
Since the middle passage either sink or you swim
Bleach the pigment of skin and pray its privilege trickling in
Are we missing the link?
Diasporas the reason MJ did to his nose what they did to the sphinx
And why Marley made the most classic of art
The reason Gabby Douglas didn’t put her hand on her heart
The reason Malcolm Little changed his name to X
The reason the President’s melanin remain a threat
Ahmed made a clock, they arrested him and mangled his name
But the root of the word is to thank and to praise
Racism manifests in many cancerous ways
We must rally for change in these most tragic of days
Cos Emmett Till didn’t have a weapon, but they still got him
Tamir Rice never had a weapon but they still shot him
Alton Sterling never had a weapon but they still shot him
They call them first world diaspora problems
Don’t you wonder what became of the children of diaspora?
Those that innovated in their ways and their vernacular
Those that saw their traces in the faces of the massacred
I wonder what became of them
Tell me what became of them
Nina Simone was a child of diaspora
So fear not, fear not
Frantz Fanon was a child of diaspora
So fear not, fear not
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no, no, no, no, no, no
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no
Pledge no allegiance to the flag, no, no, no, no, no, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no, no, no, no, no, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no
We never bow to the Queen, no, no, no, no, no, no