Song information On this page you can find the lyrics of the song KWAKU, artist - Victor Kwesi Mensah. Date of issue: 25.03.2021
Song language: English
KWAKU |
| I was born in Asokore, Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana |
| And I started schooling in a one room school house |
| Now I can look back and say everybody was poor |
| But we didn’t know we were poor because we had food all the time |
| Loving family |
| The main problem was trying to go fetch water |
| Because there was no running water in the house |
| The bathroom is somewhere there outside |
| We didn’t have the clean shoes that everybody had |
| We didn’t have good clothing |
| It wasn’t particularly very comfortable being under British colonial domination |
| And then I came to the United States in 1977 |
| Just before the winter |
| Chicago then had a murder rate of close to 1,000 a year |
| It was a very violent city |
| That’s when it earned it’s nickname as the Beirut on the lake |
| But again I didn’t let that scare me |
| I went to 63rd |
| We used to say that 47th Street was so dangerous that if you died |
| Your parents may not come for your body |
| Yeah it was bad but still the city was fun |
| Well when I had a son |
| And I just thought that it was better to stay in Chicago to raise kids |
| The good thing about Chicago is you learn the truth about America |
| There is no sugarcoating nonsense in this town |
| I was scared though, I got scared because I thought you could be shot |
| When you started getting in trouble I started graying |
| I started graying very fast |
| My heart is beating and I was having nightmares because you were having real |
| problems with the police |
| Anytime I’m called to come and look for the police station where my son could be |
| I was scared that one of these days I maybe called to the mortuary to identify |
| your body |
| Your growing up in Chicago gave me a lot of heart ache and head ache |
| But around the time you did the Innanetape |
| The enthusiasm with which you handled that |
| And the friends all around you |
| How mature they become |
| All of you |
| Made me think these kids have made it |
| I think my father in his grave would be very happy that I brought up some good |
| kids in America |
| And particularly also I see it as a great success |
| If I leave I have very little regrets |