Do you see, you as well, when you close your eyes, when you hold your clenched fist
High towards the sky, do you smell the delicious odour of freedom
When you spit sunshine, your head high, into the wind, when you sing, at the top of your voice
To the love returning, crowned with laurels
We are thousands, an extraordinary river
Our force is sublime, it will carry everything with it
And if they still try, they’ll come up against a thousand hearts on their feet
The combat has raged, the combat was hard, it has wrought devastation
It’s written in the wrinkles of our fathers drunk with pride, they never gave anything up
There it is, victory opening its golden arms
And then these streets singing and these flags outside
I’ll put my arm around your waist and then we will taste these moments of life
We are thousands, an extraordinary river
Our force is sublime, it will carry everything with it
And if they still try, they’ll come up against a thousand hearts on their feet
Do you hear the black echo of the wreck
When the night used to moan, we cowered under the fear
And the pain of the others kept us awake
Do you remember the African child who lived underneath
And his parents rounded up
The rifles of shame that encircled our schools, I’ll never forget
We are thousands, an extraordinary river
Our force is sublime, it will carry everything with it
And if they still try, they’ll come up against a thousand hearts on their feet
Do you see, you as well, when you close your eyes, when you hold your clenched fist
High towards the sky, do you smell the delicious odour of freedom