Né En 17 À Leidenstadt

And if I were born in '17 in Leidenstadt
On the ruins of a battlefield
Would I have been better or worse than these people
If I had been German?

Rocked by humiliation, hatred, and ignorance
Fed with dreams of revenge
Would I have been one of those unlikely consciences
Tears in the middle of a torrent?

If I had grown up in the docklands of Belfast
Soldier of a faith, of a caste
Would I have had the strength against my own
To betray, extend a hand?

If I were born white and rich in Johannesburg
Between power and fear
Would I have heard the cries carried by the wind
Nothing will be as before?

We will never know what we really have in our bellies
Hidden behind our appearances
The soul of a brave or a accomplice or a executioner?
Or the worst or the most beautiful?

Would we be among those who resist or just sheep in a herd
If it took more than words?

And if I were born in '17 in Leidenstadt
On the ruins of a battlefield
Would I have been better or worse than these people
If I had been German?

And may we be spared, you and I if possible for a very long time
From having to choose a side