Lyrics / The Wondering Traveler
NAIROBI (Lights On)
A city of smoke and stone Breathing in the dark Narrow streets like a closing fist Incense thick, I taste the grit Temple lights behind iron bars Motorbikes cut up the stars Tour money flashes, quick and bright Beggar hands fade into night I walk through prayers I can’t decode Like a stranger carrying a heavy load I don’t want peace, I want the truth If the dark is holy, let it prove Kathmandu, black incense in my lungs Turn my silence into violent drums I came to disappear, I stayed to see What the night pulls out of me Kathmandu, don’t let the signal die I want a sign in a dirty sky If I break, let the mountain know I was here, I was here, I was whole Black incense, black incense Don’t fade out, don’t fade out Bells ring soft like a warning wire Every step got a hidden fire Rooftop laughs in a private glow Street kids run where the cold winds blow A monk walks past with eyes like stone Makes me feel how far I’ve roamed I’m not saved, I’m not damned, I’m just awake Learning what a hard city can take No clean answer, no clean name Just a pulse that survives the flame Say it with thunder Kathmandu, black incense in my lungs Turn my silence into violent drums I came to disappear, I stayed to see What the night pulls out of me Kathmandu, don’t let the signal die I want a sign in a dirty sky If I break, let the mountain know I was here, I was here, I was whole Prayer flags over broken roofs Like colored cuts in the moon I don’t know what I’m asking for But I’m asking it soon Kathmandu, black incense in my lungs Turn my silence into violent drums I came to disappear, I stayed to see What the night pulls out of me Kathmandu, don’t let the signal die I want a sign in a dirty sky If I break, let the mountain know Black incense Black incense Black incense In my lungs Kathmandu Goodnight