Congo, my dear Congo
The land of many warriors

Land of happy women
Who dance and turn
To the beats of drums
And to glaring men
The land of gold
And lush green fields
Of shrooms, dandelions,
And blue horizons bold
The land of many rivers,
And great, many lovers,
land of the gazelle, leopard,
And all graceful dancers

The evening is sad
Sounds of canon
Rent the air,
Bloodthirst,
Soldiers,
Crying mothers,
Missing limbs,
Machines gun ratata–ing
Battling for supremacy,
The village’s silence is broken
The happiness is gone,
The village square deserted
And there’s no more dancing
The peace is broken
So are my people

You are everything
My dear Congo
But free

For Lumumba, rest easy, great leader.