Somalia (Honoring Mohammed Hassan) 

From the Album Well May The World Go (Smithsonian Folkways)

I was born in Somalia
In a small village
Not far from the Red Sea
In a town called Lasquoray

Somalia, Somalia

From a young boy to a father
From the British to the Cold War
To the families now fleeing
The bloodshed of the warlords

Somalia, Somalia

In a car from Mogadishu
With my family I fled
To a refugee camp in Kenya
With no place to lay my head

Somalia, Somalia
Djibouti, Canada, New Zealand
England, Holland, and Finland
To this land of Minnesota
From the tropics to the tundra

Somalia, Somalia

Five pillars of Islam
Five prayers I do daily
Facing east towards Mecca
Each day I keep praying

Somalia, Somalia

Words & music by Larry Long
Copyright Larry Long 2000

*Lyrics collectively written with students at Whittier School for the Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota through Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song program in partnership with Community Celebration of Place.

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Well May the World Go is exclusively available on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Larry’s music is available on Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Bandcamp and select e-tailers