They cry revolution, the bloody hand of freedom
Glistening red in the African dawn
Nelson Mandela walks forth to the stage
Trades in the bars for a new kind of cage

In the townships and valleys the rhetoric flies
Freedom from hatred, freedom from lies
But the words lose their meaning, the flag becomes stained
By the blood of the poor and the rust on the chains

I’m tired of the war, i believe in the anger
But justice won’t come from the barrels of guns
I’m tired of the hatred, the senseless destruction
The damages wrought and treaties undone

My country harbours a terrible secret
Reserves and apartheid are one and the same
Nelson Mandela wouldn’t speak from the heart
In the heart of the place where apartheid was made

I’m tired of the war, i believe in the anger
But justice won’t come from the barrels of guns
I’m tired of the hatred, the senseless destruction
The damages wrought and treaties undone

We’ve tortured and murdered for land and for gold
Traded in lives like they were goods to be sold
But the price must be paid in blood and in fear
Another revolt in a dangerous year

I’m tired of the war, i believe in the anger
But justice won’t come from the barrels of guns
I’m tired of the hatred, the senseless destruction
The damages wrought and treaties undone