Get on a plane (How did you get here?)
Packed a bag (How did you get here?)
Dream like a zebra (How did you get here?)
Heat like a fever (How did you get here?)

Mimi naweza (x3)
Sijui, sijui oh
(x2)

Mimi ni mchizi, kama ndizi
Wewe ni mbaya, kama nfiya
Wake up at midnight, under the starlight
Hack out my heart & use it to make the sun rise

Mimi naweza (x3)
Sijui, sijui oh (x3)

You thought that I would stand up and sit this one out
You thought that I would wear it like a blistering shroud
You thought that it would fit but then the fit wore out
And the whalebone was so tight that it made me scream and shout

But did you listen, listen?
Did you listen, listen?

Got on a plane (How did you get here?)
Hack off a leg (How did you get here?)
Left off my finger at the jewelry shop
Hatari hatari danger at the spot, jam hop

Mimi naweza (x3)
Sijui, sijui oh
Naweza


You thought that I would stand up and sit this one out
You thought that I would wear it like a blistering shroud
You thought that it would fit but then the fit wore out
And the whalebone was so tight that it made me scream and shout

But did you listen, listen?
Did you listen, listen?
Did you listen, listen?
Did you listen, listen?

There is a natural sound that wild things make when they're bound
It rumbles in the ground, gurrah gurrah we all fall down
But when you hear the sound, ten thousand voices lost and found
Your rumble in the ground, gurrah, gurrah we all fall down


Lyrics submitted by chepburn22

Hatari song meanings
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2 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    The foreign phrases are in Swahili, which Merrill is fluent in. A few translations: Hatari => Danger! Mimi naweza => I am able, I can do (it) Sijui => I don't know Mimi ni mchizi, kama ndizi => Literally, I believe this is something like "I am crazy/cool like a banana". This is a common response when someone asks how you are. Wewe ni mbaya, kama nfiya => You are evil like ???

    I only learned a little Swahili, so feel free to correct any of that.

    Merrill spent a while in Africa and that is what this song appears to be about.

    hemlock_echoon October 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    Love how powerful the last stanza is. Truly gorgeous.

    waytogo24on September 20, 2011   Link

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