African Before The Cities · English / Pidgin / Ibibio / Efik / Igbo / Yorùbá / Hausa
Moonlight Forktale
A playful twist on moonlight stories — where the tale forks and the listener chooses the path.
Lyrics
INTRO (Atmospheric)
(Soft flute… crickets… distant talking drum… children laughing under moonlight)
Narrator (deep voice):
“Before television… before smartphones…
The moon was our cinema…
The village square was our classroom…”
CHORUS (Call & Response)
Lead:
Moonlight stories, under the sky!
Choir:
Eh-heh! Eh-heh!
Lead:
Ancestors calling, spirits arise!
Choir:
Oyaa o! Oyaa o!
Lead:
Children gather, drums come alive!
Choir:
Africa! Africa!
Lead:
Moonlight folktale never dies!
Choir:
Never dies! Never dies!
VERSE 1
Grandma sit by the fire tonight
Children dancing in the silver light
Tortoise talking with the clever tongue
Village echoes with the ancient song
Moon above like ancestral eye
Listening softly from the sky
Every proverb, every sound
Roots of Africa all around
Ibibio
“Akwa Ifiok Ayana o”
(Wisdom shines in the moonlight)
Efik
“Udisia ke mkpa idem”
(Stories heal the soul)
PRE-CHORUS
Drum go speak, spirit go rise
Ancient voices never die
From the river to the trees
Hear the whispers in the breeze
CHORUS
Lead:
Moonlight stories, under the sky!
Choir:
Eh-heh! Eh-heh!
Lead:
Ancestors calling, spirits arise!
Choir:
Oyaa o! Oyaa o!
Lead:
Children gather, drums come alive!
Choir:
Africa! Africa!
Lead:
Moonlight folktale never dies!
Choir:
Never dies! Never dies!
VERSE 2
Moonlight dancing in the village square
Masquerade spirits everywhere
Talking drum and shaking waist
Culture moving with ancient grace
Igbo
“Akụkọ ifo n’okpuru ọnwa”
(Folktales beneath the moonlight)
Yoruba
“Tan imọlẹ òṣùpá l’alẹ́”
(The moonlight shines tonight)
Hausa
“Watan dare yana haskawa”
(The night moon is shining)
Children laugh and elders sing
Every word a hidden king
Every tale a sacred flame
Calling every tribe by name
BRIDGE (Spiritual Breakdown)
(Drums intensify… women ululate… flute echoes)
Lead (chant style):
Who remembers where we came from?
Choir:
Africa remembers!
Lead:
Who carries wisdom through the night?
Choir:
Moonlight carries!
Lead:
Who keeps the stories of the ancestors?
Choir:
We remember! We remember!
DANCE BREAK
(Heavy Afrobeat percussion + talking drum solo + crowd chants)
Crowd Chant:
Eh ya ya eh!
Eh ya ya eh!
Moonlight!
Folktale!
Africa rise again!
FINAL CHORUS (Big Cinematic Ending)
Lead:
Moonlight stories, under the sky!
Mass Choir:
Eh-heh! Eh-heh!
Lead:
Ancestors dancing in our lives!
Mass Choir:
Africa! Africa!
Lead:
From the village to the world tonight!
Mass Choir:
Never dies! Never dies!
Lead:
Moonlight folktale shining bright!
Mass Choir:
Forevermore! Forevermore!
Video embed coming soon.
The official video and karaoke timing will be wired in via the CMS.