Impi Lyrics - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

Chorus: 

Impi! wo 'nans' impi iyeza 

Obani bengathinta amabhubesi? 

All along the river chelmsford's army lay asleep 

Come to crush the children of mageba 

Come to exact the realm's price for peace 

And in the morning as they saddled up to ride 

Their eyes shone with the fire and the steel 

The general told them of the task that lay ahead 

To bring the people of the sky to heel 

Chorus 

Mud and sweat on polished leather 

Warm rain seeping to the bone 

They rode through the season's wet weather 

Straining for a glimpse of the foe 

Hopeless battalion destined to die 

Broken by the benders of kings 

Vainglorious general and victorian pride 

Would cost him and eight hundred men their lives 

Chorus 

They came to the side of the mountain 

Scouts rode out to spy the land 

Even as the realm's soldiers lay resting 

Mageba's forces were at hand 

And by the evening the vultures were wheeling 

Above the ruins where the fallen lay 

An ancient song as old as the ashes 

Echoed as mageba's warriors marched away 

Chorus