Wake up in a strange land
one of forty thieves
And I see for the first time just what you believe
I go down to the market where I can buy or sell
And I listen to the chanting and all the lies that wise ones tell
They say: East is East - West is West
Two different colours on the map
We say: Break the line
chew the fat
keep moving out into the gap
Beggars in the backstreets
there for all the world to leave
It's you that's begging for attention
well
it's all the same to me
And I won't ask permission not from teachers or from kings
'cos I can see for myself all the pain that you will bring
They say: East is East - West is West
Two different rhythms on the map
East is East - West is West
Two different colours on the map
Can you smell the perfume of a hundred thousand years?
Dare you look into the eyes that hide a hundred million tears?
No need to be so frightened of all the figures in the night
'cos we shared the same emotions and no-one's wrong and no-one's right
They say: East is East - West is West
Two different colours on the map
They say: East is East - West is West
They say: East is East - West is West
Two different rhythms on the map