Sinéad O’Connor

Released: October 4, 2005

Songwriter: Carlton “Carlie” Barrett Allen “Skill” Cole

Producer: Sly & Robbie

[Verse 1]
Until the philosophy
Which holds one race superior
And another inferior
Is finally and permanently
Discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war

[Verse 2]
Until there is no longer first class
Or second class citizens of any nation
That until the color of a man's skin
Is of no more significance
Than the color of his eyes
I've got to say "war"

[Verse 3]
That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all
Without regard to race
Then we say "war"

[Verse 4]
That until that day the dream of lasting peace
World-citizenship and the rule of
International morality will remain
Just a fleeting illusion to be pursued
But never obtained
And everywhere is war

[Verse 5]
War in the east
War in the west
War up north
War down south
There'll be war
And the rumors of war

[Verse 6]
That until the ignoble and unhappy regime
Which holds our sisters in Africa, yeah
Africa, yeah
Sub-human bondage has been toppled
Utterly destroyed
Everywhere is war

[Verse 7]
And until that day
The African continent
Will not know peace
We Africans will fight - we find it necessary
And we know we shall win
'Cause we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil
Good over evil
Good over evil

Sinéad O'Connor (who goes by Shuhada' Sadaqat in her private life) is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 80s with her album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares to You” in 1990.

O'Connor was discovered in 1985 when Nigel Grainge of Ensign Records saw her band Ton Ton Macoute perform. Although he was not fond of the band’s music, he was impressed by O'Connor’s ‘amazing voice’. Grainge had O'Connor record four songs with Karl Wallinger (World Party) and signed her to his label. O'Connor’s first single was the song “Heroine” which she co-wrote with U2’s guitarist The Edge for the film Captive.

Her debut album The Lion and the Cobra was a sensation when it was released in 1987, reaching gold record status and earning a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination. O'Connor’s debut single “Troy” charted in The Netherlands and Belgium, and “Mandinka”, released in late 1987, cracked the top 20 in the UK and top 30 in three other European countries, helping her album chart well in Europe. Spin Magazine described the album as a “remarkable, still-spine-tingling first record”.

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From the album

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