Promised Land
Joy Ike Lyrics

My father says I cannot marry you
My father forbids me from marrying you due to our cultural differences.

Says he forbids me
He prohibits me from marrying someone who is from a different cultural background.

Says he will ship me back to his land
He threatens to take me back to our homeland if I go against his wishes.

My mother says shame on you
My mother is ashamed that I am considering someone from a different culture and background.

For trying to use me
She thinks you are trying to take advantage of me by asking me to marry you.

Don't you know she worries that I'll forget her land
She is concerned that I will forget my roots, my culture, and my homeland.

My brother and my sister they're with me
My siblings are supportive of my decision to follow my heart.

They say it don't matter
They think that cultural differences should not come in the way of true love.

As long as I remember my identity
As long as I do not forget where I come from and who I am, it does not matter whom I marry.

So if you promise you'll never let me forget my land
If you promise to respect and value my culture and homeland, I will consider marrying you.

I will promise I'll never let you forget your land
I will also respect and value your culture and homeland in return for you doing the same for me.

If what you said the other day is true then please forgive me
If you really meant what you said about respecting my culture, then I apologize for my initial hesitations about marrying you.

We don't need to worry that we'll forget our land
If we both respect and appreciate each other's cultures, we will not forget our roots and identities.

We will hop a train, we will fly a plane, we will walk all day
We will make every effort and sacrifice to travel and explore the world together and learn about each other's cultures.

Through every country
We will travel through different countries and experience their cultures together.

We don't need to worry, worry, worry if this world is our land
We should not be anxious about belonging to any one country or fear losing our cultural identity when we can appreciate and respect many cultures.

Oh no no no
We should not be discouraged if others disagree with our decision, but stay strong and respectful to our cultures.