Takamba
Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation Lyrics

The lyrics of "Takamba" by Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation depict the idea of freedom being an illusory concept. The opening lines "Sing a song of freedom write it in the sky, pocket full of secrets, a belly full of lies" suggests that freedom may be something we sing about, but in reality it's something we still don't quite have. The lines "Fiction to believe in, created then denied" reinforce the idea that as much as we want to believe in freedom, it's a concept that is often manipulated and taken away.

The following lines "Tricks and mirror, Slight of hand, Hoola hoola, Promised land" and "Rhyme and reason, Smoke and fire, Hoola hoola, Truth and lies" appear to be a commentary on the way in which governments and other powerful entities use deceit and manipulation to control the masses. The use of showmanship ("Hoola hoola") to sell ideas and the repetition of these verses' first lines, imply that we've been fooled again and again by these tactics. It's almost as if the verses are suggesting that it is not only politicians that use lies and deceit to control the masses, but humans as a species have a tendency to fall for it, with the lyrics "Truth and lies" acting as a reminder to constantly question what we are told. Finally, "Hail the gift of memory in this fifty-second state, who sold me down the river and shafts me while he waits, outside the gates of Eden, star-spangled and so late" suggests that the song is speaking to America specifically, with the fifty-second state, referring to the fact that the USA has never allowed a statehood for Puerto Rico. The lyrics appear to question the notion of the American dream.