A rifle butt bangs on an old, rusty door
"Where is your father? Get down on the floor!"
Soon it gets serious
A curfew's declared
The city falls silent, there's death in the air

Cocking his weapon with shaking fingers
Grits his teeth as he's hugging the trigger
Young blood rushes, his heart pounds
He knows it gets easier the next time around

They're but objects and shadows, not women and men
Learning to kill is a natural thing

Learning to fear is a matter of habit
The more you have done it the better you're at it
News from above reaches the street
There's no hope of living, the end is so near

Tidings of terror, a raven's crow
Shutter your windows, lock up your homes
We're just a handful, a tiny country
Surrounded by evil
They won't let us be

They have hate in their hearts and in all that they bring
Learning to fear is a natural thing

Cruelty is a matter of habit
The more you have seen it the better you're at it
Every boy has a tyrant's desire
Hands behind the head, legs spread wide

These are times of danger, times of despair
No room for compassion, a soldier can't care
Our neighbours are vermin, they're used to the blood
How can they feel pain when they live in the mud?

Through cruel routine a soldier is born
Ignorance soon turns to evil in war
Oh, Israel's land is for Israel's kin
Cruelty comes as a natural thing

Learning to love is a natural thing
It will find a way if you just let it in
It'll be strange at first, but then you will see it
That learning to love is a matter of being

Oh, being human is a matter of habit
A few baby steps, then you get better at it
To be for one minute, just now, just recall
The opposite side of the towering walls
But our hearts have hardened along with our skin
We built a bubble and let no one else in

We'll be staring in wonder as the angel falls
Then being human will be a matter of course
Will be a matter of course

What's the point waiting for the doorman to drop the key?
You'll be gone long before this evil falls asleep
What's the point waiting for a better day to come along?
They will bow to their dogs before they see our reign come

First the French decamped and left us with the garbage
Then our flag was dyed with Islam and Arabic
They forgot to whom this country once belonged
There is always someone here to take the throne
Traitors, traitors, traitors

Did you believe that they would listen just because they said they would?
How naïve, they've always been too righteous for their own good
For you know, power is addictive to the one it wields
They have sown with evil hands and harvest our tragedy

First the French decamped and left us with the garbage
Then our flag was dyed with Islam and Arabic
But they forgot about Algeria's free men
We could have it all but were enslaved again
Traitors, traitors, traitors

All the same
We will never let them have their filthy ways
We remain
These are our mountains—this is our place
We will break through the door and have what's ours all along
For without us Algeria is suffering on her own

So come the rain, come the wind, come the hunger
We won't sit and wait for freedom any longer
We must sacrifice the arm to save the heart
We will split the land before it falls apart

First the French decamped and left us with the garbage
Then our flag was dyed with Islam and Arabic
But our roots go deep and our will is strong
We will cling onto this land where we belong
Traitors, traitors, traitors
Traitors, traitors, traitors
Traitors, traitors, traitors, traitor