Verse 1 Before all kingdoms, creeds, and crowns, before the written flame, When Africa alone was home and none had earned a name, Sahelanthropus watched the dawn, Orrorin climbed the hills, Ardipithecus walked the woods beside the ancient rills. No roads to cross, no seas to brave, no distant lands to roam— The first of all our family knew only Africa as home. Verse 2 Australopithecus rose to walk where forests met the plain, They crossed the grass through changing worlds of sunshine, wind, and rain. Though every branch would not survive the turning of the years, They laid the bones of those to come through triumphs born of fears. Their names are carved in stone and earth beneath the African sky, Their footsteps still echo though millions of years rolled by. Verse 3 Then Homo habilis shaped the stone with patient, clever hands, The first great toolmakers arose across the ancient lands. Still Africa remained their world, the cradle of their birth, While wisdom slowly gathered strength upon the living Earth. Another branch looked outward where the distant mountains gleamed, The first to chase horizons that no ancestor had dreamed. Verse 4 Homo erectus led the march, the first to leave the land, They crossed beyond old Africa with fire held in hand. Through deserts, forests, rivers wide, to Asia's waiting shore, They opened paths no human feet had ever walked before. Yet many stayed in Africa where ancient rivers ran, Two stories growing side by side within the race of man. Verse 5 From those who stayed and those who roamed, new branches spread and grew; Homo heidelbergensis faced a colder world anew. Some wandered deep through Europe where the bitter north winds blew, While others stayed in Africa where different futures grew. The human tree grew broad and wide with every passing dawn, Its oldest roots in Africa though many now had gone. Verse 6 Neanderthals mastered winter's grip where mighty glaciers lay, Denisovans climbed eastern peaks and found another way. Homo floresiensis thrived on islands far from shore, Homo luzonensis walked where jungle spirits soared. Homo naledi lingered still within the southern caves, A family rich in many forms, courageous, strong, and brave. Verse 7 Then Homo sapiens opened eyes where all our story starts, In Africa they lived and learned with curious minds and hearts. For hundreds of thousands of years they called that land their own, They painted caves, shaped finer tools, and made their culture known. They were not first to cross the world nor first to master flame, But soon the greatest journey yet would carry forth their name. Verse 8 At last Homo sapiens left their home some seventy thousand years ago, Through Arabia and Asia where endless trade winds blow. They crossed the coasts of India, reached Australia's distant sand, Then north through Europe, east through steppes, exploring every land. Wherever stars could guide the way and rivers reached the sea, They carried Africa within—the root of every tree. Verse 9 They met the mighty Neanderthals beneath the northern skies, Met Denisovan wanderers where mountain eagles rise. Sometimes they fought, sometimes they shared, sometimes their blood became one, And traces of those ancient lives still live in everyone. Across the bridge of ice they walked into a world untrod, Until the last of Earth's frontiers lay beneath their feet and God. Verse 10 The older branches passed away, but not their living flame; Each left a gift within our bones though few recall their name. From Sahelanthropus' first steps to Homo sapiens' stride, One family crossed the face of Earth with time itself as guide. The song is not of one alone, but every human tree— Their long walk lives in all of us, for all eternity.
