[Pre-Chorus]
Thembi my African mother
Took care of me like no other
Instilled in me from youth;
The desire for honesty and truth

[Chorus]
And now the ancestors are strong in me
I see them in the mountains and in the streams
And now the ancestors are strong in me
I see them in the shadows and in my dreams

[Pre-Chorus]
And Thembi my African mother
Took care of me like no other
Instilled in me from youth;
The desire for honesty and truth

And Thembi my African mother
Took care of me like no other
Instilled in me from youth;
The desire for honesty and truth

[Chorus]
And now the ancestors are strong in me
I see them in the mountains and in the streams
And now the ancestors are strong in me
I see them in the shadows and in my dreams

[Bridge]
For my small years – Lord I thank you
For my small years – Lord I thank you
For my small years – Lord I thank you
And I thank you – for you give and you give and you give

[Chorus]
And Thembi my African mother
Took care of me like no other
Instilled in me from youth;
The desire for honesty and truth

And I thank you