The poem starts with the comparison of contemporary Africa to ancient Africa when the songs of the women preserve the cultural heritage of African. The songs, lyrics, and tunes symbolically represent Africa’s culture and history. The persona points out that the songs have disappeared because the new generation has lost its grasp on songs. The persona laments how time has taken the memory of the songs. Here, time represents modernization or the influence of Western Culture on the African lifestyle. History and culture are preserved over time if the people continue to live by it, document it, and pass it on to the next generation.

In the first three lines, the poet bemoans how his people have neglected their culture and allowed time to destroy their core values. See lines 3 – ‘It strips away lyrics of the women of my land.’ Remember, that lyrics are the words of a song. That is the content value that carries the meaning and beauty of each song. Lyrics and tunes make songs melodious. When one is lost, the other becomes meaningless and useless. Hence, the poet says that the lyrics have been taken away, leaving only the tune’s echoes. Let’s see how the poet addresses this situation.

Firstly, Lines 1–11 presents the importance of the song of the women. The songs are about their culture, history, and personalities. The songs reveal the struggle for survival, their genealogy, and the uniqueness of their culture. The song for survival is depicted in lines 7 – 10′ of how they ploughed the terrain of their landscape …/When servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul.’

In stanza four, the tone of the poet changes. He reveals that the women pacify their plight by using the songs and tune to endure the pain and anguish they were passing through. When they sing these songs, they also entertain themselves and retain their joy collectively. The persona concludes this stanza by saying that despite the attempts by these women to resist oppression and restrain them from fading off, the songs died with them. He states these in lines 20-21; ‘Leaving a dying song/Dead.’

In conclusion, the poet displays how he immortalizes the songs of the women the land in the last stanza. The poem ends with the persona’s note that the songs have found a host in his poems. These words will forever remain in the pages of the Literature.