Two Goats and the Bride Price

Lyrics

Y'all talkin' pre-nups. Talkin' joint accounts. Talkin' who gets the condo if the whole thing bottoms out. Cute. Let me tell you 'bout a different kind of deal. Sun so hot the air gets wavy. Old men sitting under an acacia tree, not saying much. Her father, his uncle. They not talking numbers on a screen. They talking about the Zebu herd, the one with the wide horns. They talking about the dust they kick up on the long walk to her family's boma. This ain't about the future. This is about right now. The weight of it. This is the bride price. This is the walking, breathing collateral. Two goats for the promise, forty cattle for the bloodline. A down payment with a heartbeat. Yeah, you can count it by the hoof-fall in the dust. There's an honesty in that. What you can carry away in the flesh. There's a special cow, a milk cow, just for her mama. A way of saying, 'thank you for the nourishment.' There's a camel for the long haul, for the dry season. His favorite ox, the one they call 'Follows the Rain,' that's part of the deal too. It's like giving away a piece of his own name. The gate to the kraal opens. The wealth walks right in. Smells like earth and dung and life. This is the bride price. This is the walking, breathing collateral. Two goats for the promise, forty cattle for the bloodline. A down payment with a heartbeat. Yeah, you can count it by the hoof-fall in the dust. There's an honesty in that. What you can carry away in the flesh. We send wires. We swipe plastic. We trade in ghosts and blinking lights. A diamond don't keep you warm. A stock certificate won't feed a child. But a goat? A goat gives milk. A cow gives a calf. This ain't a symbol of wealth. This IS the wealth. It's a debt you gotta keep alive. Gotta find water for. Gotta protect from lions in the dark. That's a different kind of marriage contract. Yeah. A different kind of contract. Two goats and a bride price. At least if she leaves you... you can still eat the goats.