Tinariwen ist eine Tuareg Band, die seit 1982 besteht.

Englische Übersetzung des Songtextes:

What has become of the Ténéré

The Ténéré* has become an upland of thorns Where elephants fight each other Crushing tender grass under foot.

The gazelles have found refuge high in the mountains The birds no longer return to their nests at night The camps have all fled.

You can read the bitterness on the faces of the innocents During this difficult and bruising time In which all solidarity has gone.

The strongest impose their will And leave the weakest behind Many have died battling for twisted ends. And joy has abandoned us Exhausted by all this duplicity.

• Ténéré is a Tamashek word meaning empty land or desert. The plural of the word is tinariwen.