[Intro - Choir softly]
Ethiopia... our covenant... our home...
(Ohhh) Hallelujah — lift your voice.
[Verse 1]
From Axum's ancient stelae to Lalibela's hewn stone,
The rock‑cut churches whisper prayers in every bone.
Blue Nile pours honeyed waters through valleys wide and old,
Where gardens of the Maker keep mysteries of gold.
Here the spring of Gihon rises — sacred, deep and clear,
The mother of blessed waters, a well for every tear.
Here the promise planted, here the covenant is found,
Ethiopia, you wear heaven like a crown.
[Pre‑Chorus]
Hear the wind through cedar boughs, hear the elders call,
The story of a people held in grace for all.
[Chorus — Call & Response]
Leader: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Choir/All: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Leader: Mother of all, forever crowned!
Choir/All: Mother of all, forever crowned!
(Repeat — let the choir build harmony on each repeat)
[Verse 2]
Firstborn of all, mother of humankind,
Your history is written in the stars and in the mind.
Obelisks rise like psalms against the morning sky,
And honeyed light of sunrise paints the fields where children cry.
From Axum's shadowed avenues to Lalibela's prayerful stone,
The heart of nations beats in you — a place the Lord calls home.
[Pre‑Chorus]
Old covenant, new mercy, woven through each hand,
Stand together in your shadow — keep the promise of the land.
[Chorus — Call & Response]
Leader: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Choir/All: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Leader: Mother of all, forever crowned!
Choir/All: Mother of all, forever crowned!
(Repeat — add harmony lines on the 2nd and 3rd repeats)
[Bridge — Rising, urgent]
Leader: O listen — children, gather, hear the ancient song!
Choir Response: We hear it — we will answer — we belong!
Leader: Live in peace, sing salvation, let the nations see
Choir Response: Your light, your name, your glory — set our people free!
[Bridge — Build]
We lift our hands to heaven, we lift our lives in prayer,
Covenant unbroken, mercy in the air.
From the mount where Gihon springs, the holy waters flow,
Mother of human birth, in you the blessings grow.
[Chorus — Key lift, full choir with solo runs]
Leader (raise key): Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Choir/All: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
Leader: Mother of all, forever crowned!
Choir/All: Mother of all, forever crowned!
(Repeat with gospel runs, layered harmony, call & response echoes)
[Climactic Tag]
Ethiopia — cradle of promise, garden of salvation,
Ethiopia — land of gold, mount of revelation.
Ethiopia — firstborn of all, mother of humankind,
Ethiopia — live in peace for us, forever and ever, Amen.
[Final Chorus — full choir, higher key, slow & powerful]
All: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
All: Ethiopia, land of the covenant!
All: Mother of all, forever crowned!
All: Mother of all, forever crowned!
[Outro — Spoken/soft choir]
Ethiopia, the promised holy land — forever in our hearts.
(Repeat phrase softly until fade: "Ethiopia — land of covenant and of grace
