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Zanzibar Spice
from Dust & Gold
Zanzibar Spice is track 18 of the album Dust & Gold by Lia Nova (Afro House, 2026). Available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
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Lyrics
Stone walls hold a thousand histories
Where Arabic script meets Swahili tongue
The qanun pearls through evening air
Like cloves that fall from the ceiling hung
Zanzibar spice where Africa meets Arabia
Zanzibar spice where Africa meets Arabia
Meets Arabia
Meets Arabia
The dhow sails catch the monsoon wind
A oud bleeds through the coral walls
The spice market has closed but still
The cinnamon answers when it calls
Two cultures did not collide here they braided
Like fingers between fingers so naturally no one remembers who reached first
Zanzibar spice where Africa meets Arabia
Zanzibar spice where Africa meets Arabia
Meets Arabia
Meets Arabia
The narrow streets of Stone Town wind
Like melodies that lost their key
And found a better one instead
Between the minaret and the sea
I breathe the clove-thick evening in
And taste the cardamom and salt
The qanun finds a final phrase
That could be Arabic or not