buffet hotel

well the train slipped into the station

a worn out steel blue soul

a relic from colonial days

when the french were still in control

lorsque les francais ont ete en controle

it's an outpost in transition

where the faithful in the bar

know from the whistle and the squeaking wheels

that the next stop is dakar

la prochaine etape etait dakar

talk on the radio

talk on the street

talk of men with money loco from the heat

talk about the rail band

pickin up the beat

we lit that great reunion

with the headlights on the jeep

and there's history on that jukebox

where the spies and scoundrels dwell

it was the place to go in bamako

direction buffet hotel

direction buffet hotel

now we're lost in the sahara

four hours north of tombouctou

lookin' for a nomad who knows

or maybe some wandering jew

allons a essakane

syndou

then we heard that tuareg combo

we had come so very far

and we were welcomed out of history

by the wind

the sand and the stars

j'ai commence a le percevoir

sand in the couscous

sand in the wine

there was sand in my guitar case

stories in my mind

machine guns on the hilltop

camels in my tent

buried in a sandstorm

as the music came and went

well we crawled out of that desert

and the storm erased our tracks

the sahara showed her heart to us

and then she took it back

well we made it back to bamako

before that last call bell

we bought rounds for all our newfound friends

we owned buffet hotel

nous avons eu buffet hotel

i recall dipomats

and hookers

i saw strangers diggin' wells

and for that one great night in bamako

we owned buffet hotel