Well the train slipped
into the station
A worn out steel blue soul
A relic from the 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 squeakin' 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
wanderin' 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