Written by TCKs

Child of the Nile – Third Culture

“A Ugandan praise song that tells the story of Moses, a man from Uganda, the site of the Lake Victoria, the source of the River Nile, who worked as a security guard at my secondary school in Qatar. After leaving his home and his heart to earn a living in the high-developing Arab nation, he went on to become a great friend of mine and the one who taught me the strong value of maintaining a smile no matter what worries may crowd your mind.”

By Third Culture (Sam Cronin)

Check out their full SoundCloud account!

By CulTuremiKs, ago

No Roots – Alice Merton

Alice Merton - No Roots

by Alice Merton

Verse One

I like digging holes and hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old, I hope I won’t forget to find them
‘Cause I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night


I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down
Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running
‘Cause I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

And a thousand times I’ve seen this road
A thousand times

Chorus

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh


Verse Two

I like standing still, but that’s just a wishful plan
Ask me where I come from, I’ll say a different land
But I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

I count gates and numbers, then play the guessing game
It’s just the place that changes, the rest is still the same
But I’ve got memories and travel like gypsies in the night

And a thousand times I’ve seen this road
A thousand times

Chorus

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

Ending

I like digging holes
Hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old
I won’t forget to find them


I like digging holes
Hiding things inside them
When I’ll grow old
I won’t forget to find them

I’ve got no roots
No roots

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh
I’ve got no roots uh uh uh uh

By CulTuremiKs, ago

I Will Wait For You

by Parker Deal

And I will wait for you
until you tell me not to
And I will wait for you
until you tell me not to

I’ll wait for you
So let’s not
talk about the good times now
talk about the good times now
Let’s wait until
we’re ready for tomorrow.

So let’s not
even talk about how
you got here and
we got here;
I got here.

And I will wait for you.
I’ll put on the plate
all I can offer, all I can do.

And I will wait for you.
I’ll put on the plate
all I can offer, all I can do.

I write not of tragedy
but a story to be told,
story to be told.

I write not of you and me
but a story that is old,
that is old.

We’ll devise,
we’ll devise – 
write the nicest thing
I could offer up.

And I will wait for you
I’ll wait for you
until you tell me not to.

And I will wait for you
I’ll wait for you
until you tell me not to.

And I will wait for you
I’ll wait for you
until you tell me not to.

And I will wait for you
I’ll wait for you.

So let’s not
even talk about where you’ve been.
I’ve been staying up all night
looking out the window,
looking for you
running home.

Run back, son, to that home
It’s the only place with open arms,
open arms waiting for you.

And I say
tell me the truth.
That you’ll come and see
the ones that don’t have you,
don’t have you.

And I will wait
to tell you the truth.
That you’ll come and see
but what I don’t have,
I don’t have you.

I will wait.
I will wait.
I will wait, will wait.
I will wait for you.

I will wait.
I will wait.
I will wait, will wait.
I will wait for you,
will wait for you.

And I will wait for you.
I’ll wait for you
until you tell me not to.

By CulTuremiKs, ago

The MK Song (Funny)

by Grady Toland

Well Momma and Daddy were missionaries
took us to places sort of strange and scary
(like the United States)
but Daddy said it was all necessary
and Daddy never lies.
(except when he was in front of a whole group of people at a church…)

We drove a million miles in a rusty van
from the great white North to the southern lands
I lost my mittens so my Momma put socks on my hands
so cold I thought I’d die.

But I’m an MK;
I wouldn’t trade it.
Through everything that came
we always made it.
Yes, I’m an MK;
I’m glad it’s true.
And you can tell your folks you want to be an MK too.

Well I was raised in the jungles of the Amazon
and I’ve driven in Europe on the Autobahn
and I’ve been up and down the alleys of old Hong Kong
and I’ve seen the snow in Nome.

I’ve seen snakes eat people and people eat snakes
I’ve even seen people eat monkey steaks
but the strangest things of all are back in the States,
in the place my folks call home.

‘Cause I’m an MK;
I wouldn’t trade it.
If there’s any better life
I couldn’t name it.
Yes, I’m an MK;
I’m glad it’s true.
And you can tell your folks you want to be an MK too.

It doesn’t matter that I never owned a new car,
I never did miss being a football star
I’ve been living in a world that’s bigger by far
than most folks ever know.

Well I can parle French and hable Espanol,
you would be surprised at the various things that I know
and there’s not a place in the world that I would not go
if the Lord has sent me there.

‘Cause I’m an MK;
I wouldn’t trade it.
If there’s any better life
I couldn’t name it.
Yes, I’m an MK;
I’m glad it’s true.
And you can tell your folks you want to be an MK too.

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Missionary Kid Song

M.K. Song- Bethany Kennedy

by Bethany Kennedy


Is it true?
You can’t answer the question “where are you from?”
You speak two languages but can’t spell either one
You have a passport but no driver’s license
And now you’re wondering how that last one was wrong

You’re an MK, this is your life
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture.
The only thing we have in common is that
we have nothing in common at all.

Is it true?
Your life story includes “then we went to” at least five times
Complete strangers say they knew you when you were “this tall”
National Geographic only makes you homesick
But you don’t really know where home is at all.

You’re an MK, this is your life 
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you 
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture. 
The only thing we have in common is that 
we have nothing in common at all.

Is it true?
All you want for Christmas is a box of pop tarts
You know what REAL coffee tastes like and it’s not like Starbucks
Your parent’s siblings are like strangers to you but
You have fifty or sixty aunts and uncles who love you

Is it true?
You know the difference between 110 and 220 volts
You spent a fifth of your life in an airport
You go to a church you’ve never been in before
And you see your picture on the bulletin board.

You’re an MK, this is your life 
It’s not easy, but it’s all right
In fact it’s better and you 
Wouldn’t trade it for anything

MKs are a race without color, without culture. 
The only thing we have in common is that 
we have nothing in common at all.

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Neutral Room

by Hadassah Grace

Some days I barely feel alive
They ask me how I am
But there’s not much going on inside
So I say I’m fine
I guess I’m alright
Cuz I’m not crying but I’m up all night

And there’s no rain and there’s no sun
And I could never love someone
Cuz all I am is numb
Coming undone
And falling through this neutral room
This neutral room

There’s no ups but there’s no downs
I’m washing all the colors out
And no one comes inside this house the way that they used to
All I am is empty space
But there’s no room inside this place
To let anymore hearts through

I’ll just play it safe in my neutral room

Outside life spins faster
They’re lost in their laughter
And things just keep on moving the way that they do
While I stand still
In this neutral room

And there’s no rain and there’s no sun
And I will never love someone
And there’s no sun and there’s no rain
And I refuse to feel the pain I do
In my neutral room

And there’s no rain and there’s no sun
But I won’t ever lose someone
And I refuse to feel the love I do
In this neutral room

There’s no ups and there’s no downs
This empty house is home for now
Come and pull it down I’m begging you

All I want is out of this neutral room

By CulTuremiKs, ago