The marketplace of New-Onitsha thrummed at dusk, strings of lanterns swaying like constellations. Adaobi Ikeh—called Highlifeng for the jaunty rhythm she coaxed from the old guitar slung over her shoulder—had returned after twelve years away. People said she chased a sound no living ear had heard: the Ancient Hymn.
The lyrics of “Ancient Hymn (Track A)” are drawn from a composite of two hymns: “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” (Psalm 23 paraphrased by Henry Baker, 1868) and an anonymous Igbo hymn collected by early missionaries titled “Nna anyị nke elu igwe” (Our Father in Heaven). Ikeh intersperses these verses with original spoken-word testimony in Pidgin English: The marketplace of New-Onitsha thrummed at dusk, strings
Ancient Hymn (often released in two parts: Track A and Track B). The marketplace of New-Onitsha thrummed at dusk, strings