This song marks two important events in the history of Kordofan; the arrival of the first lorry and the beginning of Abdel Gadir Salim’s career. The first lorry drove into western Sudan- and into the folklore of its people- in the 1930s. Salim takes this as the theme of a passionate love poem. “The lorry drove me to the valley,” he begins, “it brought me to her whom I’ll never forget.”
-Songs of Kordofan, Abdel Gadir Salim, sleeve notes by Dr. Mahi Ismail and M.H. Yassin
Maa Jannanteeni Ana. Maa Bahdalteeni Ana. “You didn’t drive me crazy. You couldn’t bog me down.” Abdel Qadir doesn’t say who was behind the wheel when they tried to run him off the road, the Bedford or the bint, but we can guess. Maybe that’s why so many drovers on The Way of the Forty asked me and David why we didn’t climb aboard.
Faster, more fun, wilder than by camel…and according to Abdel Gadir, far more tragic. “We perished in utter perdition, it utterly destroyed our hearts.” Have you ever steered a heavily loaded high clearance two ton truck through deep sand? She bucks and whines and groans and grinds and with a little luck gets you through. But if she ever mires down, and you with her…forget it. You’ll be lost a lot longer than forty.