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 (Get us to Essakana, 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