When I left Souguer, my home city in Algeria for Toronto, Canada in October 1993, I did so with a heavy heart. I was leaving behind three sisters, four brothers, one niece, a nephew, my parent, my best friend, and many other friends I would miss terribly. I was also leaving a city I loved, the house I'd been living in for years in a neighborhood I loved, and my comfort zone.

I was young when i left home
An' I been out a-ramblin' round
An' I never wrote a letter to my home
To my home, lord, to my home
An' I never wrote a letter to my home.

It was just the other day
I was bringin' home my pay
When i met an' old friend i used to know
Said, "Your mother is dead an' gone
An' your sisters all gone wrong
An' your daddy needs you home right away.''

Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny on my name
But I can't go home this a-way
This a-way, lord, this a-way
An' I can't go home this a-way.