Through hardship pain and bloodshed and times of grief and woe
In the land they call Natal, the Boers had crushed the Zulu foe
Natalia their hard won republic it would be
But Port Natal would have to be their gateway to the sea

British ships had long rode anchor in that port
And Captain Smith was stationed nearby the British fort
Pretorius then attacked his camp with constant cannon fire
For those besieged defenders the consequence was dire

Upon the ship Mazeppa which took refuge in the bay
George Cato woke Dick King, as he asleep did lay
He said reinforcements must be called to stop the foe
Without hesitation Dick King said he would go

A Zulu lad called Ndongeni said he'd also ride
And in the dead of night they waited for the tide
They fetched two horses for the journey, one called Somerset
No better mounts in all the land, no one could ever get

Mlamulankunzi was his Zulu name
Dick King the peacemaker rode his way to fame with a Zulu lad
Called Ndongeni and two pistols by their side
They changed the part of history on the longest ever epic ride

The horses stand at fifteen hands and though they are unshod
Rumour has it that somewhere they both have Arab blood
They cast off in a rowboat behind two horses swam
Six hundred miles before them their famous ride began

Two hundred miles Dick King and Ndongeni rode at night
By day they hid from Boers and Zulus keeping out of sight
Though Ndongeni could not swim he held his horse's mane
When crossing many rivers that were swollen by the rain

Mlamulankunzi was his Zulu name
Dick King the peacemaker rode his way to fame with a Zulu lad
Called Ndongeni and two pistols by their side
They changed a part of history on the longest ever epic ride

With no saddle Ndongeni could not ride no more
Four hundred miles Dick King rode on, more hardships he'd endure
Isipingo, Umzimkulu and up to Butterworth
Komga, King Williamstown, Peddie and Bathurst

Of savage tribes and crocodiles, of lions, sun or rain
This waggoneer who had no fear knew well the wild terrain
From Grahamstown a garrison was ordered to the seas
And one month later the Conch arrived and Port Natal was freed

Mlamulankunzi was his Zulu name
Dick King the peacemaker rode his way to fame with a Zulu lad
Called Ndongeni and two pistols by their side
They changed a part of history on the longest ever epic ride