1. |
Across The Hills
01:54
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Across the hills black clouds are sweeping,
Carry poison far and wide!
And the grass has blackened underfoot
And the rose has withered and died.
But the rose is still as red love and the grass is still as green.
And it must have been a shadow in the distance you have seen.
Yes it must have been a shadow you have seen.
But can't you hear the children weeping?
Can't you hear that mournful sound?
And no birds sing in the twisted trees
In the silent streets around.
I can hear the children laughing in the streets as they play,
And you must have caught the dying of an echo far away.
Yes it must have been an echo far away.
But can't you see the white ash falling
From the hollow of the skies?
And the blood runs red down the blackened walls
Where a ruined city lies!
I can see the red sun shining in the park on the stream,
And you must have felt a shiver from the darkness of a dream.
Yes it must have been the darkness of a dream.
And death shall reap a hellish harvest,
Make the desert of this land!
But the rose is still as red love and the grass is still as green.
And it must have been a shadow you have seen.
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2. |
Sleep Well
02:23
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Sleep well my little son and dream
Time flows faster than a mountain stream
I wish you happiness in Spring
Come Autumn it may be too late to sing
While you sleep necessity drives
workers down uranium mines
repair men into the jaws of Hell
radiation through the human cell!
Sleep well my little girl and dream...
Madmen tear the earth apart
like werewolves at the human heart
The powerful crave more power still
Nuclear power; power to kill!
Sleep well my lover and dream...
Acid pond. Poisonous leak
Ships collide. Plutonium slick
Yellowcake waste. Lead-lined tomb
You're not even safe in Mother's womb!
Sleep well my unborn babe and dream
Time flows faster than a mountain stream
I wish you happiness in Spring
Come Autumn it may be too late...
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3. |
An Organism Called Earth
04:19
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Millions and millions of different kinds of living creatures
An organism called earth
Traversing its orbit around the sun
Energy and time. Energy and time
All energy on Earth comes from the Sun
Ev'rything I touch and hear is the Earth
My body and mind are made of Earth
I am alive because the Earth is alive
Our world still astounds every explorer
The Earth provides us with all we need
My mind evolved for the good of the Earth
I would give my life to save my planet
I am alive because the Earth is alive
Millions and millions of different kinds of living creatures
Together our species can save the Earth
Energy and time. Energy and time
I will fight for my planet!
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4. |
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I am the soil that harbours the seed
I am the crops the good soil yields
Remember, I give you birth
Remember mother earth
I am the wood, the forest, the trees
I give the buds, take back the leaves
Remember...
I am the rain, the rivers, the sea
All creatures born must drink of me
Remember...
I have been here since time was new
but now I fear what your time may do
Remember...
You plunder me for coal and for oil
leaving me scarred, leaving me spoiled
Remember...
You clear the forests, uproot the trees
poison the air, pollute the seas
Remember...
Pure air, pure rain, for millions of years
Now on the wind come acid tears
Remember...
Why can't you hear? Why can't you see?
You kill yourselves if you kill me
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5. |
Asbestos
03:59
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Tiny fibres you don't see
Seemed a lot of bull to me
But now the cancer it has grown
And my lungs have turned to stone.
Joined the navy, went to sea.
Seemed that life was good to me.
Insulation 'round the pipes,
Didn't know you'd take my life.
Braked the car, asbestos flew.
Rode a train asbestos blew
Through the cracks in roof and walls
Like the rain it gently falls.
In the town of Wittenoom
By the road wildflowers bloom.
On the ground and in the air
There's asbestos everywhere.
Profits from asbestos mines
Kept Lang Hancock doing fine.
No regrets, no tears apply
To the miners that now die.
Those who knew but did not tell
May the bastards burn in hell!
Don't be anybody's fool:
Safety first, the golden rule.
Tiny fibres you don't see
Seemed a lot of bull to me
But now the cancer it has grown
And my lungs have turned to stone.
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6. |
Fragile
04:16
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If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the color of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence
And nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are
How fragile we are
On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are
How fragile we are
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7. |
Come Away With Me
04:15
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Come away with me my loved one
To where cool waters join together
Where tall trees bend and spread their shady leaves
To shield us from the searching sun.
For I know a place where the day is still
A hidden land shaped by the dreamtime
At night the starlights glance off darkened pools
Where thirsty creatures come to drink their fill.
"I'll go with you my friend and dear
To where cool waters join together
For its in the quiet of the forest deep
Your spirit speaks to me most strong and clear."
We rose and went and we journeyed far.
The sun was hot and unforgiving
Through the sprawling city where we love and fight
And scrabble for our daily living.
But when we reached that place our hearts did chill
We found the forest razed and ravaged.
Clear across the valley to the distant ridge
Lay stumps like crosses on some Flanders hill.
My love reached out to comfort me
She saw the tears in my eyes were welling
"Let all your tears flow" she said "my dear.
To wet the roots of anger swelling."
Now all across this tired and dusty land
The hungry chainsaws they are roaring.
The living waters die with poisons choked.
The Earth it crumbles in the greedy hand.
And you talk of work for them that the timber hew,
Those who by felling scratch their living.
Well there'd be honest work for all that need
Were good Earth's wealth not cornered by the few.
So let us go, hand clutching hand
Of lover, daughter, friend and caring stranger.
To keep our faith with those who're yet to come
And stand full firm against this present danger.
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8. |
Ambore Medley
03:23
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Ambore.
Ambore. Ambo lima ka ambore.
Si!
Pe pe pe pelesi imo
Ni i pak ke
Siri o ria le
O salum tana lum mulah eh.
Emo kikimo soran ne e e kikimo
Emo ta emu ta ki o o o. Emo ta emu ta ki o o o
The parents who went hunting came back with lots of food.
Hey!
Hello hello hello
Are you alright? You okay?
We will not be here for too long
In a short time we will be gone.
Game is plentiful, the forest is beautiful, everything is fine!
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9. |
Green Like Me
03:45
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10. |
Drip Drop
03:12
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Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop
Wasting water's gotta stop
Drop. Drip. Drop. Drip
Turn that tap off quick!
Water's precious can't you see
Its a rare commodity
Creeks and rivers dry up fast
You gotta make that water last and last, and last, and last, and last and last, and last
Drip. Drop...
Mulch that garden, watch it grow
When roots stay damp deep down below
Sun can't dry out soil underneath
You won't have to hose for weeks
Plant those natives watch 'em thrive
In hot dry Aussie they'll survive
Why water lawns to make 'em grow?
Then on the weekend you've gotta mow and mow and mow and mow and mow and mow and mow!
Drip. Drop....
[scat: dribble drop dribble etc.]
Keep that shower short and sweet
Just wet yourself from head to feet
Don't stand under there all day
You might develop scales and swim away
A cup of water's quite enough
To clean your teeth with that the stuff
Don't let that tap run, use a plug
Don't wanna hear that water glug
Drip. Drop....
Flushing loos use too much water
Don't flush it more than you oughta
If it's yellow let it mellow
But if it's brown then flush it down
Drip. Drop....
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11. |
Make Some Music
02:56
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I hate the Liberal Party with a passion deep and hearty
So I voted for the Labor Party man
But the lying little weevil turned out just as bloody evil
It's clear he's out to break us if he can
So this time I was keen, I went out and voted green
And the good old Coalition went and won
If you want to change the laws then the power's mine and yours
And I think it's time to go and have some fun
Oh banner drops and lock-on pipes, tripods and canoes
A smoke-in at the copshop nearly always makes the news
We can safely leave the violence in the hands of the police
And go and make some music in the forest and the streets
I want to make things better so I think I'll write a letter
That a junior clerk can place upon a shelf
But still the trees keep falling, I can hear the forest calling
So I'll have to go and save the thing myself
Oh banner drops ...
It is very widely known that if you cycle on your own
The motorists will try to run you down
But nothing ever feels quite as free as my two wheels
When a hundred bikes have taken over town
Oh banner drops ...
If you stand up for your rights or for someone else's fight
You break the law which says you can't complain
But civil disobedience is never ever tedious
It's aggravated trespass time again!
Oh banner drops ...
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12. |
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Traffic's tight
Day and night
The streets have all been filled
Here's what you want us to do
"Go out there and build!"
Roads! Freeways! Sweeping bends!
Motorways! Tollways! They're your friends!
Bitumen! Concrete! Asphalt! Tar!
We'll pave all the bits that we've missed so far!
Feeling down
Skies are brown
Nowhere left to breathe
We'll fix the smell
We'll make you well
Just sit back and believe!
What looks great in black?
Roads!
What brings in the cash?
Traffic!
Who has your
Authority!
To fill your life with roads?
Roads! Freeways!...
What's better than urban bush?
Roads!
What's got people on the move?
Traffic!
Who has your
Authority!
To fill your life with roads?
Cars are fun
Trains are dumb
Roads are what you crave
The Lord above
Looked down with love
And this is what he gave
Roads! Freeways!...
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13. |
Pollution
02:24
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If you visit American city
You will find it very pretty
Just two things of which you must beware
Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!
Pollution, pollution!
They got smog and sewage and mud
Turn on your tap
And get hot and cold running crud!
See the halibuts and the sturgeons
Being wiped out by detergeons
Fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly
But they don't last long if they try
Pollution, pollution!
You can use the latest toothpaste
And then rinse your mouth
With industrial waste
Just go out for a breath of air
And you'll be ready for Medicare
The city streets are really quite a thrill
If the hoods don't get you, the monoxide will
Pollution, pollution!
Wear a gas mask and a veil
Then you can breathe
Long as you don't inhale!
Lots of things there that you can drink
But stay away from the kitchen sink!
Throw out your breakfast garbage and I've got a hunch
That folks downstream will drink it for lunch
So go to the city
See the crazy people there
Like lambs to the slaughter
They're drinking the water
And breathing [cough] the air!
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14. |
Air
01:26
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Welcome, sulphur dioxide,
Hello, carbon monoxide,
The air, the air is everywhere.
Breathe deep while you sleep, breathe deep.
Bless you alcohol blood stream,
Save me nicotine lung steam,
Incense, incense is in the air.
Breathe deep while you sleep, breathe deep.
Cataclysmic ectoplasm,
Fallout atomic orgasm,
Vapor and fume, at the stone of my tomb,
Breathing like a sullen perfume,
Eating at the stone of my tomb.
Welcome, sulphur dioxide,
Hello, carbon monoxide,
The air, the air is everywhere.
Breathe deep while you sleep,
Breathe deep, (cough!) deep, (cough!) deep de-deep (cough!).
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15. |
Land Of Light
01:44
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O sleep in peace you valleys and hills
Be safe be free as the breeze
The north wind of fear like a banshee howled
And she drove you down on your knees to pray
She drove you down on your knees
Lift up your head to the morning light
The fight o'er darkness is won
And feast your eyes on the land you love
Its life returning with the sun behold
Its life returning with the sun
And the morning walks proud, shining out like a flame
No evil could subdue
You open up your arms in friendship and joy
To welcome in the new born day
To welcome in the new
May the spirit so strong in the shadow and storm
Hold fast to what is right
And surely as you breathe the gentle air of peace
This land shall shelter in the light of love
This land shall shelter in the light
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16. |
Universe's Daughter
03:03
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In the silent world of space
Like a jewel of priceless worth
Glowing green and shining blue
Slowly turns the planet earth
In her swirling cloak of cloud
Miracle of land and water
Born of fire and of time
To the universe a daughter
Long the years and vast the time
Day to night to day returning
Slowly, slowly life arrives
So begins the planet's birthing
Flowers, creatures, birds and trees
Rich variety delights her
In the space beyond the stars
Can there be another like her?
People living on the earth
Have forgotten how to wonder
Lost in speed and blind despair
Hopelessly pollute and plunder
But there comes a sound of hope!
Can you hear the children's voices?
We will keep the earth alive
By our love and by our choices!
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17. |
Stand Fast
03:29
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Alone I feel each sense reveal a putrid world's decay
In print, on screen, the hack obscenely chooses words to say
'Let wealth destroy all Nature's joy' - the news is worse each day
My silence lets the greedy get their stupid worthless way
Open your hand and place it in ours
Impotent anger pass
And with your friends find comforting power
Together we'll stand fast!
However few, what we can do our courage will achieve
We cannot but stand up for what we ardently believe
The eleventh hour is struck but our resolve can yet retrieve
A sense of worth for planet earth its children may receive
Reach out your hand, take hold of the time
Leave despair in the past
The power for change is yours and mine
Together we'll stand fast!
We are alive. We will survive, and as Earth's peril grows
So shall our cause which overawes each honest heart that knows
And as we grow we'll overthrow corrupt destructive foes
The outrage of this insane age we will bring to a close!
So close your fist and raise it with ours!
Integrity unsurpassed
Gives us the essence of our power
Together we'll stand fast!
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Miguel Heatwole Sydney, Australia
Miguel’s a versatile singer, choral director & composer. His interests include folk & world music, political satire, the environment, trade unionism & the responsible enjoyment of alcohol. His songwriting embraces themes like peace & justice, the family cat, & visceral passionate attraction. His enthusiasm for recording community singing has let many people share the power of their songs. ... more
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