1. |
You're Needed Now
04:31
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Come together heed the call
See the writing's on the wall
The world needs action not just talking
Get your boots on, let's start walking
On the streets you're needed now
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
Now, not tomorrow
Today you're needed now
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
"I put family first" you say
"And the kids want me to play"
But you can play another day
It's time to rally come what may
On the streets you're needed now
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
There's time for celebrations
For sport and nice vacations
It's time to rally for the future
Bring the family on this adventure
On the streets you're needed now
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
We are marching on the street
You can hear our fearless beat
Banners waving colours bright
Come and join us in this fight
On the streets you're needed now
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
We're all glad we joined the throng
Marched with others, sang the song
("Unity must never die, raise your banners high!")
When your children ask you how to make
The future safe for their kids' sake
Tell them, You're needed now!
There's strength in numbers
You're needed now!
You ask what we can do
About corruption by the few
Persevere through thick and thin
Keep on marching, don't give in
Keep on singing loud and long
Stick together, we all belong
Collective action makes us strong
There's strength in numbers
We're all needed now!
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2. |
Earth Day
02:31
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Happy Earth Day!
When the truth may finally dawn!
Beautiful morning!
Radiant light as the shadows of night have withdrawn!
Storing the plentiful pouring sunshine
Winning the wind with a spinning turbine
Clean, bright and keen sighted
We're warmed, our lives lighted
Happy Earth Day!
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3. |
AGL
02:03
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‘Energy in action’ means coal seam gas extraction
An overseas transaction and domestic frowns
A pile of double-speaking, a bit of back-room sneaking
And lots of toxic leaking into poisoned towns
AGL! ‘Though you say we shouldn’t oughter
AGL! We are poisoning your water
What we did in Gloucester was repugnant and preposterous
Were told the moral cost to us was somewhat high
The locals wanted to thump us 'cause we’d lost our moral compass
They kicked up such a rumpus that we said good-bye
AGL! We’re still drilling out in Camden
What the hell! They can suck it up. Goddamn them!
The government is backing us, the people are attacking us
The country that we’re fracking isn’t our concern
Farmed or residential, we don’t reckon that’s essential
We only see potential for ourselves to earn
AGL! Mining gas beside the school
AGL! We’re in love with fossil fuel
These citizens protesting they seem to be suggesting
That we shouldn’t be investing in this crap at all
We find that rather testing and things get interesting
When the buggers start divesting and our profits fall
AGL! ‘Though we poisoned, lied and cheated
AGL! We were publicly defeated
AGL! Increasingly it’s doable
May as well make the switch into renewables!
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4. |
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On grazing land that was priceless
A company sought a gas licence
A company sought a gas licence
They’d have a jolly good spree
They quickly came up with a marvellous plan
To frack for gas all over the land
And sell it to China and Japan
When coal seam gas was new me boys
And they called for more wells
And more land and more leases
And oh, the expansion it just never ceases
And nobody mentioned all these increases
When coal seam gas was new me boys
Well at first it’s just exploration, a simple investigation
A simple investigation, if only it were true
For once the company passes the gate
You’re likely to find you’ve left it too late
With all their sweet-talking you’ve taken the bait
When coal seam gas was new me boys
Well the next to come in is the drilling
No chance of anything spilling
No chance of anything spilling, if only it were true
There’s sodium hydroxide, ammonium persulfate
Or muriatic acid or sodium borate
Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate
There’s toluene, napthalene, trimethylbenzene
dodecylbenzenesulfonate isoprop'nolamine
monoethanolamine, xylene and kerosene
So drink your chemical brew me boys
When drilling down past the water
They seal it just like they oughter
They seal it just like they oughter, if only it were true
The water flows out from the basin cracking
And mixes with chemicals used in the fracking
And all of it’s done with government backing
The profits will go to a few me boys
And when the mining is over
The land will go back to clover
The land will go back to clover, if only it were true
We can’t use the water, the poison’s still there
The methane’s still leaking into the air
And the company’s gone with never a care
When coal seam gas is through me boys
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5. |
He’s Gotta Go
03:03
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Tony Abbott, he’s gotta go
He’s gotta go, he’s gotta go
He’s gotta go, he’s gotta go
He’s got a gonad hangin’ out
At a diplomatic function
I hope whoever put him there
Is feeling some compunction
And it’s throw the man out
He shall not keep the crown
The future of this country
Starts with bringing Abbott down
It’s partly that he lacks
A basic social education
He’s leering at his daughters
And embarrassing the nation
But mainly, he’ll kick us in the ditch
His neoliberal policies betray us to the rich
Tony Abbott, he’s gotta go
He’s got a goatish look about him
In the way he leans towards you
Or is that just him listening as ASIO records you?
It’s partly that he’s guided
By Leviticus quotations
And he’d rather bring the witch-hunts back
Than end discrimination
“Stop the boats.” It’s a ploy for votes
“Axe the tax.” He’ll scratch some backs
“In difficult circumstances difficult things happen”
No Tony, it was torture
But you’re shaking hands and clappin’
He’s got a ghost of Mussolini
Standing just behind his shoulder
He may not be as scary
But he would if he were bolder
It’s partly that in climate talks he makes an awful racket
When he wouldn’t know a snowfall
From the dandruff on his jacket
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6. |
Take Me There
01:46
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How I’d love to find the world
Where right-wing nutjobs live
Oh take me there
To that world that’s on the brink
Of being overrun by pinkos
Take me there
Where the Left is all united
And assembled into fighter units
Hidden everywhere. Take me there
How I’d love to find the world
Where right-wing nutjobs live
Oh take me there
Where the way to fund your science
Is to speak out in defiance
Take me there
And the industries that fund you
Are too proud to use the undue
Pressure they could bring to bear. Take me there
How I’d love to find the world
Where right-wing nutjobs live
Oh take me there
Where our freedom’s greatest perils
Come from greenies, reds and ferals
Take me there
And the corporate agenda
Is a fatherly and tender
Wish to manage world affairs. Take me there
How I’d love to find the world
Where right-wing nutjobs live
Oh take me there
Where the red tape just gets tougher
And developers all suffer
Take me there
Where the media all pander
To the left-wing propaganda
And it’s terribly unfair. Take me there
How I’d love to find the world
Where right-wing nutjobs live
Oh take me there! Take me there! Take me there!
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7. |
Councillor Chambers
02:37
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You know that land up at Fosters Falls?
It’s a natural water course
Well, Councillor Chambers bought it cheap
He said he wanted a bush retreat
Which makes it hard to understand
Why the council went and zoned the land
As residential and raised his rates
Still, he should know, he’s in real estate
Yeah, he should know, he’s in real estate
And now he’s sold it back to the crown
They’re putting up a retirement town
They asked the council to please appoint
A local firm to build the joint
So Councillor Chambers chose a man
The dearest quote by a hundred grand
He said he liked what the fella had done
And he should know, it’s his brother’s son
Yeh, he should know. It’s his brother’s son
We’ve gotta fight
Fight for the land
We’ve got a right to make a stand
It’s just a name changing hands
It’s just a game for a wealthy man
I guess you’ve heard, it’s in the press
How Fosters Falls is a screamin’ mess
That housing project was nearly built
When it vanished under a wall of silt
It takes no crystal ball to see what happens
To a hill if you kill the trees
Now where’s the reason? What’s the plan?
Well Chambers knows he’s a wealthy man
Yeah, he should know, he’s a wealthy man
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8. |
Let’s Pretend
03:39
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Let’s pretend it isn’t happening
Let’s pretend it isn’t true
Let’s pretend that we can go on
Just the way we used to do
Let’s pretend that cutting carbon
Ten percent or maybe five
Will be enough to shape a climate
That our children can survive
Let’s pretend that giving handouts
To those polluters who are worst
Will in some strange way save our future
From forever being cursed
Let’s pretend that there’s a method
Of burning coal that’s clear and clean
Let’s pretend that nuclear power
Is safer than it’s ever been
Let’s pretend that turning lights down
And giving plastic bags away
By itself is all that’s needed
To usher in a brighter day
Let’s pretend that growing output
More and more and more each year
Is our best hope for tomorrow
Rather than our deepest fear
Let’s pretend the Coalition isn’t really all that bad
Let’s pretend, just for one moment
That they’re not all barking mad
Let’s pretend the sun goes ‘round the earth
Let’s pretend the earth is flat
That those scientists don’t know anything
And that climate change is crap
Let’s pretend it isn’t happening
Let’s pretend it isn’t true
Let’s pretend that we can go on
Just the way we used to do
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9. |
Denial Tango
03:44
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You say the planet’s warming but I’m convinced it’s not
Last Tuesday it was rather cool, today it’s not so hot
And if it’s getting hotter, I’m sure it’s not by much
It’s prob’ly due to sunspots, volcanoes or some such
Or maybe it’s the Chinese, they make more smoke than us
I know there’s many more of them, so let them catch the bus
One thing I am sure of, no need to make a fuss
Fire up those smoky chimneys and sing
Denial. I’m in denial
Don’t talk to me of independent studies or scientific trial
I’m in denial, deep in denial
And as the waters rise around me
I’ll just hold my breath and say it isn’t so
I call myself a skeptic and I believe it’s so
I’m skeptical of anything: I just don’t wanna know
Don’t give me C S I R O or I P C C
I want some wacky viscount with a classical degree
He says, “It was much hotter X million years ago
I know that killed the dinosaurs but they were rather slow
It’s just a lot of scientists that think they’re in the know
But I know I know better. Let’s sing!”
Denial. I’m in denial
When I see those econazis
I raise my arm and shout Sieg Heil
I’m in denial...
Those fires are not raging. No floods deluge the land
Those hurricanes and tornadoes are just flashes in the pan
The animals are doing fine: no species dying out
And half the bloody planet isn’t choking in drought
The ice is not receding from either polar cap
I’d go with Tony Abbott: it’s just a load of crap
This ‘round-the-world disaster is an evil greenie trap
‘Cause everybody knows the world is flat
Denial.....
And as the waters rise around me
I’ll just hold my breath and say (glug glug glug)
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10. |
Two Wheel Tango
03:52
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Those clingy black shorts they wear
The tanned and bony knees they bare
The helmets, leather gloves and pumps
The fanny packs upon their rumps
Oh, we like, we like, we like, a man on a bike
Even in a navy three-piece suit
With a briefcase on the carrier to boot
A silver clip encircling the shin
To neatly tuck the pant leg in
Oh I like, I like, I like, a man on a bike
Oh she likes, she likes, she likes gentlemen on bikes
[I’m sentimental ‘bout a bike]
Something ‘bout a man on a bicycle
That’s both naughty yet nice-icle
The friendly “Hi!”s, the muscled thighs
Oh we melt just like an icicle
Around a man on a bicycle
When it comes to the art of seduction
By now you must have made the deduction
That a fellow in a car doesn’t get very far with me
Proving once again that less is more
I say two wheels are much hotter than four
And a 5 speed or a 10 speed
Gives me all the speed I really need
To drive me to ecstasy!
[Oh it feels so good to ogle a pair of wheels
And it’s so noble to refuse to fool with carbon fuel
That’s why I like a man on a bike]
What a thrilling non-polluting sight
When we’re pedalling with all our might
Crouched like panthers over handlebars
Trying not to be run down by cars
Oh they like, they like, they like, a man on a bike
I just know they must be special guys
I confess they make me fantasise
Keep your movie stars for what they’re worth
Give me a man who wants to save the earth
Oh I like, I like, I like, a man on a bike
Oh, I like, I really like, a man on a bike
Yes, we like, we like, we like, a man on a bike
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11. |
Murray Darling
04:20
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Oh Murray Darlin’
You’re not so healthy anymore
You know you’re harmin’
Lots of native flora
It’s alarmin’
How you’ve wound back the water to a trickle
Whereas once you used to pour
Oh Murray Darlin’
Irrigation’s irritatin’ me
The sole would hearten
Just to see you flowin’ free
And not to Harden
Just like an artery
And once again to see you see the sea
Delta, oh Delta, you used to be so Goodrem-ember?
Before the embers of your heart were snuffed out
By some sham Poo, a floater on your river
Then he went off to Paris leaving you high and dry
You didn’t think the Scud could aim so low
You should have changed your name to Sandy
When your humour ceased to flow
O Murray Darlin’
It’s as if someone pulled the plug out of the basin
And they’ve siphoned off the lot without replacin’
And now the planet’s gettin’ hot
But all you’ve got is not enough to wash my face in
Now, I know what you’re thinking, the Murray doesn’t have a ‘delta’ as such. Rather the place where the Murray meets the sea is a ... ?
Yes that’s it! A contiguous twin estuarine lake system, but that doesn’t scan well so Clark had to use his poetic licence
O Murray Darlin’
Your love is miles from where you are
I know you’re pinin’ ‘cause you can see him from afar
But I know one day you’ll reach him and savour
Your Younghusband’s long Peninsula (look it up)
And Adelaide poor girl is thirsting
Strains Murrumbidgee mud through clenched teeth
All those broken folk in Broken Hill
Who have to boil their water
And all those narrow minds from places such as
(But not necessarily!) Narromine
Repeating their call, parrot-fashion, to
“Turn the rivers inland” and other unnatural acts
It’s them we should be cursin’
Listen to them and problems will only worsen
O Murray Darlin’
As you meander ‘round the bend
I’ll miss you, and, er
I love you like the farmer’s daughter
Called Miranda
And I’d drink you like rosewater from a tap
Not the sap of an oleander
There are those who say, “go with the flow, make Hay while the sun shines. There is no water problem.” I’ll take that with a dry riverbed of salt. Take heed, the day is not too far off when you’ll be saying
“Hay, remember when we were making a splash in Wee-Waa and the parks in Parkes had grass and Griffith was high and not dry, and there was mildew in Mildura?” When that day comes, Murray, darling, do you think you can ever reclaim your former glory? Wilcannia!?
O Murray Darlin’
I’m not certain but it seems
That certain farmers
Don’t care what goes on downstream
Don’t they know that there is no I in team?
But there is in ‘callous negligence’ indeed
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12. |
My Kyoto
02:34
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When I leave the room I switch off the light
And I print on both sides of the page
I ride the tram, I’m glad I can
My coffee I buy from Fairtrade
‘Cause I think I oughta I reuse grey water
I don’t eat things that come from a cage
In the winter I wear warm clothes inside
And I don’t turn the heating up high
When I boil the jug to fill my mug
There’s no left over water inside
All the energy that is charged to me
Renewable sources supplied
When I brush my teeth I only use a cup
And I don’t let the tap water run
My clothes get clean in one machine
And pegging them out isn’t fun
But a leaflet warned me when I’ve done my laundry
I should let my clothes dry in the sun
I make sure my finances are carbon-free
‘Cause I care about where I invest
I ask my mates to investigate
Put their super and banks to the test
So that if they find that they’re bad for the climate
I suggest that like me they divest
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13. |
Divest
01:31
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Divest from fossil fuels. Put your money to the test
Divest from coal and oil. For the future’s sake, divest
Move your super and your savings
It’s a powerful protest
Just make a thoughtful change
And let the market do the rest
Divest! Divest! Give fossil fuels a rest
For the future’s sake divest. Divest!
For the future’s sake divest. Divest! Divest!
Invest in our community. Clean power is the best
By letting go of CO2 our planet will be blessed
Invest in solar, wind and tide
So Earth will not be stressed
Renewables and technology
Will help achieve our quest
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14. |
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Bound together through the land
Keep the spirit keep the way
Brothers, sisters make a stand
Unity will win the day
Raise your banners high
Strength to strength and line by line
Unity must never die
Raise your banners high
Those who stand against all strife
Those who stand for liberty
Fight to win a better life
Fight to keep the future free
‘Though the struggle brings you pain
‘Though the struggle brings you tears
Ours will be the final gain
We shall hear the victory cheers!
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15. |
Energy March
04:19
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The wind will drive the fine white sails
Of turbines out on plain and hill
We’ll see a cleaner wind prevail
Our Earth can live if there’s a will
We don’t need your filthy coal
Your coal seam gas or oil
We’re not going to pay the toll
Of seeing our Earth spoiled
Wind power
Wave power
Power from the sun
The power of our marching feet
Our voices raised along the street
Will see this battle won
We’ll see this battle won
The mighty sea rolls to the shore
Its power, harnessed, will provide
Its strength is too great to ignore
It’s up to us to turn this tide
Our land is bathed in sunshine bright
We have to shout to make them see
That power to turn on our lights
Should come from solar energy
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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
Miguel Heatwole recommends:
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