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it has finally come time to post them here on DU:
Who Reaps The Profit, Who Pays The Price
You sit there handing down orders - you examine the terms of the deal A car is always waiting - other hands turn the wheel The doors slide open before you - the doors slide shut behind Other hands carry your luggage - weightier matters engage your mind You take the gold out of the earth, you throw the corpses in One crop is as good as another as long as the cash keeps pouring in The wheels must never stop turning, the machine must be obeyed The future has got to be fuelled, and there's a price to be paid
Black like the dust, brown like the earth This is our land, the land of our birth
Silently digging, digging our graves Choking our bodies, choking our lives Living on scraps, dying in debt Digging in darkness so our children can eat
Once we were free, greeting the sun Sharing the earth, giving thanks to the corn Sang with the waters, sang with the wind Danced with the drum, circle without end
Now we are silent, they have taken our tongues They have taken our pride, they have taken our songs Only our bodies, only our eyes Burn with the memory of the old ways
Brown like the earth, black like the dust Who can we turn to, who can we trust
You've got no patience with failure - you've got no time for delay Certainty points to the future - straight lines carve out the way You never make moral judgements - only one truth you defend Money must be free to make money - that's all there is in the end You take the diamonds out of the earth, you throw the corpses in One crop is as good as another as long as the cash keeps pouring in The wheels must never stop turning, the machine must be obeyed The future has got to be fuelled, and there's a price to be paid
Brown like the earth, black like the dust, Who can we turn to, who can we trust
The gun is their God, they have taken our land They take what we dig, they take without end We drown in the dust, we choke in the heat Our skin grows sores, our lungs rot
Still we remember the cold clear air Waking at dawn with the morning star Still we remember the sound of the flute The feel of the grass under our feet
Death may come quickly if the mine floods If the rock talks, if the gas explodes Mostly we linger on death's cold bed Clutching for air, coughing up blood
Nobody cares, nobody sees We make no headlines, dying by degrees
A thousand shapes wait to attend you - the ones who drive your cars Who reserve your place at the table - who order your daily cigars Who silently guard your privacy - who make sure your ties are new Who remind you of your appointments - you know that they all depend on you You take the uranium out of the earth, you throw the corpses in One crop is as good as another as long as the cash keeps pouring in The wheels must never stop turning, the machine must be obeyed The future has got to be fuelled, and there's a price to be paid
Nobody cares, nobody sees We make no headline, dying by degrees
What choice do we have - they've taken our homes We wait in silence, our time will come They tear from the earth, they leave nothing behind Only raw scars on a waste land
Some day and soon the mountains will shake The drum will sound, the sun will turn black And from out of the dust and from under the earth We will arise, proclaiming this truth
All life is sacred, all life is one From the rocks on the mountain to the children to come
And the walls will topple, and the fences will fall And the scars will be healed and the earth will be whole
This is our land, the land of our birth Black like the dust, brown like the earth
You never carry money - you like your life ordered and clean You make out cheques to charity - no one can call you mean Through your double-locked gateways - only the privileged pass Admire your taste and elegance - marvels of marble and silver and glass You take the earth out of the earth, you throw the corpses in One crop is as good as another as long as the cash keeps pouring in The wheels must never stop turning, the machine must be obeyed The future has got to be fuelled, and there's a price to be paid
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