Home was by the water, childhood days were easy Until they came and dammed the river about three miles down the valley The foreign men arrived with all their diggers and their trucks And they cut down all the skyline trees that stretched across our hills And they came and saw my father with the soldiers standing guard And put the piece of paper in his hand We watched the waters rising as we packed up our belongings My father sat and broke down as we loaded up the wagon My brother went and saw the building men for one last time Don’t lie to us, don’t lie to us but all they did was lie And not a word was spoken as we left our valley home Through the dusty roads I lay and watched the sky Home is by the railway now on the outskirts of the city The rains they come in torrents now, come beating on the shanty At night we watch the rocket flares lighting up the sky There’s talk they closed the border up just ten miles to the North And the young men head out westward as the curfew siren calls And the Army trucks come move in with their guns (Sullivan 1984)
