The following lyrics are to be sung to the tune of 'Sound of Silence' by Simon and Garfunkel.
Hello miners, my old foe
You’ve come to have another go
Because your pits are constantly creeping
Into the land that we have been dreaming
And the vision that keeps hitting my old brain
Is what remains
From the proceeds of mining
With reckless means you wreak alone
Ancient-old songlines to the bone
Show disrespect for sacred sites
And chose to follow only Western rites
When your eyes show greed for the cash of a single night
What riches might
Keep fuelling all that mining
And in the naked land you saw
Ten billion dollars, maybe more
You are taking without speaking
To the elders you would not listening
People writing laws that never can be fair
No one dare
Challenge these laws of mining
“Fools” said I, “You do not know
What lies in the ground below
Watch the spirit that might teach you
When in its cave you might break too"
But my foes are deaf without gain or sell
And nourish their wealth with mining
And politicians bowed and prayed
To the mining god they made
They wanted cash without warming
To all the protest that was forming
And the PM said “The words of the profits
Are written in Australian law
And government all
Supports the way of mining
I've written the lyrics above as close to the original rhymes as possible to preserve the sound of the song. Note that I am non-Aboriginal.
Compare with the original lyrics
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Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone ‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never share No one dare Disturb the sound of silence
“Fools” said I, “You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you” But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said “The words of the prophets Are written on subway walls And tenement halls And whispered in the sounds of silence
You are free to use my lyrics if you attribute copyright to me and link to this page. Just copy this line:
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