The breaking of the dawn and the sweet the silent morn  There was light upon the hillside, whisperings in the corn  A formless thing was I waiting hungry to be born   By a thousand forces and desires I was torn  But my dream was like a star of that one thing I was sure  And I rose to meet the journey of the day     At that time I was burdened I was struggling to be free  I despised my education my fire was cut with fear  Born into obligation, to be a kind of slave  Just to toil for a master, some shelter and a grave  But something burned within that no bondage could erase   And I tended my flame down in the valley     Oh long hot Summer give birth to me again  Oh unknown lover I’ve always known you were my friend     Oh my soul  Sixteen years old  And my heart is more than a chest can hold    And roaming on the heights where I swear I smelled the sea  I was deep within the stillness lost in a revery   All around me was the gentle drowsy droning of the bees  I felt it coming softly my life’s own destiny  And I wasn’t so surprised to see those tender wild eyes  Taking form before me lightly on the air    Never was I truly open so absolutely free  I’d never been so thirsty how I drank and drank so deep  And said come to me again on the hill beneath the tree  Or down in the dark by the crook of the lea   Where the deep waters flow  And where often I did go  To soothe all the troubles in my mind     Fine fell, hill of dreaming  Lost cradle home that never was  Golden one  Queen of healing  I have seen you shimmering   In the grasses of before     Oh my soul  Sixteen years old   And my heart is more than a chest can hold   Oh my master you’re not my master   I don’t hate you there’s nothing you can say  And oh my master   I’m running faster  And the skyline is wider than your eyes 

Now they’re plotting to send our grandmother to jail  If the fine handed down by the courts isn’t paid   Fifty-five thousand’s the sum they demand   For defending us all and for taking a stand     The oil will be gone in a few more short years  But the powers that be need bogus frontiers  So the frackers have come to blast open the ground  And crack the Earth’s bones to make dollars and pounds    Caudrilla came sniffing round old Blackpool town   It’s a damn stupid name but they aint messing round  They found a quiet place to blast open the ground   And poison the waters and sully the land     Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?    They bought off the farmer he let them come in   To a field quite legally rented from him   Common land privatised centuries before   Now privately proffered to the devil’s own claws    Folks don’t want it no ear was lent   Democracy here’s for the top 1%  You look to the law you’ll find that it’s bent   The deal is wrapped up there’s no need for consent    They call it free market to get us on side  Cos we all like freedom but folks it’s a lie   It’s a psychotic system quite coolly devised  To steal your birthright from under your eyes    Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?  Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?    This land may be weak but her flame is not gone  And a group called the nanas came marching along   Mothers, grandmothers with hearts true and strong  To peacefully protest a most grievous wrong    They stood their ground 21 days and nights  Maybe the spirits gave strength to their plight   And though they hurt no one Caudrilla conspired   To try them for trespass, convict them of crime     Justice broke down then and Tina was told   To cough up the court costs that Caudrilla owed   Now fifty-five thousand’s the sum they demand   For defending us all and for taking a stand     Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?    There was no way nana Tina would pay  The exorbitant forfeit so they threatened jail  But down in the courtroom the people prevailed  And Tina walks free a bold heroine hailed    And all you poor frackers with heads full of greed  The man’s got your minds and he’s poisoned your dreams   But I’m praying for you and I want to believe   You’ll un-brainwash yourselves soon and set yourselves free    No you can’t look to government cos they’re in cahoots   They’ve sold off the state and they’ve carved up the loot   And though they seem civil to tell you the truth   If you step out of line you’ll be feeling their boots     Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?  Oh is this what we are?  Oh have we strayed so far?    Now I’m just a bard there’s not much I can do   But I’ll write a song and I’ll try to sing true   For we are your grandsons and granddaughters too  We’ll be there by your side when the law comes for you    And all you good people now take my advice   Don’t let these frackers come ruin our lives  Our mother is fierce and loving and wise  Let’s stand up beside her and open our eyes 

here the grey border dips into the forest of the night And the weight of the light, heavy like thunder slips away Down there the coal dark enclasp Treading sing swimming among the dripping stones. Around the ferns are spinning gold and green galaxies of memory And those deep pool storms of grieving among the living and the dead Out from there comes a song, singing. Beyond the named things and the certainty of the striplight I found you keeping your secret. I found you were speaking to my heart and your mouth never moved. Truth cannot speak but in green words, it gives birth to dances and universes. Alone there I pray to bend my ear, right down, to hear the original songs

here the grey border dips into the forest of the night And the weight of the light, heavy like thunder slips away Down there the coal dark enclasp Treading sing swimming among the dripping stones. Around the ferns are spinning gold and green galaxies of memory And those deep pool storms of grieving among the living and the dead Out from there comes a song, singing. Beyond the named things and the certainty of the striplight I found you keeping your secret. I found you were speaking to my heart and your mouth never moved. Truth cannot speak but in green words, it gives birth to dances and universes. Alone there I pray to bend my ear, right down, to hear the original songs