This Lovibond May Rowanwood song from the Rowanwood music catalogue addresses migration, identity, and moral conflict through politically charged lyrics and a fusion of acoustic folk, dub, and Celtic-driven sound.
It is a hot and dry mid-summers day,
The roar of rockets have their say,
A bomb, a blast, a blinding flash,
Another future regulated to the past,
Half a world away another harvest fails.
A father without work begs in the street,
In another place, no future for young girls,
All they ask for is a chance to be free.
They can no longer sit idle, They must choose,
Their very soul is what they stand to lose,
The core question of their humanity,
And if they do nothing, they may cease to be.
This great sea of humanity,
Rising like a tidal flow,
A tsunami of suffering—
Where will they go?
Ooh, where will they go?
In this world of pain and sorrow,
Where will they go?
Is there no place… no?
Today on the news, I see a demonstration,
They compare our values to the works of Satan.
They immigrate here, raise the banner of their nation,
How can this be anything but an invasion?
Ask any Native American,
About unmitigated immigration.
Are we to be denied a homeland?
Will we, too, be put on a reservation?
We can no longer sit idle, we must choose,
Our very soul is what we stand to lose,
The core question of our humanity,
And if we do nothing, we may cease to be.
This great sea of humanity,
Rising like a tidal flow,
A tsunami of suffering—
Where will we go?
Ooh, where will we go?
In this world will we die or grow?
Where will we go?
Is there no place… no?
If I choose to make a stand,
And block their entry from my land,
If I build the walls and close the doors,
And turn them back from all our shores?
If I instill fear in my sons and daughters,
Are these the values of my culture and faith?
Leaving others’ children to starvation, slaughter;
Condemning countless people to be slaves.
This great sea of humanity,
Rising like a tidal flow,
A tsunami of suffering—
Where will we go?
Ooh, where will we go?
In this world of pain and sorrow,
Where will we go?
Is there no place… no?
Go away, get out, be gone,
No, please stay, sit down, build home,
I mean.
I.
We.
I
Don’t know.
Please stay.
No.
Go…
Explore more Lovibond songs in the Rowanwood music catalogue.