Eddie

Eddie
Black man dreams in the great south land
rich red earth where the coolabah stands
Dreamtime laws and wandering tribes
cared for the land where the bilby once thrived
Walkabout wandering, travelling far
follow the food, watching the stars
Pass down the knowledge father to son
mother to daughter since time had begun
Season on season, year upon year
living in freedom with nothing to fear
Everything changed when the white fella came
New laws, new diseases, now nothing's the same
The land had no people said white fellas’ law
but black man resisted to even the score
But nothing prepared them for bullets and guns
The battle was over before it begun
Once standing tall, alone in this land
the black man was broken by white mans’ demands
His pride and his country were taken away
and stolen black children were lost and betrayed
The churchmen descended intent on reform
To civilize black man and make him conform
But civilization was all in their heads
and countless black mothers still mourned for their dead
The lies and deception were turned into laws
and lubras were taken and made white mans’ whores
And so it continued and nothing was done
The ‘civilized’ white man stood tall in the sun
For two hundred years the black man was robbed
Treated less than a human and worse than a dog
And finally one man said enough is enough
my people have suffered and still have it tough
A man they call Mabo showed white men the way
to make a down payment on debts to repay.