Spirit bird

 

Give it time and wonder why do what we can 

laugh and we cry and we sleep in your dust

 because we've seen this all before.
Culture fades with tears and grace leaving us stunned 

hollow with shame we have seen this all, seen this all before.

Many tribes of a modern kind, doing brand new work, 

same spirit by side, joining hearts and hands

and ancestral twine, ancestral twine.

Slowly it fades. Slowly we fade

Spirit bird she creaks and groans she knows she has, 

seen this all before she has, seen this all before she has.
 
Slowly it fades. Slowly you fade

Soldier on soldier on my good country man. 

Keep fighting for your culture, now keep fighting for your land.

I know its been thousands of years and i feel your hurt 

and i know its wrong and you feel you ve been chained 

and broken and burned and those beautiful old people,

 those wise old souls, have been ground down for far too long 

by that spineless man, that greedy man, that heartless man,

deceiving man, that government hand taking blood and land 

taking blood and land and still they can,

but your dreaming and your warrior spirit lives on 

 and it is so so so strong in the earth, in the trees, in the rocks,

 in the water, in your blood and in the air we breath

Soldier on soldier on my good country man, 

keep fighting for your children now, keep fighting for your land.

Slowly it fades, slowly we fade, slowly you fade, slowly it fades
Give it time and we wonder why do what we can 

laugh and we cry and we sleep in your dust because we 've seen this all before... 

Xavier Rudd, Spirit bird