Eric Bogle Shining River
Outside m y door when I was young there fIowed a shining river GIeam ing in the sum m er sun it used to shine Iike siIver The banks were Iined with wiIIow trees and taII green waving rushes Song birds sang on sum m er breeze, and nested in the bushes
Chorus: Don't you think it's tim e we got together To save our shining river? It wiII soon be gone forever Don't you think it's tim e?
The wiIIow trees have Iong since gone the birds are getting fewer And where m y river used to run there's just an open sewer The banks are Iined with factories, grey towers of brick and m ortar There's sm og and dust on sum m er breeze and poison in the water
And where the siIver gum did stand, where bIoom ed the yeIIow wattIe Now there's onIy oId tin cans and piIes of broken bottIes The banks are Iined with m ud and siIt, the river's thick with sIim e You ask m e who m ust bear the guiIt when the fauIt is yours and m ine
