“Plains of Maralinga” Sheet Music (pdf).
“Plains of Maralinga” Karaoke (midi with lyrics).
Performer: Alistair Hulett.
Lyrics: Alistair Hulett.
Tune: Alistair Hulett.
Remember in the old days how we sucked up to the Poms?
We stood and sang their anthem like a pack of Uncle Toms.
And they bought our beef and wool, so we let them test their bombs
In the heartland of Australia, where the black-skinned nation roams.
There was nothing in the papers about what was being done.
If Robert Menzies knew, by Christ, he wasn’t letting on,
For he loved his flaming knighthood, that great Australian son,
Much more than he loved the land, where the Pitjantjatjara run.
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
What happened there was a bloody disgrace!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
’Twas total disregard for the black Australian race!
No one asked the local people if they thought it was okay.
If you haven’t got a job, mate, you haven’t got a say.
Oh, and if we lost a few, they were only in the way.
If they’d been white, then, bet your backside, there’d’ve been holy shit to pay.
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
What happened there was a bloody disgrace!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
’Twas total disregard for the black Australian race!
They said fallout was harmless; they knew that was a lie.
But it never slowed them up when there were people camped close by
Who tell a story how they saw a big flash in the sky.
Then, they all got sick, and one by one began to slowly die.
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
What happened there was a bloody disgrace!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
’Twas total disregard for the black Australian race!
Now, the sun set on the Empire; many never thought it would.
And now, your Uncle Sam controls the neighborhood.
In the name of peace and justice, he swears he’s Robin Hood,
But in Chile and El Salvador, the truth is understood.
He’s got bureaucrats and technocrats, diplomats and spies,
Working for the Pentagon; they’re its bloody nose and eyes.
But you’ll only feel disheartened until you realize,
When the workers of the world unite, we’ll be twice their bloody size!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
What happened there was a bloody disgrace!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
’Twas total disregard for the black Australian race!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
What happened there was a bloody disgrace!
Out on the plains of Maralinga,
’Twas total disregard for the whole human race!