Hi Folks,
This song is called Beds are Burning by the Australian band Midnight Oil.
I heard this song on the radio today and remembered how much I liked it when it came out so many years ago (1988 – the year I graduated from high school).
I also was amazed that I could remember the lyrics – the power of repetition!
I thought you might like it as well and could burn some phrases in your head by listening to it – over and over again.
How can we sleep while our beds are burning?
How can we sleep while the world is turning?
I also like the message behind this song, about giving native Australian lands back to the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert.
Lyrics
Out where the river broke
The bloodwood and the desert oak
Holden wrecks and boiling diesels
Steam in forty five degrees
The time has come
To say fair’s fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share
The time has come
A fact’s a fact
It belongs to them
Let’s give it back
How can we dance when our earth is turning
How do we sleep while our beds are burning
How can we dance when our earth is turning
How do we sleep while our beds are burning
The time has come to say fairs fair
To pay the rent, now to pay our share
Four wheels scare the cockatoos
From Kintore East to Yuendemu
The western desert lives and breathes
In forty five degrees
The time has come
To say fair’s fair
To pay the rent
To pay our share
The time has come
A fact’s a fact
It belongs to them
Let’s give it back
How can we dance when our earth is turning
How do we sleep while our beds are burning
How can we dance when our earth is turning
How do we sleep while our beds are burning
The time has come to say fair’s fair
To pay the rent, now to pay our share
The time has come, a fact’s a fact
It belongs to them, let’s give it back
How can we dance when our earth is turning
How do we sleep while our beds are burning