Damien Dempsey - Colony Lyrics
I sing the song of the colonyHow many years and you're still not freeAnd your mother cries and you ask god whyGreed is the knife and the scars run deepHow many races with much reason to weepAnd your children cryAnd you ask god whyAnnie, she came from Dunlavin TownThe TB came and killed her family all aroundPopulation boomsEleven in two roomsKatie she came from down Townsend streetTen in a bed and no shoes on their feet1916 cameThey played the patriots gameFreddy, he came from the Iveagh flatsTenement slums and infested with ratsSleeping on damp strawTrying not to break the lawThomas, he came from Kilmaine in MayoSemi starvation was the only life you'd knowIn a two room shackThen jailed in LetterfrackI look to the east, I look to the westTo the north and the south, and I'm not too impressedTime after timeAfter crime after crimeThey raped, robbed, pillaged, enslaved and murderedJesus Christ was their god and they done it in his nameSo he could take the blame if it's not all a gameWith bible in one hand and a sword in the otherThey came to purify my land of my Gaelic Irish mothersAnd fathers, and sisters and brothersWith our own ancient customs, laws, music, artWay of life and cultureTribal in structureWe had a civilisationWhen they were still neanderthal nationsWe suffer with the Native American, the Indian in AsiaAboriginal AustraliaThe African people with their history so deepAnd our children still weep and our lives are still cheapYou came from Germany, from France, from EnglandAnd from SpainFrom Belgium and from PortugalYou all done much the sameYou took what was not yoursWent against your own bibleYou broke your own lawsJust to out do the rivalBut did you ever apologizeFor the hundreds and millions of livesYou destroyed and terrorisedOr have you never realizedDid you never feel shameFor what was done in your country's nameAnd find out who's to blame and why they were so inhumaneAnd still they teach you in your schoolAbout those glorious days of ruleAnd how it's your destiny to beSuperior to meBut if you've any kind of mindYou'll see that all human kindAre the children of this earthAnd your hate for them will chew you up and spit you outYou'll never kill our will to be free, to be freeYou'll never kill our will to be free, to be freeYou'll never kill our will to be free, to be freeInside our minds we hold, hold the key
