Lampedusa

They went down to the water To lay them down to sleep Beneath a sky without stars In the water so dark They laid them down to sleep No good can come of that water Just the promise of darkness below No mother of pearl No place in this world Just the slow and sure reaping of souls The man that crossed that same water With a cross and a gun at his side Oh how barren the earth How deadly the curse In the wake of his fire and lies They that cross that same water In the path of that man once before No welcoming arms Just the promise of harm As they sink to the bottom of it all There's a war that drives their sons from their sides There's a war in the land that they seek Where we rage at their kin At the colour of their skin As they drown in the tears of the sea They went down to the water To lay them down to sleep Beneath a sky without stars In the water so dark They laid them down to sleep They are Thrown into the sea Or cast out overboard Not waving But drowning And Things they fall apart In the cold white heart of man Overseers Slave masters Colonise the mind Colonise the soul Rape the land For it’s weight in gold I cast the whip And I Brand the skin And I Break the will Let god’s love in There are no apologies The conscience lies unstirred Sleeping sound on A sea of bones They owned you once We, the heirs of a poisoned cup We drank it down We watched you drown Colonise the mind Colonise the soul Rape the land Weight in gold I cast the whip And I brand the skin And I break the will Let god’s love in LAMPEDUSA