Searching For Freedom

Forced to run and leave his loved ones
Leave his troubled land
Came in search of life in England
Hoped we’d understand

Treated like an outcast leper
Lost among the stars
Forced to raise the torch of freedom
Through his prison bars

Didn’t have a home to go to
Stumbled through the night
Couldn’t find a friend to turn to
Lost the will to fight

Couldn’t see a future coming
Never felt so low
Heard the voice of freedom calling
Knew he’d have to go

Found the tree of heaven waiting
Reaching for the sky
Knew that he could win his freedom
Only had to die

When We Move

We will all move together
When we move, when we move
We will all move together
When we move

Every man, every woman …….

And the young ones will lead us …….

There’ll be singing and dancing ……..

There’ll be all kinds of colours ……..

And there won’t be any hurry ………

And the old ways won’t matter ……..

All the songbirds will be with us ……..

And we won’t need to worry ……...

‘Cos we’ll all move together
When we move, when we move
Yes, we’ll all move together
When we move

Human Ways

Audio file here

Can’t make a linnet’s wing
No matter the skills we bring
Can’t match the glory of
The crocus flowers in the early spring
Can’t build a mountain stream
Can’t live a dolphin’s dream
Can’t listen to the blue whales calling
And know what they mean

Chorus:

But we’ve found human ways
While exploring life’s wonder-maze
And we’ll go on learning
As we venture through these coming days

Can’t fall like summer rain
Can’t move like a hurricane
Can’t flutter like a butterfly
Along a country lane
Can’t grow a toucan’s bill
Can’t build a termite hill
Can’t show the fine array of colours
That a rainbow will

Can’t use an eagle’s eye
Can’t glow like a firefly
Can’t spin a spider’s web
And wait until a meal comes by
Can’t run like cheetahs run
Can’t create a setting sun
Can’t light the night sky
Like the moon does when the day is done

How Will We Mark This Day?

Chorus:

How will we mark this day ?
How will we mark this special day ?
From Norway, from Denmark
And England we have come
To help you to mark this day ?

We will bring you gifts from afar (x2)
Carefully crafted
With you in our minds
We will bring you gifts from afar

We will bring you the warmth in our hearts (x2)
Freely we offer
All that we can give
We will bring you the warmth in our hearts

I hope we'll all listen to you (x2)
There is much you can teach us
From all you have learnt
I hope we'll all listen to you

You are young, you are powerful too (x2)
With pride and commitment
You'll travel through this world
You are young, you are powerful too

Home

I’ve lived all my life in this city
Spent most of my days in this town
A lot of people say they don’t like it ‘round here
But to me it just feels like home

I’ve seen other places, other countries
There are places that I love to roam
But at the end of the day, when the sun sinks away
I just want to head back home

Chorus:

Home, they say’s where your heart is
A place to belong, that’s your home
And maybe return at the end of your days
‘Cos your home is your home is your home

Sometimes your home is your country
Sometimes your home is your town
Sometimes your home’s where you have to make it
As you just try to settle down

I’ve got friends living here in this city
Friends that I’m proud to have known
If you met them you’d see they’re like family to me
They really make it feel like home

But how must it be for those people
Who came here from over the sea
Some had to leave all their family behind
Just too work next to you and me

Well I know they haven’t always felt welcome
This town, to them, can’t seem real
No relatives’ smile for such a long while
Just think how you might feel

Peace In The Park

I have seen a place in England
Where the people work and play
Let there be peace in the park
As they swing and slide together
You can here the young ones say
Let there be peace in the park

Peace in the park
Let there be peace in the park
Let it rain or let it snow
Let the mighty north wind blow
But let there be peace in the park

And they come from many nations
They have every shade of skin
Let there be peace in the park
As they learn to laugh together
There’s a world of friends to win
Let there be peace in the park

As they make their play for peace
All the young ones lead the old
Let there be peace in the park
With a warm, inclusive welcome
No one’s left out in the cold
Let there be peace in the park

With their caring, hopeful vision
All the people there have grown
Let there be peace in the park
And they’d love it if you’d share it
And you’d claim it as your own
Let there be peace in the park

Goodbye

Goodbye, goodbye,
It’s so hard to say goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye,
It’s so hard to say goodbye
No matter how I try
I still can’t tell you why
It’s so hard to say goodbye

We wish you well
Yes we really wish you well
We wish you well
Yes we really wish you well
No matter how I try
I still can’t tell you why
It’s so hard to say goodbye

We’ll meet again
Yes I know we’ll meet again
We’ll meet again
Yes I know we’ll meet again
No matter how I try
I still can’t tell you why
It’s so hard to say goodbye

Goodbye, goodbye,
It’s so hard to say goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye,
It’s so hard to say goodbye
No matter how I try
I still can’t tell you why
It’s so hard to say

Gentle Men

Gentle men
Nothing here to be afraid of
It’s a break from all that madness
For these warm and loving men
Gentle men

Gentle men
There’s no danger, there’s no problems
Things are quiet, things are tranquil
For these warm and loving men
Gentle men

Gentle men
No more hustle, no more bustle
Just the mist down the valley
For these warm and loving men
Gentle men

Gentle men
Making time for sharing problems
It’s a step up on that ladder
For these warm and loving men
Gentle men

Do You Hear The Children Singing

Do you hear
Do you hear the children singing
Do you hear
Do you hear the children singing
Do you hear
Do you hear
Do you hear
Do you hear the children singing
Do you hear

There is hope
There is hope in what they’re bringing

Year on year
Year on year their strength’s been growing

Hear their song
Hear their song as it gets clearer

Have no fear
It’s a human way of being

Do you hear
Do you hear the children singing

Burn Fire, Burn

Glimpsing red and blue and yellow
Burn fire, burn
Time for all our thoughts to mellow
Burn fire, burn

Chorus: Every eye is tempted by
The flicker of the fire

Smoky timber cracks the night
Burn fire, burn
Warming hands and bringing light
Burn fire, burn

Seeing patterns in this picture
Burn fire, burn
Makes our lives and feelings richer
Burn fire, burn

Brightness moves the night away
Burn fire, burn
Keeps our wilder thoughts at bay
Burn fire, burn

Hands at rest, no words are spoken
Burn fire, burn
Wish the peace might not be broken
Burn fire, burn

Breaking Down Walls

I’d like to tell a story ‘bout some friends of mine
They had the best of schooling, drank the very best of wine
It’s a true-life story of some real good friends of mine
But a story you may not know

They were born into a social class unknown to you and me
Fine clothes, big houses, they had wealth and property
Their people ordered working folk to cook and mend and clean
In a world headed up by their queen

But there were high walls, built for isolation
And there was precious little love, it’s hard to imagine

Their early years brought all the things their family’s wealth could buy
But their parents found it hard to show them closeness when they tried
Their cleaners, cooks and nannies were their one real source of joy
They seemed to treasure every girl and boy

By the age of twelve they’d all been sent to boarding school
Far away from home and all the people that they knew
Special schools for princes and the privileged
They were told, “It’s only the very best for you”

Abandoned by their families, removed from those they loved
Forced to hide their feelings, misinformed by those above
Told they were superior and drip-fed year on year
They were left with arrogance and fear

So counting down the days at school, surviving best they could
They tried to help each other out as any humans would
But this long and scary ordeal left it’s mark and damaged them
Some would never be the same again

So why would any parent put a child through all this pain
It’s hard to understand just what they’d think they’d have to gain
But when you stop to think how parents do the best they can
It makes you wonder how their young lives began

So, if you come across them ask them how it was for them
Sit and listen to them, show them all the love you can
Remember not to blame them, let them know they’re not alone
Stand by them and welcome them home

Break down those high walls, end their isolation
Break down those walls and welcome them home
Welcome them home, welcome them home

Mozambique

I was born in a land that was occupied
Soldiers everywhere
My people’s life was so very hard
But the rulers, they didn’t care

Mozambique, Mozambique
Mozambique, my land, Mozambique

When I was young I loved to draw
My people and my land
And as I grew I began to learn
Of the power in my hands

My people could see all the gifts I had
They loved my work from the start
But the rulers, they were afraid of me
And my creative, African heart

I worked so hard just to pay my way
I painted week after week
I worked for the day my people would say:
“Freedom for Mozambique”

The rulers could see I was black, I was strong
And they did not treat me so well
When I would not do what they wanted me to
They threw me in a prison cell

My people are wise, my people are strong
My people fought for their rights
When they’d forced all the rulers to leave our land
My people danced through the night

Your Love

Your love
There every morning
Welcomes the sunrise
Day after day
Your love
Lifted by songbirds
The beauty around you
And children at play

Your love
Clear as the daylight
Warming the whole world
Bring what it may
Your love
Lives every moment
Music and laughter
Having their say

Your love
Lives on in others
Sisters and brothers
Made on your way
Your love
Rests on its pillow
Smiles in a deep sleep
And savours the day

Welcome

Chorus:

Welcome to the wondrous world of living
Welcome to the miracle of life
It’s a world for the taking and the giving
It’s the place where we all live our lives

You belong with your family and your people
Safe and secure in all you do
In this world, that we all share together,
We’ve saved a place that fits no one but you

There’ll be hugs and there’ll be kisses, as we love you
We’ll be close - as close as close can be
There’ll be friends for you to learn and play with
There’ll be fun and games, just you wait and see

Some of those who love you may be struggling
Some of them may not know what to do
Their tears may have to wash away their sadnesses
But none of these things mean they don’t love you

We’ll be there to help you when you need it
People love to help out where they can
Everybody benefits from others
Every child, every woman, every man

So this world and all its wonders are before you
There’s no end to what a little one might do
Precious things are waiting round each corner
But none of them more valuable than you

Is It Too Much To Ask

Is it too much to ask
That we all live in peace
That we witness the slaughter no more?
Is it too much to ask
For a world that believes
We can all have good lives without war?

Is it too much to ask
That the bombing should cease
That our children might sleep without fear?
Is it too much to ask
For a world in which caring’s
A value that we all hold dear?

Is it too much to ask
That our voices be heard
That our thinking be valued and free?
Is it too much to ask
For a world where we all know
That loving’s the way we could be?

Is it too much to ask
That our needs might get met
That our hopes and our dreams could come true?
Is it too much to ask
For a world where respect
Is the birthright for me and for you?

Is it too much to ask
That we all live in peace
That we witness the slaughter no more?
Is it too much to ask
For a world in which people
Can see that there’s no need for war?

A Time In The Day

There’s a time in the day
When the airlines are not hissing
The machines are almost silent
The hand tools all lie still
There’s a time in the day
That working people treasure
There’s a time, a precious time, in every day

There’s a time in the day
We can sit and take it easy
We can watch the rain clouds forming
Are movements are our own
There’s a time in the day
When we warm to those around us
There’s a time, a precious time, in every day

There’s a time in the day
When we wonder at the meaning
We laugh at things together
And the hope inside us rings
There’s a time in the day
We remember we are human
There’s a time, a precious time, in every day

And there’s a time in the day
When the wind blows in our favour
We see the world more clearly
And we dream of things to come
There’s a time in the day
That we wish would last forever
There’s a time, a precious time, in every day

The Vows I Made to You

I remember love’s sweet harmony
The first time that you took me in your arms
How hungry and how keen I was
To linger with your precious Northern charms
You helped me when I needed help
To get rid of some old, addictive ways
And we both made a stand against
Some things back in those fighting union days

Sometimes I’m sad, sometimes I’m blue,
But all the tea in China
Wouldn’t make me break the vows I made to you

Remember when you weren’t so sure
That having kids was what you’d like to do
And remember how that smile lay on your face
After the first one had come through
And now and then we look back there
And smile at all our worries and our doubts
And we feel a sense of pride at just how beautiful
Our kids have both turned out

Sometimes I’m sad; sometimes I’m blue,
But all the tea in China
Wouldn’t make me break the vows I made to you

But now the kids are leaving home
This house seems full of you and full of me
And I just start to wonder how we’ll get along – how our lives will be
Will we still see the things we saw
When we first met as woman and as man?
I hope we find our way back there together – I think that we can

Sometimes I’m sad; sometimes I’m blue,
But all the tea in China
Wouldn’t make me break the vows I made to you

The Life of a Man

I once knew a man much older than I am
Who grew in a world where a man was a man
He worked all his life, with his hands, in a factory
And he tried, how he tried, just to be a good man

When he was younger his parents were so proud
They nurtured, with care, their new little man
And comic-book stories, friends and relations
All helped to show him the ways of the man

They taught him to fight but to never get frightened
Keep a lid on your feelings, be brave little man
Don’t show your tears to the eyes of your enemies
‘Cos it’s kill-or-be-killed when you’ll be a man

Well maybe you think that you already know him
Maybe you think that you’re wise to this man
But stop for a moment and hear his full story
What it was like when they made him a man

The fighting, the torment, the sad isolation
The pain that’s inflicted by man upon man
There’s no room left for the warmth and the closeness
So much between brothers is lost to the man

But he passed to me all the love he could muster
Through the sensitive arms of a hard-working man
‘Cos he knew in his heart of the pain in the old ways
And he offered his children a new kind of man

So I won’t let you blame him for what was done to him
By a world that insisted that he be a man
And I’ll stand beside him, I’ll treasure and guide him
Together we’ll search and we’ll find a new man

So the next time you see him act out the old ways
Remember what went into making this man
Try to see past all the pain and the anger
Try’n get in touch with the love in that man

‘Cos he’s more than a tool in the rush for production
He feels all the feelings that all people can
And he don’t want to kill, or be killed like the old days
‘Cos there’s no need for hate in the life of a man

Strangers Become Friends

We’d travelled far and met, at first, as strangers
But both of us were interested to hear
The music and the stories from each others native land
We listened with respect and without fear ( x2 )

You asked me what I’d heard about your country
And I felt ashamed of what I didn’t know
School taught me to find it
On that big map on our wall
But they said: “It’s just another place our soldiers go” (x2)

And they kept from me the beauty of your people
They hid the ways you love to sing and dance
They criticised your culture
When they claimed their ways were best
They didn’t give our friendship half a chance ( x2 )

Strangers, strangers, strangers in a far-off land
New friends, new friends, now we’re walking hand-in-hand

You spoke about the problems in your country
How the fighting left your people torn apart
You reminded me how my land
Ruled yours for many years
The more I thought, the more it broke my heart ( x2 )

At last we said goodbye and swapped addresses
And what I’d lost was all that I could see
But then I realised I’d gained your friendship and I’d learned
That people in your land were much like me ( x2 )

So thanks to you for letting me get closer
For greeting me with arms that were so wide
You helped me really see
The love of people in this world
I’ll treasure you and your land deep inside ( x2 )

Sometimes I Remember

Sometimes I remember
The good times that we had
Way back I the fifties
When I was a growing lad
The river we would follow
The fields we used to roam
On the east side of the city
That I still call my home

We walked to school each morning
All the kids from down our street
Crossed over with the warden
Stopped to buy some sweets
Laboured in the classroom
‘Till the school-bell rang at four
Then grabbed our gear so quickly
And broke out through the door

Saturdays were different
The day was all our own
Us friends would get together
On push-bikes we would roam
Sometimes we’d go swimming
Sometimes to the park
With mother’s message in our ears
“Make sure you’re home by dark”

One day we built a trolley
A plank and four old wheels
Two bent nails, a big long bolt
For brakes we used our heels
And it was, “Who would push?”
And, “Who would ride?”
As we dragged it up the hill
Then all on-board for the ride of your lives
I hear them screaming still

Well, now I’m in my fifties
And I don’t play much at all
But I love to see the young ones
Having such a ball
It’s great to see their energy
And I like the ways they play
I’d love to play like them again
I think I’ll start today!

If you walk that river now
You wander down those ways
You’ll see the young lads of today
Playing the same old games
If you watch them closely
Through the corner of your eye
You’ll see that they still hold the spark
That no one should let die

No More Killing In My Name

No more killing in my name
No more killing in my name
They don’t speak for me
In peace or war
They’re killing this world
And I want no more
No more killing in my name

No more bombing in my name ….

No more oil wars in my name ….

No more orphans in name ….

No more killing in my name ….

My People

Who’s out of bed at the crack of dawn
Doing work that needs to be done ?
Who’s working hard with their hands and their head
And can still find time to have fun ?

Chorus:
My people, working people,
Children, women and men,
My people, hard-working people,
The world would be lost without them

Who lays the bricks in the hospital walls ?
Who builds the schools and the roads ?
Who makes the planes, drives the midnight trains
And carries more than their share of the load ?

Who raises kids and who cooks the meals ?
Who cares for the sick and the old ?
Who works night and day for not enough pay
But is worth more than silver or gold ?

Who writes the stories, who paints the scenes
And who finds the words that will rhyme ?
Who makes the music and who sings the songs
And who’ll bring us together in time ?

Who shapes the land and who plants the seeds ?
Who cares for all that is grown ?
And who’s looking forward to the party when
They’ll reap what they have sown ?

In Praise of Rosie Brennan

This world knows a fighter,
Rosie Brennan is her name,
She was raised poor and Irish,
There's none better in the game.

She's strong like a lion,
Rosie Brennan is her name,
Fighting for justice,
She's a woman they won't tame.

Wounded in battle,
Rosie Brennan is her name,
Comrades beside her,
From far and wide they came.

Drawing strength from them,
Rosie Brennan is her name,
Fights her toughest battles,
As she makes her biggest gains.

Yes, the world knows a fighter,
Rosie Brennan is her name,
She was raised poor and Irish,
There's none better in the game,
She was raised poor and Irish,
Rosie Brennan's still her name.