Martin Hoybye - Where the Water Was
текст песни

Where the Water Was
Water and water scarcity
was a part of life for the Khoi and the San
moving to where there was rain
and to where the water was
With deep connection to the land
to the animals and the indigenous plants
folks set out with great knowledge of what could be found
and where the water was
When the Europeans came
they claimed land by right of conquest
and took the area between the Liesbeek and the Black rivers
that favored place to graze, where the water was
The Company wanted a refreshment point
to farm for profit despite erratic rain
but the people of Camissa knew better how to navigate the cape
and where the water was
With a different concept of landownership
they would herd, or hunt or gather
and follow the spirit to where it would lead
and life would always be where the water was
And the company men braved new frontiers
while following instructions
they were told and paid to divide and conquer
and laid claim to lives and souls, and where the water was
Today nothing much has happened,
poor people are as ever in dire straits
propping up a shrinking middle class
when we could be living in brotherly ways
Many of those now doing the hard living
as our nature burns and floods and dies
descend from those that knew the land
and where the water was that sustains all life, all life
We must find where the water runs
that we might stand a chance
and let our beating hearts rejoin the rhythm of the earth
in a sacred dance
Where the water was
Back to where the water was
Where the water was