The Land

Once she was a timeless land,

Where time ran on forever;

To the dreaming people there

She was land of never-never.

Fish and fowl she had in plenty,

And her stones were given worth;

In their hearts they held her holy

And they thought of her as earth.

Once she was an open land,

Where few were bound to bosses;

And the working people there

Thought they called or barred the tosses.

Where the convict and the settler

Earned their freedom by their toil,

In their hearts they freely thanked her

For to them she was the soil.

Then she was a lucky land

Where living easy came,

And the clever people there

Learned to play the power game.

Soon they sold her stony hillsides,

Then she lost her very heart;

In the greed of their intentions

They thought of her as dirt.

Now she is a changing land,

Upon the point of turning;

Where she'll go it's hard to say,

Are we wise or lost in learning?

For the ones who are to follow,

She's the land we hold in trust;

Will she be to them the earth?

Will they call her only dust?

The Land: P. Lobl

Connection with, and care of, the land is something that the original occupants (the dreaming people) of Australia had, and still have, to a greater degree than the more recent and populous colonists.  In this wonderful song from a great Australian songwriter, Phyl Lobl suggests it is time that this message is taken up by all of us.