Lyrics Not In My Name - Joelistics

Not In My Name

Lately I’ve been losing all my faith in humanity
And to think I am a part of it’s embarrassing
I read the paper and I keep up with the news
I can’t recognise what we do as even human
It’s out of wack, out of balance, out of control
The lies told and the attitude that unfold
This fucking country has a rotten bitter hard soul
These are laws of the land that the Crown stole
I hear them talk, talk, talking on the radio
They spit fever pitch panic on what they oppose
I read the columns, the letters and opinion pieces
At every pub everybody’s got prepared speeches
Misunderstanding all the pain in the politics
They only want a scapegoat and kept promises
And all the anger and the fear and resentment grows
The brutality of lucky country village folk
It’s not enough to turn back a bunch of leaky boats
It’s not enough to kill their dreams then we kill their hope
It’s not enough to deprive them of their human rights
It’s not enough, until somebody lose their life
Dark shadows gather history will judge us hard
One day you’ll ask yourself «did I do enough?»
And how much cruelty did we allow to be dealt
To a group of desperate people asking for some help
How does it sit with you?
How do you sleep at night?
Does it worry you at all occupy your mind?
I hang my head, heavy heart, I am so ashamed
It’s in my backyard, but not in my name
The journalists gather, the cameras click clack
And at the podium the speaker’s putting on his act
He talks in double speak, Orwellian reports
Empty words but his body language says it all
His hands are outstretched, now his arms are crossed
His white face sweats bullets and he nods a lot
Official press release, massive fact omissions
The purpose so clear — dehumanise the victims
Appoint an expert, launch enquiries
Pass the buck, obfuscation by any means
He answers all the questions with the party line
Repeats the focus group emotion heavy catch cries
He knows his audience, and how to handle them
Talk tough, keep it simple, act the larrikin
Make them think that your one of them just like a mate
Repeat the sentiment — «ain't this fucking country great»
Now he’s hit his stride, he’s got them hypnotised
Convince them there’s a threat to their very way of life
And now the lights fade and he walks away
He played it perfectly to keep the power one more day
[How does it sit with you?
How do you sleep at night?
Does it worry you at all are you dead inside?
I hang my head, heavy heart, I am so ashamed
It’s in my backyard, but not in my name]
The sun beats down hot upon a prison camp
A family huddles in a tent with no ceiling fan
The days roll in to each other in the worst way
A young boy celebrates his 9th birthday
At night he hears people weeping it’s a common sound
He’s used to to seeing things he saw his sister drown
He wonders if it’s real, he wonders who to trust
His mum and dad are like ghosts they don’t talk too much
He kicks a soccer ball in an empty field
One of the guards kicks it back and compliments his skill
The boy tells the guard «I turned nine today»
The guard smiles, stops, then he looks away
He says «Little man one day I hope you understand
When you’re older and your dignity is still intact
And you look back at this vicious treatment
Not all were complicit, not all were indecent»
[How does it sit with you?
How do you sleep at night?
Does it worry you at do you sympathise?
I hang my head, heavy heart, I am so ashamed
It’s in my backyard, but not in my name
Not in my name
Not in my name
Not in my name!]