Amazon

hey won't you come with me, i'm goin' down to the river, now what do you think we'll see, down by the river
there is an empty plain, where there was forest, until they found a vein and laid it open, ripped it right open

now see the farmer slash and burn, smell the smoke that fills the air, feel the soil washing away
see the hole in the atmosphere
, just a little hole in the atmosphere

and the water is turning brown, fed with the blood of the fertile ground, filled with the bones of the forest
cut down
, where there was life before, won't you tell me what will there be now?
down by the river, down by the amazon


hey won't you come with me, i'm goin' down by the river
cause i know the secrets run deep, down by the river
, down by the river, woah I've got to go
yeah there is a native man, the river is his life, he's in jail for living on his homeland
they said he wasn't civilized, now that makes him a sacrifice
,
so can you tell me what is civilized?
I
've got to hurry, i've got to run, got to seek out the shaman, I gotta pray for the medicine way, if I call myself human
oh tell me what are we doin' - praying to ruin, are we praying to our ruin


while the water is turning brown, fed with the blood of the fertile ground, filled with the bones of the forest cut down
where there was life before, won't you tell me what will there be now?
down by the river, oh down by the river, I'm goin' down by the river, I'm goin' down by the river
hey won't you come with me, come on down, it's just a little further down now, gotta take all the way down down

you know alice fell down the rabbit hole, down by the river, now what did miss alice behold, down in the lower world?
yeah, she went down where the dreamers dwell
well, there was a waterfall, where everyone gathered, and all the forest was ringing in song
hey alice, don't you don't you want to sing along? singing hey hey hey hey yeah

and your heart is the drum beating out the rhythm, beating out all around the world
cause what goes around comes around, yeah, it goes around and comes around, so send it all the way around
and send it down, down, down ... now take it down d-d-d-d-down d-d-d-d-down d-down d-down d-down
down d-d-d-d-down d-d-d-d-down d-down d-down d-down I'm goin' down, down

woah i got to sing it while the river runs, got to sing it for the shaman, I gotta sing it for everyone
sing it from the heart now children, yeah, gotta sing it from the heart now children, the heart of the amazon
the heart of the amazon, heyheyhey! sing it for the amazon, everyone come on down now


©
Liesl Lee 1989, revised 2014



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