That Great Waiting Silence
Where shall we go for prophecy? Where shall we go for proof?
The holiday street is crowded, pavement, window and roof;
Band and banner pass by us, and the old tunes rise and fall—
But that great waiting silence is on the people all!
Where is the cheering and laughter of the eight-hour days gone by?
When the holiday heart was careless, and the holiday spirit high—
The friendly jostling and banter, the wit and the jovial call?
But that great waiting silence is over the people all.
Oh! but my heart beats faster—and a gush that was nearly tears:
Clatter of hammers on iron! and Australian Engineers!
Goods from Australian workshops—proud to the world at last
(And I see, in a flash from the future, Australian guns go past).
The morning sun-glare, softened by a veil, like frosted glass—
There is no breath of a head-breeze as the Labour banners pass,
There seems no sign of a danger or a change for the workers now—
But for some great, new-born spirit the banners seem to bow.
Where shall we go for our platforms? Where shall we go, indeed?
Shall we follow the cackle of women that follow the jesting Reid,
Through indifferent-seeming cities—and the browned men straight and tall?
But that great waiting silence is on the people all.
Twist and tangle and mystify, bully, and weep and bluff;
Marry the truth to a glaring lie, and say it is good enough;
Boast of your vice and villainy—in your virtue rant and bawl—
But that great waiting silence is over the people all!
Brothers, who work with shovel or pen, labour by day and night:
Brothers, who think of the hearts of men, ponder and speak and write;
Work for Australia’s destiny, content till you hear the call,
For the spirit that builds a nation is over the people all.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Related quotes
The Australian people want to help build this country into a great nation. This budget... has not realized the capacity of the Australian people. It has underestimated them. It has let us down.
quote by Lionel K. Murphy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Silence..
Silence Is something the something great,
This silence Is an Innocent might be speechless..
But this silence know how to whisper..
It's whispering something that there Is greater than the great..
Silence Is trying to express that It is creating it's feelings
and so a people like us will hear them....
poem by Zaarah Jasmin
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Miranda
Though she's Australian by birth she says what's birth right anyway
I'm a citizen of Planet Earth that's what Miranda say
'Tis power hungry men that gave us passports and our right to freely travel us denied
You may call this your Country but you don't own the Countryside.
She says because of our Government I'm not proud to be Australian they lock up refugees
Poor Stateless and Homeless people who arrive in boats from overseas
We celebrate war that leads to dispossession but war victims we disown
The war winners write the war history and one side of the war story only known
Miranda is in her mid fifties gray haired, graceful and tall
And she feels proud to be a member of the society of 'A fair go for all'
One of those selfless people who speaks out for Human rights
On the hills of justice and morality she has climbed to great heights.
She may be Australian by birth but of that she is not proud
And at the Anzac Day parade she was not one of the crowd
To cheer on the old soldiers as they paraded up and down
With their war medals pinned to their coats through the main streets of the Town.
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Verdict
Did you do me right?
Did I do right by you?
When I bared my soul it seems you did not hear
Can this be true?
Am I fool to fight?
I could do just what you say
But Im following my heart and that takes me another way
Its not easy when theres no one one giving prizes at the end
Waiting in the wings
Wishing that the band would start to play
As the show begins
Wonder what the critics have to say
Waiting
Waiting
For the verdict
Some people live so fast
Theyre so scared of getting old
Some people keep on working
All they do is line their graves with gold
We dont know what happens when we die
We only know we die too soon
But we have to try or else our world becomes a waiting room
Would you testify for me?
I think Id do the same for you
Waiting in the dark
Waiting for the phone to ring all day
My witness disappears
Wonder what the jury has to say
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Native Son
Ive seen many moons through these wrinkled eyes
The years have made me old but theyve made me wise
Now the white man lives where our rivers run
For now better days have passed
We walk the streets of broken glass
Our people vanished as snow before the summer sun
Like dogs we were driven from this place
Such injustice, time will not erase
All these changes cannot be undone
When you feel the anger inside of you
Hold your head high - let your aim be true
Though your heart beats like a drum
My native son
Once there was a time my little one
Before the wagons - before the soldiers guns
When this land was ours as far as the eagle flies
No white flag - no broken truce
With few words one can speak the truth - I dont hear it
Time wont heal it now
With each new day that comes to pass
Will the great spirit free us all at last?
He said we were the chosen ones
For all we had theres nothin left
We wont forgive - we cant forget
You know that your day will come
My native son
With each new day that comes to pass
Will the great spirit free us all at last?
What has happened can never be undone
When I was young - not yet a man
The sun rose and set upon our land
We were the chosen ones
My native son
song performed by by Bryan Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Silence Is...
Silence is an absence
Silence is profound
Silence is a conversation
Being had without sound
Silence is an expression
One that cannot be heard
Silence cannot be spoken
Although it is a word
Silence is a presence
Of great nothingness
Silence can be something
And yet cease to exist
Silence can fill a room
And have no mass at all
Silence cannot be dropped, yet it can fall
Silence is a mystery
That will forever go unsolved
Silence is how every sound can swiftly be dissolved
Silence is the sound of rest
The only sound that can sound best
While other sounds can cause great pain
Silence is not the sound to blame
For Silence is what silence is
Something that is nothing
Nothing that exists
poem by Kyle.J Carruthers
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Don't Forget who is your Father
God is Great
He created you and me so ladies and gentleman
he is the only person to praise and pray
Cause some of us we pray Alan people you pray him
who is him God is the one who created us
so guys help me to Thank him every time i'm sick i call him cause
he is the hiller the killer of diseases in the world
Help me to sing.
How great is our God sing with me how great is our God
all we sing is how great is our God age to age praise his
Great great great great great
great great great great great great great
great great great great great great great
great great great great great great great great great great great
GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD..
Thank you Help me pliz.
poem by Ruvimbo Daisy Matsika
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The National Game Of Australia
The National game of Australia is Australian Rules Football
And the Aussies who love their game say 'tis the greatest game of all
Soccer, Rugby Union and Rugby League and Cricket have their roots elsewhere
But no truer Aussie sportsman than an Aussie Rules footy player,
A game born on Australian soil it surely is Australia's own
And the legend of great footy players in their deaths has even grown
In September at the famed M C G in Melbourne on A F L Grand Final Day
Close to one hundred thousand people flock to watch Australia's best teams play
Though many like both codes of rugby and cricket and soccer a game that is played Worldwide
Australia's National game is Aussie Rules to many that's a source of pride
The National Game of Australia and it's great claim to fame
Is that it was born and bred in Australia and is the only true Australian Game
And it surely is a true Aussie as Aussie as can be
And though some others may like introduced games far better with what I say many would agree.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation
Nigeria good people
Together we build a great nation
No doubt we are
The world even believes that
A change of mindset
Can bring us to great sunset
A sunset and a new dawn
Of a great Nigeria with good people
You can do something
To make this nation great
Have a change of mindset
Do that thing, good people
Goal getter for greater Nigeria
Good people we are
Great Nation, good people
poem by Ehimika Ehimigbai
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Survive
Whatever happened to you
The one that was so beautiful
I could count on you to make my life a little brighter
I always thought you were built to last
But I never saw anything fall apart so fast
You were born in freedom
To be a slave to your inhibitions
Inventing excuses and proving the right to back up your condition
But a soul like that aint tied too tight
And its liable to scatter all over the night
Seasons change
Some people get old and die
Great cities are built up and torn down
But I see youre still alive
Seasons change
Some people get old and die
Great cities are built up and torn down
So how could you survive
Im not asking for much
Only for time to stop
And history to go unrecorded
And people not to be people
People not to be people
People not to be people
People not to be people not to b
song performed by by Hall & Oates
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Whip
Great Great Great Great
is thy work
The fortune hunter
your uninterrupted lamp
has
torch light out the
parasite in their closet
like an erosion that called
the black pot of sacrifice of the perpetrator
Great Great Great Great
is thy work
The fervent farmer
your crude instrument
has
uprooted the unwanted ornament
in the vineyard
like locus waiting the planter
Great Great Great Great
is thy work
The lean steward
you never sleep nor slumber
in the quest of monitoring the
offender in the field like Nigeria
EFCC punching out the beautiful criminals
Great Great Great Great
is thy work
The no nonsense headmaster
with this
masquerade Cain whipping
the deaf prefect in the school of moral
The whip that caution the senior wife
is at the top of the roof for
YOU
poem by Samuel Abimbola Aladetan
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Its All I Can Do
One too many times I fell over you
Once in a shadow I finally grew
And once in a night I dreamed you were there
I canceled my flight from going nowhere
Its all I can do
To keep waiting for you
Its all I can do
Its all I can do
(its all I can do)
One too many times I twisted the gate
When I was crazy I thought you were great
I kept my renditions of you on the wall
Where holiday romance is nothing at all
Its all I can do
To keep waiting for you
Its all I can do
Its all I can do
(its all I can do)
You wait in the wing like a saturday flirt
Protecting the judge, you dont want to get hurt
Once in a moment it all comes to you
As soon as you get it you want something new
Its all I can do
To keep waiting for you
Its all I can do
Its all I can do
(its all I can do)
Its all I can do
To keep waiting for you
Its all I can do
Its all I can do
(its all I can do)
Its all I can do
To keep waiting for you
Its all I can do
Its all I can do
(its all I can do)
[repeat, fade]
song performed by by Cars
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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For Russell Means
we walk in silent circles,
mountains rise within.
rivers weep as if they knew,
somehow i think they do.
buffalo prayers dry like bones,
crows grieve as only they can.
the Great Spirit sows deep with destiny,
the sacred hoop calls forth souls.
night bows in silent awe,
waiting for dawn to undress the day.
wild horses gallop past kerosene huts,
where children speak the forbidden way.
a voice returns to silence,
leaving the truth in battles fought.
freedom takes back her lover,
ah, but soon he'll ride again!
for Russell Means
poem by Eric Cockrell
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A Zimbabwean asks a question
O Great Spirit,
You who in Your form of the Chapungu,
the great eagle with sharper eye than any aeroplane,
watches over us and knows all things;
who even descends from your great circles of flight
over our beautiful land of stone and earth and tree
to show a child lost in the bush
the way back to the village and to home,
please show us, too, the way back home, to You.
You know I talk to you each day in my heart,
but today a man has asked me to speak some words
that many people may hear.
So I speak for Zimbabwe, and for the Africa
of which we are so proud:
for we in Africa are proud; and proud for You:
that in a mad and busy world, we have not forgotten
that every blade of grass and flower,
lizard, singing bird, lion, elephant,
are You in all your great disguises
and that all that we see around us
is You in the spirits of our ancestors
who listen to us and guide us;
and so we know that we must listen
to every creature to hear news of You...
and in the evening of each day
(which, we cannot now forget, may be our last)
as the men come home from work
and the women and children back from the fields,
and the smoke from the evening fires
rises above the huts,
and the smells of cooking fill the air,
we tell all our children round the fire
the truth about You
in all the tales our fathers and grandfathers have told us -
told to these children who have so recently come from You;
by those grandparents who will so soon come back to You;
they have so much to share and listen to,
about You!
And would you not agree, O Great Spirit,
that the smile of an African child
is the biggest thing you ever saw - or made?
It reminds every mother and father of Your smile,
and tells every grandparent what is in store for them...
So we rejoice to think, O Great Spirit,
that we are still your children,
and that You know what is best for us -
And so I ask you, especially today, O Great Spirit,
for all who may read this:
Are the spirits angry with us?
If they are, please tell me why?
And so, what can we do to stay close to You?
Many men have many answers to these questions
in the reasoning of men;
but nothing from men quite seems to 'do the trick';
so now, I'm simply asking You
to speak in Your own way;
since nothing from men quite seems to 'do the trick';
and, O Great Spirit,
Chapungu,
it is Your world, which we look after, and not ours...
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Chosen People
Glory is on our way[? ]
Worship the sun, great spirit.
Born of the mother earth,
Seek for the true white brother.
We are the chosen people, give back our sacred land.
We are the four grandfathers, a destiny for man.
It is written in our prophecy,
[it is written in our prophecy]
That we shall find the true white brother,
[we shall find the true white brother]
Who will help us, joined together, to build humanity.
There is a place for everyone.
We are the chosen people, give back our holy land.
We are the ever forest, we are great spirits hand.
She will call us soon,
She will shake her body,
Bringing your land to ruin.
Why will the world not hear us?
We are most ancient teachers, we know great spirits plan.
We learned by natures secrets, the inner side of man.
We are the chosen people, give back our sacred land.
We are the four grandfathers, a destiny for man.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Do Exactly
Of wisdom, knowledge and understanding;
Of peace, love and care;
Of power, beauty and kindness;
We have the spirit of truth and the spirit of error!
So do not be a lair to your friends.
Dance exactly as he danced and,
Do not follow that which is evil;
Learn exactly as he learnt and,
be very strong like the palm tree;
For this world is getting worse all the time.
Greedy dogs!
They lie to the people;
So do write out exactly as he wrote,
For the truth is always the truth.
Of a great plan,
Of a great puzzle,
It is getting worse all the time with the world;
So try to test every spirit.
I have not send them, yet they run;
I have not spoken to them, yet they speak;
But try to eat from the tree of life to gain wisdom always.
Life is like the potter's clay and,
You have to do exactly as they did;
But do go for the truth always.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Harem Holiday
(words & music by peter andreoli - vince poncia jr.)
Gonna travel, gonna travel wild and free
Im gonna pack my bags because this great big world is calling me
Every pretty girls gonna know Im around
Theyre gonna know Im in town on a harem holiday
Twenty women, twenty women by my side
Im gonna kiss them all, because Ive gotta keep em satisfied
Gonna have the best time money can buy
Im gonna be flying high on a harem holiday
If romeo had a harem holiday
You can bet that juliet would have never been his girl forever
Gonna go back, gonna catch that midnight plane
Twenty dancing girls are waiting just to call my name
Gonna have a ball, I aint gonna waste no time
Im gonna make em all mine on a harem holiday
If romeo had a harem holiday
You can bet that juliet would have never been his girl forever
Gonna travel, gonna travel wild and free
Im gonna pack my bags because this great big world is calling me
Every pretty girls gonna know Im around
Theyre gonna know Im in town on a harem holiday
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Night People
(alan toussaint)
Night people, hanging out
Looking at each other waiting for something to happen
Night people, hanging out
Looking at each other
Waiting for soemthing to happen
While the day world is sleeping
Night people are creeping, hanging out
Looking at each other
When the day world stops moving
Night people start grooving, hanging out
Looking at each other
When the day bees stop buzzing
Night people start coming, hanging out
Waiting for something to happen
Night people , hanging out
Looking at each other
Waiting for something to happen
You dont get one thing
Without the other
We got to keep the world alive
If everybody went to sleep
At the same time,
Howd we keep the world alive
In a word we got the night people,
Night people, hanging out
Looking at each other
Waiting for something to happen
Got to see who is with you
Who is with me, who is with who, were hanging out
Looking at each other
Got to see whatcha wearing, whatcha got
Whatcha sharing , hanging out
Waiting for something to happen
As the day world goes by
Night people doing fine, hanging out
Looking at each other
When the day world starts humping
Night people start pumping, hanging out
Waiting for something to happen
Night people hanging out
Looking at each other
Waiting for soemthing to happen
Night people, hanging out
Looking at each other
Waiting for something to happen
Night people grooving , hanging out
Night people grooving
Night people grooving
Night people grooving
Night people grooving
Night people grooving
song performed by by Robert Palmer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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a Poem Of Silence
Silence is a beautiful thing.
no other sound is as great as silence.
Silence is the sound of nothing,
but it is still a sound.
even if a sound is great and amazing,
nothing can top the blissfulness of silence.
not the sound of wind on grass,
not the sound of laughter,
nothing is as beautiful as silence.
silence is a sound, but it is so much
better than any other sound.
What created such a far-off winner?
I love silence, silence is the best.
Never there will be a time that there
will be
a greater sound
than silence.
poem by Llew N. Rmail
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Great Heart
Great heart
By: johnny clegg
1987
Travelling always increases the appetite for new music and I found johnny clegg tapes in the south of france and was immediately hooked on them. Im glad there are still younger artists who writ
Play their own songs that I wish I had written. this is one of them.
(chant)
The world is full of strange behavior
Every man has to be his own savior
I know I can make it on my own if I try
But Im searchin for a great heart to stand me by
Underneath the african sky
A great heart to stand me by
Chorus:
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
To hold and keep me by
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Under african sky
Sometimes I feel that you rarely know me (sometimes)
Sometimes theres so much you can show me (sometime)
Theres a highway of stars across the heavens
Theres a whispering song of the wind in the grass
Theres a rolling thunder across the savannah
And a hope and a dream at the edge of the sky
And your life is the story of the wind
Your life is a story like the wind
Chorus:
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
To hold and keep me by
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Under african sky
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
I see the fire in your eyes
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
That beats my name inside
Sometimes I feel that you rarely know me (sometimes)
Sometimes theres so much you can show me (sometime)
(chant)
Chorus:
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
To hold and stand me by
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Under african sky
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
I see the fire in your eyes
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
That beats my name inside
Sometimes I feel that you rarely know me (ah... sometimes)
Sometimes theres so much you can show me (ay yai... sometime)
Coda:
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Guk a mzimbo sala nhilziyo
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Guk a mzimbo sala nhilziyo
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Guk a mzimbo sala nhilziyo
Im searching for the spirit of the great heart
Guk a mzimbo sala nhilziyo
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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