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ONCE A RIVER
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ONCE A RIVER

Words and music by Lachlan Irvine

[A]/[E]/[D]/[A]/

[A] Once upon a time, there was a [E] river,
Flowing [D] down through an arid [A] land;
Bringing life to a barren [E] landscape,
Giving [D] food to beast and [A] man.

[A] Countless birds in their mi-[E]-gration
Found its [D] wetlands and stopped to [A] rest;
On its green banks and fertile [E] flood plains
Early [D] settlers felt they were [A] blessed.

Oh my [A] Darling, oh my [E] Darling,
What a [D] crazy thing we [A] do;
You sustained us through mil-[E]-lennia,
And in re-[D]-turn now, we're killing [A] you.

[A] Fish are dying, wetlands [E] shrinking,
Downstream [D] water gives way to [A] sand;
Once a river that fed and [E] nourished,
Now you're [D] dying by human [A] hand.

[A]/[E]/[D]/[A]/

[A] There's no question, there's no [E] mystery,
There's an [D] answer we all [A] know;
Corporate greed and corrupted [E] politics
Stole your [D] water and stopped its [A] flow.

Oh my [A] Darling, oh my [E] Darling,
I pray that [D] wisdom will break on [A] through;
'Cause if we don't see some [E] changes,
We'll just [D] go on killing [A] you.

Oh my [A] Darling, oh my [E] Darling,
Oh my [D] Darling [A]/
Oh my [A] Darling, oh my [E] Darling,
Oh my [D] Darling [A]/





Before the bushfires of 2019-20, the floods of 2021-22 and the Covid pandemic, the major ecological disaster of 2019 in Australia was the drying of the Darling River.

To hear my home-made recording of this song, go to:

ONCE A RIVER

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