There were sounds of sobs and crying as the daylight floods the sky,
The hour of life has vanished and the long night passes by,
I lift my eyes to heaven and in tears I'll call her son,
Who was taken from his mother by the crack of someone's gun.
Yes, in the hour of sorrow there's one thing I can't conceal,
For my heart is always longing and my thoughts will often steal
Across the bush to Rothbury whose surface leaves a track
To the boys who went on picket and the boy who'll never come back.
There was music at the graveside and in grief the mourners stood,
Still the wind a hymn was humming with the trees upon the hill,
The sun was shining brightly on sad friends from every town,
And the minister started praying for our dead pal Norman Brown.
Yes, in the hour of sorrow there's one thing I can't conceal,
For my heart is always longing and my thoughts will often steal
Across the bush to Rothbury whose surface leaves a track
To the boys who went on picket and the boy who'll never come back.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/10/12 - 15:32
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Testo trovato su Union Songs
L'autore della canzone, Roger Grant, era un minatore che partecipò ai "Rothbury Riots" del dicembre 1929, quando la polizia sparò sui minatori australiani che manifestavano contro i tagli ai salari ed il ricorso ai crumiri.
Questa canzone fu cantata al funerale di Norman Brown, un minatore che morì colpito dalle pallottole dei poliziotti.
Si veda anche la canzone Ballad of Norman Brown.