When the earth is sick and ailing,
And the grass sings a sorrowful song,
When the sand slips the glass
Of the hours as they pass
And your time doesn't seem very long,
And when the rivers dry in the mountains,
And the sun sears the soil to its core
Rise up from your knees like the waves rise up on the shore
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
There where the white fire flickers,
Out in the midnight's glow
Where the icebergs wheel
And the blood of the seal
Runs crimson across the snow.
And where the Northern Lights lie lonely
On the blubber of a big blue whale
You will see them arrive
With a flash of their rainbow sail.
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
Out where the good grain glistens
Where the white wheat waves in the wild
They are planting guns
Far away from the sun
Down in the depths they are piled.
And a harvest of hell will be harrowed,
As up from the dark they ascend,
Take a spade in your hands
Go and dig where the rainbow ends
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
And the grass sings a sorrowful song,
When the sand slips the glass
Of the hours as they pass
And your time doesn't seem very long,
And when the rivers dry in the mountains,
And the sun sears the soil to its core
Rise up from your knees like the waves rise up on the shore
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
There where the white fire flickers,
Out in the midnight's glow
Where the icebergs wheel
And the blood of the seal
Runs crimson across the snow.
And where the Northern Lights lie lonely
On the blubber of a big blue whale
You will see them arrive
With a flash of their rainbow sail.
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
Out where the good grain glistens
Where the white wheat waves in the wild
They are planting guns
Far away from the sun
Down in the depths they are piled.
And a harvest of hell will be harrowed,
As up from the dark they ascend,
Take a spade in your hands
Go and dig where the rainbow ends
Will you walk with the Rainbow Warriors
At one with the earth and the sky?
Will you learn how to bend
Like the trees in the wind
As a hurricane passes you by?
Come and walk with the Rainbow Warriors
And watch for the peaceful sign?
Hold fast to the rainbow
Or it will be the fire next time.
Contributed by Kevin Littlewood - 2010/7/21 - 08:44
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was written in praise of the Greenpeace ship and after reading a poem from the Native American tradition, called 'In beauty may I walk', the words of which were reproduced in the Rattle Bag anthology by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. In the end the song came out nothing much like the poem, but I kept the idea of walking, and I gave it a sort of muted war drum beat.
It's an anthem for all peace/eco activists.
Words and music by Kevin Littlewood
Copyright Kevin Littlewood/Sain Records/Cyhoeddiadau Sain