Alistair Hulett Plains Of Maralinga Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Remember in the old days how we sucked up to the Poms
We stood and sang their anthem like a pack of Uncle Toms
They bought our beef and wool so we let them test their bombs
In the heartland of Australia where the black skinned nation roams
There was nothing in the papers about what was being done
If Robert Menzies knew, by Christ, he wasn't letting on
For he loved his flamin' knighthood, that great Australian son
Much more than he loved the land where the Pitjitjanjarra run

[Chorus]
Out on the plains of Maralinga
What happened there was a bloody disgrace
Out on the plains of Maralinga
It was a total disgrace for the black Australian race
[Verse 2]
No one asked the local people if they thought it was OK
If you haven't got a job, mate, you haven't got a say
If they'd been white then bet your backside
There'd be holy shit to pay

[Chorus]
Out on the plains of Maralinga
What happened there was a bloody disgrace
Out on the plains of Maralinga
It was a total disgrace for the black Australian race

[Verse 3]
They said fallout was harmless, they knew that was a lie
But it never slowed them down when there were people camped by Who tell a story how they saw a big flash in the sky
Then they all got sick and one by one began to slowly die

[Chorus]
Out on the plains of Maralinga
What happened there was a bloody disgrace
Out on the plains of Maralinga
It was a total disgrace for the black Australian race

[Verse 4]
The sun set on the Empire, though they never thought it would
And now your Uncle Sam is running the neighbourhood
In the name of peace and justice he swears he's Robin Hood
But in Chile and El Salvador the truth is understood
He's got bureaucrats and technocrats, diplomats and spies
Working for the Pentagon, they're it's bloody nose and eyes
But you only feel disheartened until you realise
When the workers of the world unite we're twice their bloody size
[Chorus]
Out on the plains of Maralinga
What happened there was a bloody disgrace
Out on the plains of Maralinga
It was a total disgrace for the black Australian race
Out on the plains of Maralinga
What happened there was a bloody disgrace
Out on the plains of Maralinga
It was a total disgrace for the whole human race