There’s a place on the west coast of Australia called Hamlin Bay where stingrays come right up to the shore at dusk to eat the scraps of fish the fisherman throw them after a day out at sea. By the broken jetty, there's a plaque that explains the history of the local Karri trees being shipped to London to pave the streets. These trees were felled by hand when pioneers cleared the land during settlement. Much of the Australian landscape, due to this extensive clearing, now experiences massive salinity problems and has rendered much of the land arid. Thankfully the old growth forest is now protected. So this song talks a bit about this history and about human beings' short-sightedness.
lyrics
Stingrays move from the dark to light blue
Drawn to the shore by the fish that we threw
Our skin it was burnt by a stolen sun
As ships said goodbye and set sail for London
We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand
And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land
Branches break and the purple bark sheds
To the soil then the street where the strangers all tread
We’ve tired out our muscles and the jokes are all spent
As we carry the timber like wounded old men
We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand
And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land
Rivers and roads run to the sea
Where boats wait like coffins down by the jetty
The last of the wood is taken below
Now the Karries are gone and the roses won’t grow
We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand
And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land
credits
from Vena Portae,
released August 18, 2014
Dom: Samples, guitar, electric guitar, vocals
Emily: Samples, banjo, electric guitar, 12 string guitar, vocals
Ruben: Samples, bass, toy piano, air organ, electric guitar
Jesper: Drums
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