It Will Just Burn
Lyrics
Orbost Cann River Mallacoota remembers
Morning fog on the Snowy No trucks on the road Orbost mill gate chained up Another town left cold
Cann River yard sits empty The tools are rusting red Dad's last shift at the timber mill Still ringing in his head
Spring Street called it progress Put a ribbon on the pain Said transition like a prayer While the towns went down the drain
Inner city hands were clapping From a cafe safe and warm But you don't see a forest clearly From the other side of Bourke Street
They said leave it alone Let the old bush stand But the fuel keeps falling thicker Across a drying land
Green tape Spring Street Locked the bush and lost the key
Orbost Cann River Tell me who will clear the timber
You can write it in a briefing You can dress it up in terms But when the north wind comes in screaming It will just burn
It will just burn It will just burn
New Year's Eve in twenty nineteen We saw the sky turn black Mallacoota on the foreshore With the fire at our back
We fought it with the locals No road no plan no rain And now the scrub is back and waiting To do it all again
No thinning crews no harvest No tracks kept open wide Just fuel on the forest floor Piled up on every side
They ship in logs from Tasmania While our own are locked away We pay twice for their religion And the bush towns pay each day
They said leave it alone Let the old bush stand But a slogan never saved a house And spin won't clear the land
Green tape Spring Street Locked the bush and lost the key
Orbost Cann River Tell me who will clear the timber
You can write it in a briefing You can dress it up in terms But when the north wind comes in screaming It will just burn
It will just burn It will just burn
East Gippsland built this state On hardwood sweat and skill Then they signed away the working towns From a desk on Treasury Hill
You don't fight fires with slogans You don't stop flames with spin When the wind turns hot in January The reckoning rolls back in
Orbost Cann River Waygara Noorinbee
How many warnings How many years How many black skies Before someone hears
Green tape Spring Street Locked the bush and lost the key
Orbost Cann River Tell me who will clear the timber
Mallacoota still remembers What the summer sky can learn When you lock the bush and leave it It will just burn
It will just burn Yes it will just burn Lord it will just burn
Orbost Cann River Mallacoota remembers