Lyrics
Ha Lay Ha Lay Smoke on the water red in the day Ha Lay Ha Lay New Years morning carried the flame
New Years came without a sunrise Just a red wound in the sky We stood down on the foreshore Watching black smoke climb
Gas bottles boomed like thunder Out beyond the burning trees We breathed through masks and silence With the inlet at our knees
No one knew whose road was burning No one knew what still remained Every face was turned to the township Every heart was asking names
When the red sky fell over the inlet And the smoke rolled down to the sea We were standing there together Wondering whose home it would be
Nine in ten still had a doorway One in ten had ash and tin But we held the shore that morning Till the light came slowly in
Children clung to tired mothers Old men stared through orange air Some were calm and some were crying Some just stood and whispered prayers
The day went dark before us Like the sun had turned away And every boom across the ridges Took another breath away
Phones were dead or barely ringing Rumour ran from mouth to mouth Was the fire at Karbeethong Was it burning further south
When the red sky fell over the inlet And the smoke rolled down to the sea We were standing there together Wondering whose home it would be
Nine in ten still had a doorway One in ten had ash and tin But we held the shore that morning Till the light came slowly in
Later when the roads were opened People walked back through the grey Some found cups still on the table Some found everything swept away
Tin was curled like autumn leaves Water tanks were split and dry There are things the fire takes from you That no one sees from the sky
But the inlet kept our witness And the sea kept breathing slow Through the smoke and through the sorrow There were hands that would not let go
Not a song of easy heroes Not a tale made clean and bright Just a town beside the water Holding on through smoke and night
When the red sky fell over the inlet And the smoke rolled down to the sea We were standing there together Wondering whose home it would be
Nine in ten still had a doorway One in ten had ash and tin But we held the shore that morning Till the light came slowly in
Ha Lay Ha Lay Smoke on the water red in the day Ha Lay Ha Lay Mallacoota carried the flame
Ha Lay Ha Lay Ash in the morning breath in the clay Ha Lay Ha Lay We remember New Years Day