Lyrics
There's a bill upon the table, There's a heater turned down low. They promised us a brighter age, But the prices only grow. The old man wears another coat, The baker shuts the door. They tell us power's getting cheap, While we keep paying more.
They closed the plants that carried us, And called the silence clean. But every still and clouded night Reveals what that can mean.
What keeps the lights on When the wind don't blow? What keeps the wheels turning When the sun hangs low? They sold us dreams of endless power, But never told us so: The weather holds the switch now When the wind don't blow.
When the wind don't blow, When the wind don't blow.
They built a field of batteries Across the open land. A fortune stored for hours, Then it slips out of their hands. And every dozen years or so, We buy the lot again, While coal and gas wait quietly To rescue them by ten.
A battery holds yesterday, It does not make tomorrow. And when the sky gives nothing back, There's nowhere left to borrow.
What keeps the lights on When the wind don't blow? What keeps the wheels turning When the sun hangs low? They sold us dreams of endless power, But never told us so: The weather holds the switch now When the wind don't blow.
They raise the towers through the farms, Run cables through the trees. They carve new roads across the hills, Then call the damage green. The hidden costs keep climbing, The network charges rise. They say the power's cheaper If you never read the lines.
Every turbine needs a shadow, Every panel needs a friend. Every promise built on weather Needs a backup in the end.
What keeps the lights on When the wind don't blow? What keeps the wheels turning When the sun hangs low? They sold us dreams of endless power, But never told us so: The weather holds the switch now When the wind don't blow.
Carbon feeds the forests, Every pasture, crop and vine. The breath they call pollution Keeps the living world alive. We close a mine in Queensland, They build ten more overseas. We dim the lights for virtue And pretend the world is pleased.
We carry all the burden, But the numbers barely move. A sacrifice means nothing When it has nothing left to prove.
Reliable means ready, Every hour, every day. Coal and gas, the dams and nuclear, Power there when called to stay. Not a weather-driven promise That can vanish from the line, For a day, a week, a fortnight, While they tell us all is fine.
What keeps the lights on When the wind don't blow? What keeps the nation moving When the grid runs low? Coal and gas, the dams and nuclear, Power when we need it most. Not a system built on weather And a prayer from coast to coast.
What keeps the lights on When the wind don't blow? What keeps the wheels turning When the sun hangs low? No more dreams and empty slogans, No more costly show. Keep Australia strong and working When the wind don't blow.
When the wind don't blow, When the sun hangs low, Keep the lights on, Keep the country whole.
Power when we need it.