your giant ships
sailed out the tide
to block my village
far and wide

to plunder food
from famine soil
to thieve our hope
with our own toil

forced to leave
our barren lands
we dug the streets
with broken hands

we built your roads
we built your towns
our songs flowed through
the undergrounds

the ghost of drink
lent on our minds
to block the pain
the lost man finds

we dreamt of fields
from bench and park
we sung our tunes
against the dark

though better years
have come to pass
I married proud
an english lass

and though her smile
is like a rose
I know the earth
from which it grows

when the mason's scratch
fades to stone
I'll live their dreams
in flesh and bone

every wave
hits every quay
I am them
and they are me