Gather round people I'll tell you a story
An eight year long story of power and pride
'Bout British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiarri
They were opposite men on opposite sides
Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the oppression got tighter and tighter
Gurindji decided the must make a stand
They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattle Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got
Tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Vestey man said "I'll double your wages
Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand"
Vincent said "uhuh, we're not talking about wages
We're sitting right here till we get our land"
Vestey man roared Vestey man thundered
"You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow."
Vince said "if we fall others are rising."
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiarri boarded an airplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of people, from all walks of life
And Vincent sat down with big politicians
"This affair," they told him, "it's a matter of state
Let us sort it out,.... Why, your people are hungry!"
Vincent said, "no thanks, we know how to wait."
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiarri returned in an airplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people, "let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns."
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
Till one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers poured that handful of sand
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
That was the story of Vincent Lingiarri
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege cannot move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in their law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Now that was the story of Vincent Lingiarri
But this is a story of something much more
How power and privilege, can not move a people
When they know where they stand....
When they stand in their Lore....
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow...
An eight year long story of power and pride
'Bout British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiarri
They were opposite men on opposite sides
Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the oppression got tighter and tighter
Gurindji decided the must make a stand
They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattle Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got
Tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Vestey man said "I'll double your wages
Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand"
Vincent said "uhuh, we're not talking about wages
We're sitting right here till we get our land"
Vestey man roared Vestey man thundered
"You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow."
Vince said "if we fall others are rising."
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiarri boarded an airplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of people, from all walks of life
And Vincent sat down with big politicians
"This affair," they told him, "it's a matter of state
Let us sort it out,.... Why, your people are hungry!"
Vincent said, "no thanks, we know how to wait."
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiarri returned in an airplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people, "let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns."
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
Till one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers poured that handful of sand
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
That was the story of Vincent Lingiarri
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege cannot move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in their law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Now that was the story of Vincent Lingiarri
But this is a story of something much more
How power and privilege, can not move a people
When they know where they stand....
When they stand in their Lore....
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow...
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/10/5 - 11:12
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Album "Comedy", con la formazione "Paul Kelly & The Messengers"
Scritta da Paul Kelly con Kev Carmody
Incisa anche da Carmody nel suo album del 1993 intitolato "Bloodlines"
La canzone parla del lungo periodo di scioperi, iniziato nel 1966, che in Australia vide protagonisti gli aborigeni dell'etnia Gurindji - guidati dal leader Vincent Lingiari - contro la società Vestey che a Kalkaringi (poi Wave Hill), sulle terre dei nativi, aveva insediato un'azienda di allevamento dove i proprietari originari, esautorati da ogni diritto sulla terra, venivano sfruttati come veri e propri schiavi e tenuti in condizioni di vita disumane...
La lotta dei Gurindji portò qualche anno dopo all'approvazione dell'Aboriginal Land Rights Act (1976).