I wrote this song a couple of years ago but I haven't done a lot with it. If anyone wants to sing it, pm me and I'll send a midi of the melody, which I don't have with me right now.

THE LEAKY OLD SHIP

The old folks all died and my young daughter too
In the year 1865
The blight took our crops and we'd eaten our seed
And we didn't know how we'd survive
So we traded our home and all that we owned
For a berth in a leaky old ship
Heading for the great south land to start a new life
If we just could survive on the trip

Just a leaky old ship between us and disaster
But we had a brave crew and a resolute master
Battling disease and storms on the seas
Some made it and some of us died
And the people there welcomed us to the new land
And we gave them our hearts and we worked with our hands
Building the nation so the new generation
Looks back on our efforts with pride
Looks back on our efforts with pride

A hundred years later the heroes returned
But the whole world was lying in flames
And they realised the truth that they'd squandered their youth
As pawns in some terrible game
And my father looked round at the world that he found
And a future he just couldn't see
So he got us a berth on a leaky old ship
And we trusted our lives to the sea

Just a leaky old ship between us and disaster
But we had a brave crew and a resolute master
Battling disease and storms on the seas
Some made it and some of us died
And the people there welcomed us to the new land
And we gave them our hearts and we worked with our hands
Building the nation so the new generation
Looks back on our efforts with pride
Looks back on our efforts with pride

First came the soldiers, then came the rebels
Then soldiers came back again
But then the next time the rebels returned
They took away all the young men
As we crawled from our hiding place hugging our children
We knew that we had to get out
So we traded our home and all that we owned
For a berth on a leaky old boat

Just a leaky old ship between us and disaster
With pirates for crew and a desperate master
Battling disease and storms on the seas
Some made it but so many died
But the people there turned us away in their fright
And they treated us like we were thieves in the night
And they watched children drown in the ships that went down
And they turned their deaf ears to our cries
They turned their deaf ears to our cries

Well, the earth is a leaky ship, we are just passengers
Trying to sail round the sun
But I can't help from thinking we'll all soon be sinking
When I look at the things that we've done
We've cut down the trees and we've poisoned the seas
We've polluted the water and air
We've ravaged the soil and we've murdered for oil
And it seems there's not many who care

Just a leaky old ship between us and disaster
With a dollar-blind crew and an idiot master
Creating disease and storms on the seas
And maybe we're all going to die
We'll need to work harder to keep her afloat
For like it or not we're all in the same boat
And as far as we know there's no place else to go
And we won't make it if we don't try
We won't make it if we don't try

Or will the new generation look back in frustration
Will they curse us and spit in our eye
Will they curse us and spit in our eye.

Copyright. John J. Armstrong. Bushland Music 2002