Scattered Tribe

It was the eleventh of February Nineteen-ninety, late in the afternoon The whole country round the television Holding its breath in the living room An old man walked out of the prison gate His fist in the air, twenty-seven years late Grandpa, is it true? Is it true the whole country danced? [Bass voice, spoken] It's true, child… it's true… Now we're everywhere (everywhere) Wherever you land, there's one of us there Same old accent, same green shirt From Toronto to Perth We're everywhere (everywhere) A scattered tribe… a rainbow… scattered in the air Ninety-four, we stood in line for hours Every colour together in the autumn sun Ninety-five, the old man in a rugby jersey Number six, and the whole nation won He said "rainbow nation," and we believed it No revenge, no payback, he just forgave We thought the hard part was over We thought the dream was safe Grandpa, is it true? Is it true there was no revenge? [Bass voice, spoken] It's true, child… he forgave… But the streets turned cold behind the high walls Razor wire and the armed patrol One night a gun against my head And something broke inside my soul We walked away, but that was the night We knew we'd be packing for a flight Grandpa, were you scared? Every day after, child… every day… Then the old man passed, twenty-thirteen And the ones who came after forgot what he meant They lined their own pockets, they sold off the dream And nobody knew where the money went The lights went out on schedule every night And the bright young things got on a flight Grandpa, is that why we're here? [Bass voice, spoken] That's why, child… that's why… M and T Stadium, seventy thousand Springboks and the All Blacks, the oldest war Fifty thousand green shirts singing From New York and Toronto and the Carolina shore Perth and Sydney and Melbourne too London and Tel Aviv, they're waiting for you Not just the Jews, we all went away Afrikaans and English, Zulu, Indian, Cape Malay Every colour of the rainbow Same "howzit", same braai, same "lekker" today So this is the end of the seventy generations song Or maybe it's the start of seventy-one From the city of the moon to a stadium in Baltimore We're still walking… and we're never done Thank you to the old ones… who carried the light Now it's yours, child… hold it tight… Now we're everywhere (everywhere) Wherever you land, there's one of us there Same old accent, same green shirt From Toronto to Perth We're everywhere (everywhere) Everywhere… everywhere… … hold it tight… Now we're everywhere (everywhere) Wherever you land, there's one of us there Same old accent, same green shirt From Toronto to Perth We're everywhere (everywhere) A scattered tribe… a rainbow… scattered in the air Everywhere… everywhere… Seventy-one generations…