Lyrics

Land of Hope

Land of hope
Land of glory
Land of hope
Mother of the free

I colour in the flag in thick crayons
Struggling to keep within the straight lines.
My father says,
There, the streets are paved with gold.
Gold, I echo. Really?
I read it, he says with a straight face.
Then it must be true, I think.
Above my head, I hear him laugh
The crayon slips, the red goes right
Over the white
And blue

Land of hope-

Salt Street
The two boys play here every day after school
They don't notice
The frayed ropes on the swings
That their clothes catch on exposed nails
The rough grass
Or the broken adventure slide
Its end stand like guillotines
Under which they shoot imaginary villains
Pow! Pow! Take that!

At times, their mother calls them urgently
They huddle together in the cellar
Giggling
As men with small heads and big boots gather
And march down their street
Throwing bricks, and worse.

Their mother mutters under her breath

New symbols appear on their walls overnight
Which they use as target practise

Today, the younger of the two
Uncovers a frayed union jack
In a clump of weeds

He throws it up with a whoop
It arcs into the air
Even its faded colours
Vivid against the grey sky
The black houses

They both shriek with delight when
It flutters like a bird
Then lands silently
In a pool of mud

Land of hope-

We struggle to keep within straight lines
Separated, we find
These streets were never paved with gold
They are hot with burning cars
Who will ever connect
An end with its cause?

Land of hope-

This year, the streets are different
Straight lines and colours shimmer and melt
Flags multiply, meanings shift and fade
Is the dragon finally being slayed?
This year
For the first time I do not turn away my face
Cross to the other side of the street, increase my pace
For the first time I can cheer on the same side
Feel the same sense of despair, and an odd sense of pride
This year, when my daughter colours in the same flag
Waves it in proudly in class
A fluttering sea of red white and blue
I manage a clap and a smile or two
But still I feel, deep down, there's something it lacks

Perhaps it ought to be red white and blue

And black?

Land of hope
How can I have time to cry
When we speak in dreams?
I am playing...