Leave It In the Ground - a song about coal seam gas by Davey Bob Ramsey
Channel: dramvids
Date: 2011-10-11

Who needs tourism and agriculture when you can make a quick buck and leave future generations to deal with the mess?

This video was made in the Northern Rivers area of NSW, near Lismore.  Many sites in this area are being targeted by mining companies seeking to extract coal seam gas from beneath the ground. We have seen the devastation caused by this industry in other parts of the world and in other parts of Australia.  Politicians appear to have sold out the land from under us as if it is theirs to sell. It isn't. It belongs to all of us.  

The Northern Rivers area attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists per year, and has long been home to a variety of agricultural industries.  All this is under threat by those who would sell out the future for the sake of a quick profit.  The assurances from the mining companies and their stooges that coal seam gas mining is safe is so much spin.  They are obviously prepared to lie through their teeth to protect their investment.  Their verbal assurances that 'she'll be right mate' don't tally with the growing mountain of evidence that this is a truly toxic industry.  The local community is mobilised and angry.  We will stop this.  Clean air, land and water are too important to risk. Our lives depend on it.

A free recording of the song is available here:
http://archive.org/details/LeaveItInTheGround

A new arrangement of this song featuring 5-string banjo is available on Davey Bob's album Attic Songs, out now on CDBaby & iTunes:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/daveybobramsey
https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/attic-songs/id760344007

Leave It In the Ground - lyrics:

Man came to my house
shades concealed his eyes 
put his foot in the door
& invited himself inside
he said 'the rush is on'
he said 'now don't be late
just sign on the dottted line
& take that lock from off your gate'

I told him no!
you gotta leave it in the ground
'cause if you pull it up 
our future's all run down

now my neigbour's got a well-head
poking out from his back yard
he showed me his cheque, shrugged and said
'now ain't times hard?'
we can't drink the water
can't grow no food to eat 
the only right we've got's 
the right to die upon our feet

so tell 'em no!
you gotta leave it in the ground
'cause if you pull it up 
our future's all run down

what really grieves my heart
about this low-down mess
there's no constitutional protection
to ease up our distress
we need a legal framework
to protect this land we love
the system is failing us
so let's give it a shove

and tell 'em no!
you gotta leave it in the ground
'cause if you pull it up 
our future's all run down

you can see them in a hurry
throwing money at your mind
before renewable energy sources tell 'em
'you're out of time'
we got to stop this now
tomorrow will be too late
after the horse has bolted 
it's no use to lock the gate

so tell 'em no!
you gotta leave it in the ground
'cause if you pull it up 
our future's all run down

(c)2011 Davey Bob Ramsey