Shihaba - The Herd

Even if I swear life isn’t fair in a song

There’s more than part of me hoping that I’ll be proved wrong

The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower

Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?

What is my life worth, if I let that die?

That ideal, that I feel

Don’t seem so surreal

What is my life worth, if I let that die?

Let me tell you 'bout the story of Shihaba

Of adventure of disaster of dreams worth chasing after

The first born of six little sisters and brothers

Duty bound to help her mother, it was second nature to help another

See that was bread and butter but she would hold it down at school

Not every kid can afford a phase of being a fool

Locked in family routine still a teen, future still a dream

The view of the world from home — all’s not as it seems

Picture when she graduated, the freedom that activated

It hurt when her mum begged her to stay but she was motivated

By, the rite of passage, sky opened up before her

As she imagined what it’d be like across the water

With the desire inside for living the life only the fire burned

Will she be the same when she returns?

Even if I swear life isn’t fair in a song

There’s more than part of me hoping that I’ll be proved wrong

The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower

Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?

What is my life worth if I let that die?

So she saved up for a year and used it

A return ticket to Europe

Excited eyes below a disguise of a naive tourist

One stop on the way included where her mum and dad were born

Sri Lanka just a postcard 'til she flew in at dawn

Warmly welcomed by family she’d barely met

A visit that was too short, now she back up on a jet

And she clicked between the channels in her seat, stretched her feet

Got the feeling that freedom was found at thirty thousand feet

Fell asleep, but woke up to «This is your pilot speaking

Immigration slips we give you need completing

Please be seated as the plane descends»

Her heart beat faster then

Thinking 'bout all the adventures in the months that lay ahead

And below in the snow of Glasgow… she stared

And she remembers what her dad said just before she left

Of the importance of appreciating how adept the culture will enrich you

Illuminate the bigger picture, the greater issues, that despite it all unite us

What is my life worth, if I let that die?

You need clear eyes to see it

The reason to believe in

The good in everyone even when looks are deceiving

We’re all living breathing

Real life flesh and blood

The injustice huh, it never quite be enough

To kill human kindness

Sever the ties that bind us

Colour, creed or nation

Yo they’re not enough to define us

Let the singular nature of our blood stain the great space

Close your eyes and see the human race

Her navy blue Australian passport

Did not stop customs being sceptical of how long her stay would last for

Raw fear and confusion and tiredness engulfed her

'I don’t believe you, you’re lying' is what they told her

(Come this way)

Meanwhile others looked on, passengers she sat near

They could hear her pleading, being dismissed by deaf ears

(She lost it)

It can’t be happening, there must be a mistake

(Panic set in)

The tears that took it in were streaming down her face

(Breaking down)

Arbitrarily deported, reported and recorded

'Shut up and stop crying', official customs orders

A rite of passage — the sky opened up before her

Humiliated she was heading back across the water

Desire for a life lived, the fire burned

Will she be the same when she returns?

Even if I swear life isn’t fair in a song

There’s more than part of me hoping that I’ll be proved wrong

The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower

Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?

What is my life worth, if I let that die?

That ideal that I feel

Don’t seem so surreal

What is my life worth, if I let that die?

That ideal that I feel

Don’t seem so surreal

What is my life worth, if I let that die?