WAHWANGU (Barwon)

Better rivers in better states!
A better livin’ a better place!
Preparation of better days!
Generation of better ways!

If the Language is in the land, then the rhythm within the word,
If history’s in the song, then I’ll be singin’ it with the birds
They kill a million fish, and our Rivers are barely running,
You ain’t thinkin’ of my community you are swimming up in your money

I’m ‘bout to talk, I hope you’re listening, My people are never givin’ in,
A PSA to the government while I’m running within the riverbed
Tellin’ you it’s a drought, what they rather have you believe,
they manipulating the Country without the knowledge of what it means

I’m sick of watching the Media trynna keep it all under wraps,
I been doing the same thing, through my lyrics I bring it back
It’s difficult to be critical when they’re tedious with the stats,
TV’s a medium of the past, check Wikipedia for the facts,

We gotta call out the cover-up when they sweep it under the mat
with the Treaty and with the Gap, even Leonardo DiCap,
The rivers are runnin’ dry, and nothing livin’ throughout the traps,
From Brewarrina to Menindee I think the system is outta whack

So how depressing is that? Imagine it for the kids,
You’re irrigating illegally I would naturally resist
It’s 2 hundred thousand dollars, that slapping him on the wrist,
I feel like slapping him in his face, tell ‘em “that’s for killin the fish!”

We’re Shouting it through the halls, let it rattle up through the walls
Take a hammer right to the weir, Instagram it and Let it fall
If the Language is in the land, then the narrative’s in the soul,
if the history’s in the family then I’ll carry it evermore

I said the History’s in the ground, the Language is in the land
Follow the Mundagutta as he would travel into the dam,
It’s pink and blue in the air, the sun is watering down
The sky turning to caramel like a Paddle Pop in the cloud

And the Birds, singing for rain, while the Rivers are running deep,
see the Yellow belly and Cod, and there’s plenty of ‘em to eat
Give the water to Mother Earth, gotta give her what she deserve

Better rivers in better states, better living a better place!
Preparation of Better days, generation of better ways!
x2

Lyrics by DOBBY from the album WARRANGU; River Story
Vyva Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing and ABC Music, 2023.

DOBBY (Rhyan Clapham) is a proud Filipino-Aboriginal musician, rapper and composer connected to Murrawarri and Ngemba lands. Known internationally for his electrifying live performances, he is also a speaker and workshop facilitator and was recently awarded the 2022 Archie Roach Foundation Award. DOBBY is signed with Sony Music Publishing and ABC Music for his latest album WARRANGU; River Story featuring a fusion of HipHop, classical music and narrated storytelling that draws from his family connection to Baiame’s Ngunnhu (the Brewarrina fish traps).

Watch DOBBY's latest track 'Language is in the Land' that features the lyrics featured in 1001 and the 1001 Remarkable Objects printed book.