OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		A Flower Down The Barrel Of A Gun	2:58	Play
2		Selling Off The Country	4:11	Play
3		Dividing You	2:29	Play
4		A Just Senator	2:43	Play
5		Save The Waves	2:30	Play
6		Inner City Temples	3:20	Play
7		Under The Thumb	2:42	Play
8		No Mall At Sharks Cove	2:33	Play
9		Student Debt Sucks	3:19	Play
10		Kiwis Against Seabed Mining	3:16	Play
11		It's Amazing Grace	3:26	Play
12		Saving Africa [Letter to Tony Blair]	4:31	Play
13		Waterfall Wahine [Waimea Valley]	3:02	Play

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Description

Daniel Gannaway

OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political

Documenting many of Daniel's previously unrecorded songs of environmental, social and political importance, and re-interpreting others, OP-ED is an inspired compilation of acoustic material on guitar and ukulele which was recorded in Hawaii during February of 2006.

Since the release of FINE BY ME in 1998, Daniel has been a strident proponent of independent music following this with five further albums, as well as a group effort with Kidameln in 2004 to create 'the kidameln lo-fi'.

As time and albums have passed, Daniels music has stylistically ebbed and flowed at one point pared back and raw, at another full-bodied and polished, but at all times potent and inspired. Bound and Suburban in 2001, for example, was a composition of stories and recollections which provided a beautiful counterpoint to the poignant simplicity of Bootlegged at the Temple, recorded the previous year.

Daniels 2004 release darling one year was perhaps his most musically confident effort, traversing a broad range of personal experiences and heart-felt issues, wrapped in some truly quixotic melodies. 2005s SUMMER STORM | a collection of ukulele ditties, on the other hand, was a wonderfully light composition which often belied the intensity of the lyrical content.

Emanating from these contrasts, OP-ED sits comfortably in the Truly Independent discography. The album is composed of 13 tracks which reflect upon precipitous issues and events faced by various countries and governments since 2000.

For example, the lead track A Flower Down The Barrel Of A Gun was inspired by the post-9/11 warmongering of US President George W Bush and written in support of the Global Candlelight Vigil for Peace a public reaction against the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Track three Dividing You attempts to highlight the ever-diminishing value of human life in the modern era by examining a 2001 crisis in Australia when the Norwegian cargo ship Tampa rescued 438 Afghan refugees from a sinking Indonesian ferry and was then denied permission to disembark the weary travellers on Australian soil at Christmas Island.

The albums closing track, Waterfall Wahine [Waimea Valley] tells of a Honolulu City Council proposal to subdivide and sell a large portion of Waimea Valley on Oahu's North Shore (just along from Sharks Cove). A huge visitor attraction and home to world-famous botanical collections and a large number of archaeologically significant sites, the valley is of huge cultural value to both the native Hawaiian people and the North Shore community. Through Waterfall Wahine, Daniel sought to speak out against shameless profiteering of developers and custodians of public lands.

Daniel Gannaways OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political is an inspiring and poignant examination of the life we lead in this new millennium a life fraught with compromise, greed and stark contrasts between right and wrong. OP-ED, however, is also an exercise in hope: hope in the individuals ability to affect change and in the capacity of collective action to create a better world.

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Albums by Daniel Gannaway:
2006 - OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political
2005 - SUMMER STORM | A collection of ukulele ditties
2004 - darling one year
2001 - Bound and Suburban
2000 - Bootlegged at the Temple
1999 - flashback*
1998 - FINE BY ME

+ kidameln:
2004 - the kidameln lo-fi

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CafePress Stores Now Open!

http://www.cafepress.com/danielgannaway
http://www.cafepress.com/kidameln
http://www.cafepress.com/trulyindie

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Daniel's music is available from such online digital providers as:
http://www.Mp3tunes.com/DanielGannaway
AudioLunchbox; Apple iTunes Music Store; Rhapsody; Napster; BuyMusic; Emusic; Sony Connect...

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truly independent recommends you check out Daniels previous album:
SUMMER STORM | A collection of ukulele ditties

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway6

"Written and recorded in Hawaii and New Zealand, Summer Storm - Daniel's sixth solo outing - references laidback island life with the ukulele's nylon strings, while wrapping it up in the kind of dynamic folk/indie-rock/electronic feel..."

"...like Gannaway's home country, this music [SUMMER STORM] is an exotic, faraway place in relationship to the rest of the overall modern musical landscape. Nevertheless, these unique Gannaway sounds offer a pleasant getaway" - Indie-Music.

"...The great aspect of the album [SUMMER STORM] is that each song's arrangement maintains a minimalistic nature, which shows a discipline and a depth of understanding on Gannaway's part. Underneath the ukelele, the cruising drums and harmonic supporting bass grooves provide an all around easy and easily recommendable listen..." - NZ Musician Magazine

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Also highly recommended: darling one year

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway5

AllAboutSurf gave it a huge review:

"...A perfect blend of lyrics, emotion and rhythm...If your looking for some refreshing new music for the soul, I whole-heartedly recommend darling one year as a must have for your collection." - AllAboutSurf.com

www.allaboutsurf.com/0411/articles/gannaway2/index.php

+

Indie-Music.com

"...Down to earth and laid back, it has none of the musical tension of trying too hard or the injection of false emotions. Suburban folky and bohemian chic, it [darling one year] ties up agreeably layered and distorted vocals into an angst-ridden, quirky pop as catchy as The Strokes but easily as mysteriously engaging as James Keenan Maynard..." - Indie-Music.com

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Lyrics, and liner note song explanations below:
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Track 01: A Flower Down The Barrel Of A Gun
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

What we need isa
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun
What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun

We don't need no George Bush
He's raising a war on terror rising paranoia
He's developing a culture of fear
Surely it ain't doing any good around here

I say

What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun
What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun

'Cause senseless warmongering
Will only encourage backlash terrorrism
Do you think the use of force is wrong?
Does it show us how to better get along?

I say

What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun
What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of all these guns
All these guns
All these guns
All these guns
Let's make a prayer for peace
Let's hope they can work it out
Let's make a prayer for peace
Let's hope they can work it out

Well Herman Goering said the public can be dragged along
The leaders just need to decide for a war
We're endangered if we pray for peace
But they need to know it's in our best interest

I say

What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of a gun
What we need is a
What we need is a
Flower down the barrel of all these guns

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - March 2003

-

Inspired by the post-9/11 warmongering of US President George W Bush, 'A Flower Down The Barrel Of A Gun' was written in London in support of the Global Candlelight Vigil for Peace.

This event - held on March 16, 2003 - was organised by MoveOn.org as a public reaction against the US-led invasion of Iraq. - Justin Walsh

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Track 02: Selling Off The Country
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Have we sold off the country as a cure for short term debt?
Have we sold off all our assets for a future full of regret?
Well where is the forward thinking here?
Our future lies in preserving what's scarce
Create a meal ticket for our own
By not being foreign owned

Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling off this country oh?
Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling off this country oh no?

You can't blame people for getting ahead
Selling Cape Kidnappers or Young Nick's Head
Someone offshore owns our monuments
There's a loophole in our land protection act
Well where is the forward thinking here?
Our future lies in preserving what's scarce
Create a meal ticket for our own
By not being foreign owned

Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling off this country oh?
Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling off this country oh?
Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling off this country oh?
Are we selling off this country?
Are we selling it off?
Are we selling it off?

You can only sell it once
You can only sell it once
You can only sell it once
You can only sell it once

You hope folk from other places
Will have a similar view of whats fair
They'll say it's mine I own it
But you can walk on that coastline there
They won't drain local economy
With their one holiday month a year
We won't be shut out by short term dollar's clout
Aotearoa will remain beautiful beyond all doubt
Beyond all doubt
Beautiful

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - January 2004

-

Written in London in May 2003, 'Selling Off The Country' questions the sale of formerly state-owned land in New Zealand to foreign interests.

The preservation of this land for the collective enjoyment of all Kiwis and visitors to Aotearoa is an issue of profound significance, yet - in increasing volumes - iconic and culturally significant land has been forever lost to all of us. - Justin Walsh

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Track 03: Dividing You
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Adrift in a boat
Paying for escape
A people in this world so dislocated

Praying you won't sink
With nothing to drink
You're saved somehow by a Norwegian ship

They're sending you wherever they can
Maybe Aotearoa Nauru or some other Pacific Island
Sending you wherever they can
Mr Howard's Aussi government just doesn't want to let you in
Sending you wherever they can
Maybe Aotearoa Nauru or some other Pacific Island
Sending you wherever they can
Mr Howard's Aussi government just doesn't want to let you in

You're hoping for permission to stand
Free in some Van Diemen's land
But gun boats and the military
Stopped you dreaming out at sea

They're sending you wherever they can
Maybe Aotearoa Nauru or some other Pacific Island
Sending you wherever they can
Mr Howard's Aussi government just doesn't want to let you in
Sending you wherever they can
Maybe Aotearoa Nauru or some other Pacific Island
Sending you wherever they can
Mr Howard's Aussi government just doesn't want to let you

They're dividing you
They're dividing you
Oh it's despicable
Dividing you
They're dividing you
Oh it's despicable

Adrift in a boat
Paying for escape
A people in this world so dislocated

Daniel Gannaway /APRA - September 2001

-

In 2001, the Australian government faced a crisis when the Norwegian cargo ship Tampa rescued 438 Afghan refugees from a sinking Indonesian ferry and requested permission to disembark the weary travellers on Australian soil at Christmas Island.

'Dividing You' is a reflection on the Howard-led government's refusal to allow this, necessitating a reroute for the Tampa to Papua New Guinea. New Zealand and Nauru offered quarter to the refugees, flying them from PNG and processing their asylum claims upon arrival.

Written in the Netherlands in September 2001, this song attempts to highlight the ever-diminishing value of human life in the modern era. - Justin Walsh

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Track 04: A Just Senator
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 1999

You're a just senator
Hypocrisy is not your fare
You're a just senator
Hypocrisy is not your fare

You're sending your children off to war
Just like those of the middle class and those of the poor
You agree with this it's democratic and fair
Your children proudly serving over there

You're a just senator
Hypocrisy is not your fare
You're a just senator
Hypocrisy is not your fare

You're sending your children off to war
Just like those of the middle class and those of the poor
You serve the government but as a parent you care
That they don't die for lies while they're over there

You're a just senator
Hypocrisy is not your fare

Daniel Gannaway/APRA - September 2005

-

From SUMMER STORM [2005]
cdbaby.com/danielgannaway6

Inspired by Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and by the increasing number of dead and wounded US soldiers in Iraq, 'A Just Senator' was written in Hawaii in June 2004 and aimed at the many warmongers on Washington's Capitol Hill.

The willingness of these 'hawks' to send other people's children to fight and die is contrasted by the mythical 'just senator' who sends his own to fight and die alongside them.. - Justin Walsh

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Track 05: Save The Waves
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Another coastal gem
Somehow threatened
By development
A truly unique wave
Might no longer break
If we sit around and wait

'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same yeah
'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same
Save
Save the waves

Can we turn a blind eye
To some pipeline
With alternatives to try?
And that marina wall
No notification at all
Mother nature wasn't called

'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same yeah
'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same yeah
'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same yeah
'Cause every wave is unique
No two rides are the same
Save
Save the waves
Save
Save
Save the waves

We should be concerned
As surfers we yearn
For every tube and turn
And a thing far worse
Than singing crowded verse
Would be no spots to surf

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - November 2004

-

Written in New Zealand in November 2004, 'Save The Waves' is an attempt to draw attention to coastlines worldwide, ravaged by development in all its various forms.

Hopeful that the song would help raise awareness of endangered waves like the now destroyed 'Harry's' in Mexico, Daniel also wanted to highlight the tireless work done by organisations such as Save The Waves, Wildcoast and The Surfrider Foundation. - Justin Walsh

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Track 06: Inner City Temples
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

I love this inner city temple
It's a place where you can come and hear
Endangered music drowned out by the sound of that traffic
It's driving by just out there
So let's turn the volume up
Let's all smile and slap the bar top
We might even get arrested
For enjoying our own back catalogue

That's noise control, people
They want to shut down art
That's noise control, people
They want to shut down art
Shut down art
Shut down art

Let's pretend for a minute
We got a country oozing musical talent
Let's pretend for a minute
These temples provide a home for it
But developers build the walls too thin
And lied-to tenants want to hear willows in the wind
And the council doesn't know whether
To move art out or in
Art out or in

That's noise control, people
They want to shut down art
That's noise control, people
They want to shut down art
Shut down art
Shut down art

Well great cities are centers for cultural collision
And great cities hustle with life 24/7
And great cities know that the secret's in the feel of their streets
Great cities know that these temples are where the people meet
Where the people meet
Where the people meet
Where the people meet

I love this inner city temple
It's a place where you can come and hear
Endangered music drowned out by the sound of the traffic
It's driving by just out there

Daniel Gannaway/APRA - May 2002

-

The Temple - once located on upper Queen St in Auckland City, New Zealand - was one of the few remaining venues which supported live acoustic music and poetry.

Now gone - after a prolonged battle with the Auckland City Council - but not forgotten, the Temple will be remembered as a nurturer of unknown talent and cultural exchange, and a venue which lived up to its namesake. RIP the Temple ... - Justin Walsh

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Track 07: Under The Thumb
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Looks like youve made good on your promises
Happy friends now with a war time cash cow
Looks like youve made good on your promises
Happy friends now with a war time cash cow

You've had a country
Under the thumb
With your cronies in government
Under the thumb
With your cronies in government

Don't forget about the voter
Don't forget about the citizens

Looks like its time for voter promises
You want a second term now
But did you win the first round?
Looks like its time for voter promises
You want a second term now
But did you win the first round?

You've had a country
Under the thumb
With your cronies in government
Under the thumb
With your cronies in government

Were you even voted in?
Were you even voted in?
Were you even voted in?
Stolen election

Well that's what brothers are for
To fudge up the ballot box and more
And daddy's footsteps are war filled
With these greenbacks and some backslaps
And some greenbacks and some backslaps

Were you even voted in?
Were you even voted in?
Were you even voted in?
Stolen election

Daniel Gannaway/APRA - April 2004

-

Written in New Zealand in May 2004, shortly before the US election, 'Under The Thumb' was inspired both by the farcical US elections of 2000 and the inevitable Republican triumph which would follow four years later.

While many were left in a state of confusion over anomalies in Florida's votes and Governor Jeb Bush's suggested involvement, the 2004 elections continued this confusion with further anomalies in Ohio voting. No doubt a Pandora's Box yet to be opened - Justin Walsh

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Track 08: No Mall At Sharks Cove
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Give them an inch and
Well they'll take a mile
Turn a cinema into McDonalds
Say 'Oh how did that happen last night?'
Now say hello to Mc McRonald

If we want country
Let's keep it country
If we want town
Let's go to town
We don't need any
Mall in Sharks Cove
We've already got enough of them
Sharks around
Theyre swimming around

They'll ask twice as much so
They get just what they want
When we compromise
Let them make a start
Soon more buildings
Will be theyll be popping up
'Till we won't recognise country
And we wish they'd stop

If we want country
Let's keep it country
If we want town
Let's go to town
We don't need any
Mall in Sharks Cove
We've already got enough of them
Sharks around
Theyre swimming around yeah

Developing it up like hell
Developing it up like hell
Developing it up like hell
Developing it up like hell
Developing it

If we really need to go
Oahu's got Costco
Ala Moana in
Honolulu
Do we really need more parking lots
In paradise?
We want real progress then
Let's preserve this place

If we want country
Let's keep it country
If we want town
Let's go to town
We don't need any
Mall in Sharks Cove
We've already got enough of them
Sharks around
Theyre swimming around yeah

Daniel Gannaway/APRA - January 2005

-

From SUMMER STORM | a collection of ukulele ditties [2005]
cdbaby.com/danielgannaway6

Inspired by the 'NO MALL AT SHARKS COVE' bumper stickers and idyllic Sharks Cove itself, this song spoke out against a proposed high-intensity mall development which would have utterly destroyed the natural beauty of the area.

Sharks Cove is the second most visited Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) area on Oahu after Hanauma Bay and offers some of the best free diving and scuba diving on the North Shore.

Written in Hawaii in January 2005, 'No Mall At Sharks Cove' hoped for cancellation or postponement of development in favour of something more responsible. - Justin Walsh

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Track 09: Student Debt Sucks
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

Well there was your your boombox
On the table pounding out a packing beat
And all your talk of student debt
Increasing exponentially
It's no wonder that you leave

If they just wanted to make money
Why didn't they say so?
Instead of lending you astray
Then saying you can't escape to
Somewhere you can make a dent
Against a growing debt
It's like a mortgage tied right around
Your young young neck

Well they expect to stop this brain drain
By accumulating interest on your payments
While you make no headway
Staying here means ending up with nothing

If they just wanted to make money
Why didn't they say so?
Instead of lending you astray
Then saying you can't escape to
Somewhere you can make a dent
Against a growing debt
It's like a mortgage tied right around
Your young neck

Hey
Keep packing

Well it's a shame to leave for something other
Than pleasure or adventure
But you got this debt to pay
And no one local can better the offer
And the knowledge you got
Could singlehandedly raise the countrys gdp
But to pay back this debt you got to get get
So keep at it it and keep pack

Keep packing

Hey
Keep packing

Daniel Gannaway/APRA - February 2004

-

From darling one year [2004]
cdbaby.com/danielgannaway5

A critical factor in New Zealand's 'brain drain' and specifically responsible for the nation's dire medical skill shortage, the student loans scheme is credited with driving most recent graduates overseas to higher comparative incomes.

Student Debt Sucks, written some time during the late 90s, is a reaction to this controversial and punitive system, speaking out against the ludicrous debts now implicit in obtaining a university degree in NZ.
- Justin Walsh

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Track 10: Kiwis Against Seabed Mining
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

What's this?
Its just black sand
The government treats it like an extension of the land
Sells it off to the highest bidder
They come suck it up with their giant vacuum
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
And the government sings

Our Green Agenda is central to our vision
We are committed to protecting and enhancing our
Environment

What's this?
Its just black sand
On the West Coast it's the signature of the land
It's getting sold off to the highest bidder
Crown Minerals Act '91 sends it up their giant vacuum
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner
And the government sings

Our Green Agenda is central to our vision
We are committed to protecting and enhancing our
Green Agenda is central to our vision
We are committed to protecting and enhancing our
Environment

[...Gidday
I'm one of the remaining 111
Critically endangered Maui dolphins
You know that same area that protects us from gill netting?
Now it's open to seabed mining
The next most endangered category for us is ahhh...
Extinct... ]

Our Green Agenda is central to our vision
We are committed to protecting and enhancing our
Green Agenda is central to our vision
We are committed to protecting and enhancing our
Environment

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - July 2005

-

Following the New Zealand government's decision to grant a prospecting license for huge areas of the west coast's seabed, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) sought to highlight the seriousness of the threat to our coastlines and marine environments.

Written in July 2005 in support of this campaign, 'Kiwis Against Seabed Mining' as a song aims to draw attention its namesake organisation and to the recklessness of this mining activity. - Justin Walsh

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Track 11: It's Amazing Grace
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

It's amazing Grace
He's doing the world no favors
Least of all that country I'd call your own
He's pre-emptively turning that flag of 50 stars
Into a skull and cross bones

He doesn't represent a single one of my friends
Kind giving intelligent beings
I love them all and I would proudly stand
With these

A.M.E.R.I.C.Americans

He's a mercenary
Using the Lord's name in vain
He's offering the spoils of war to those who've highest paid
Into his election coffers
His business round table
He don't deserve the vote if the citizens ain't able

To have secure public health care
And a good education in school
To live in a country that doesn't attack other countries at will
These are just a few things said by my friends that ain't fools

They are
A.M.E.R.I.C.Americans
A.M.E.R.I.C.

It's amazing Grace
Why'd you save a wretch like him?

It's amazing Grace he's doing the world no favors
Least of all that country I'd call your own
With a fraction of the war billions
He could solve world hunger
And sort out those problems that have cropped up at home

Would hatred breed if it was food instead of bombs?
If fair trade ruled instead of free trade pollutions?
Would the world still talk smack about good people like my friends?

A.M.E.R.I.C.Americans

Oh Such fine patriots
And concerned citizens

-

With global sentiment towards the US at an all-time low, 'It's Amazing Grace' is an attempt to point out that very nearly half of all Americans did not want Bush to lead their country and must suffer their leader and his follies for years and generations to come.

Written in New Zealand in March 2004, 'It's Amazing Grace' will play out to four more years of imperialism under the Bush administration. - Justin Walsh

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Track 12: Saving Africa [Letter to Tony Blair]
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

You're returning to a rain swept Westminster
And I hear that you're going to save Africa
You'll pull it from some heart of darkness
So that in a civilised light it can exist

Well big claims don't mean much if they're all talk and no action
If this is just some kind of publicity grabbing mission
Cause that's a fair bit of debt to clear up with your tax payers permission
Better stop selling arms to those same countries that you talk of saving

Just a point
Maybe it's you who'll have to do the listening
Cause from what I hear
Old colonial rule is not too welcome
But according to you and your sources
It's the other way around
You've got the solution to their third world bind

Big claims don't mean much if they're all talk and no action
If this is just some kind of publicity grabbing mission
Cause that's a fair bit of debt to clear up with your tax payers permission
Better stop selling arms to those same countries that you talk of saving

Africa
Saving Africa
Saving Africa
You talk of saving it

Here's the thing
Maybe to save them
You're going to have to open your market up to a fairer trade
Stop selling them old missiles guns mines and grenades

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - March 2002

-

Written in London in March 2002, this song was inspired by Tony Blair's recent 'goodwill' trip to Africa.

In an attempt to cast Anglo foreign policy in a more benevolent light, the Blair administration pressed the idea that Africa could be 'saved' from the burden of western debt.

Shortly after this trip, however, the UK completed the sale of military radar systems and surplus weapons to a variety of debt-ridden African countries. A sword that cuts both ways, it would seem... - Justin Walsh

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Track 13: Waterfall Wahine [Waimea Valley]
Music & Lyrics by Daniel Gannaway/Apra 2006

In ancient times Hawaiians believed
The valley had healing powers
So they'd come to the foot of the Waihe'e Falls
And bath their wounded soldiers
Don't chop the valley up for an investor's profit driven funds
It's priceless preserved for us all and for generations to come

The giant waves are crashing into Waimea Bay
Follow the river up the valley and you just might find
A waterfall wahine

Deep cultural significance and botanical collections aside
Development threatens to change forever what the valley is like
Don't chop the valley up for an investor's profit driven funds
It's priceless preserved for us all and for generations to come

The giant waves are crashing into Waimea Bay
Follow the river up the valley and you just might find
A waterfall wahine
A waterfall wahine
Waimea Valley
Waimea Valley

The giant waves are crashing into Waimea Bay
Follow the river up the valley and you just might find
A waterfall wahine

Daniel Gannaway/Apra - December 2005

-

When the Honolulu City Council proposed the subdivision and sale of a large portion of Waimea Valley on Oahu's North Shore (just along from Sharks Cove), a groundswell of resentment began to build.

A huge visitor attraction and home to world-famous botanical collections and a large number of archaeologically significant sites, the valley is of huge cultural value to the native Hawaiian people and the North Shore community.

Written in Hawaii in December 2005, 'Waterfall Wahine' speaks out against shameless profiteering of developers and custodians of public lands. - Justin Walsh