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We Have Survived (1981)

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May contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
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'We have survived'

Clip description

In this clip we hear the landmark Aboriginal protest song 'We Have Survived’, as performed by No Fixed Address on the soundtrack of Wrong Side of the Road (1981).

Curator’s notes

by Brenda Gifford

The reggae style of this song, inspired by Bob Marley, was different from other Aboriginal bands of the time, who played mainly country music.

The lyrics are key to 'We Have Survived’. Written by Bart Willoughby, they capture the frustrations of the black community:

We have survived the white man’s world
And the hurt and the torment of it all
We have survived the white man’s world
And you know you can’t change that.

You can’t change the rhythm of my soul,
You can’t tell me just what to do.
You can’t break my bones by putting me down,
Or by taking the things that belong to me.

We have survived the white man’s world
And the horror and the torment of it all.
We have survived the white man’s world
And you know you can’t change that.

All the years has just passed me by,
I’ve been hassled by the cops nearly all my life.
People trying to keep me so blind,
But I can see what’s going on in my mind.

We have survived the white man’s world
And the horror and the torment of it all.
We have survived the white man’s world
And you know you can’t change that.

You can’t change the rhythm of my soul,
You can’t tell me just what to do.
You can’t break my bones by putting me down,
Or by taking the things that belong to me.

We have survived the white man’s world
And the horror and the torment of it all.

We have survived the white man’s world
And the horror and the torment of it all.

We have survived the white man’s world
And the horror and the torment of it all.