Henry's Songbook

When first we roved out in glory
On the earth's broad and gentle plain
Turned the first pages of the story
Took the wide world as our domain
There were no promises to break then
As the earth's morning swelled with light
Calling humankind to rise and wake then
From the dark mantle of the night

We are thinker, we are maker
Gaining strength as the years unfold
Mountain mover and heaven shaker
Weaving bright dreams from threads of gold
There are none now can overthrow us
As we strive for the victor's crown
Losing sight of the earth below us
Where the seed-corn is trampled down

For the world's treasures grow with sharing
There is bounty for every need
Only we count the cost of caring
Only we live by guile and greed
There is no room for simple kindness
As the weakest go to the wall
In the proud prison of our blindness
We have conquered and we must fall

When the sun strikes the flint and tinder
Of the earth's fierce and final dawn
Who will plough then the ash and cinder
Of the lands war has stripped and torn
Who will green all the battlefields then
As the earth's blind and bloody Lords
Grimly gathering the final yield then
Turn the last ploughshare into swords

(as sung by Roy Bailey)