Sabtu, Juni 15, 2002 06:39:01

Song " Theys Goodbye"

-- John Gordon (April 2002)
http://www.flexi.net.au/%7Ehumanmusic/frames.html 

Theys Goodbye

(A song for West Papua)
Our prayers that the flag will fly will be answered
I'm prepared to go to my grave so the flag can fly
No use sittin' on the fences
I give to you these words and wave goodbye
Wave Goodbye
Our prayers that the flag will fly will be answered
One day soon the Morning Star will rise
And cut out this Indonesian cancer
I give to you these words now don't you cry
Don't you cry
I pass this baton on to you
in the hope that
You can help to spread the truth
About what happenned here back in '69,
West Papua .. was sold.
Our prayers that the flag will fly will be answered
We shall overcome, We will re-unite
We'll be singin', We'll be dancin'
I give to you these words now don't you cry
Our Eastern brothers and sisters by our side....
By our side
I hold this candle up for you
In the hope that
It can shine a light on the truth
About what happenned here back in '69
When man walked on the moon
West Papua was marched down a road to ruin
Theys Goodbye.
Theys Goodbye.

Song for West Papua -
Theys Goodbye
"Theys Goodbye" was inspired by a speech given by West Papuan Independence leader, Theys Eluay, a week before he was assassinated on the 10th November 2001. He delivered it to a small gathering of friends and followers on the occasion of his 64th birthday.

'Our flag hasn't flown for so many years. We're in the midst of an evil nation. 
In the mouth of a tiger.
But it's God's will.
Our prayers that the flag will fly will be answered.
I'm prepared to go to my grave, but the flag will fly. It will fly.
That's perfectly natural for me. I don't mind. It's in God's hands. But we will not be under the Indonesians.'

I first came across the West Papuan struggle whilst doing research for 'Xanana (Will lead us home)', a song I wrote for the crisis in East Timor in 1999. I resolved at the time to try and do the same for West Papua, but it wasn't until January this year that I was sparked into action, having watched the SBS Dateline program (Martyrdom of Theys Eluay - Reporter Ginny Stein). It contained excerpts of the Theys Eluay speech, which to me, was very much shades of Martin Luther King. Dateline also did another West Papuan story not long back (Reporter - Mark Worth), which was also a vital source of info on the subject, and included footage of Author (then journalist) Hugh Lunn's eye-witness account of the 'Act of Free Choice' UN elections in 1969. As fate would have it, I happened to make contact with Hugh through an unlikely source - Ian McNamara (ABC Radio - 'Australia All Over'). He was playing 'Xanana' at the same time Hugh's book, 'Over the Top with Jim', was featured in the book reading. Since then I've met with Hugh and his wife Helen and have gleaned a wealth of West Papuan history from them. It is with gratitude that I acknowledge them and all those who have helped in any way in the writing of 'Theys Goodbye'.

As a songwriter, I hope this song can preserve and help realize the message and the dream, of Theys Eluay and the West Papuan people.