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lyrics

Hello friend, I see you're a stranger. Where do you come from?
Hello friend, something in your face reminds me of the sun:
But the northern light is thin against the darkness of your skin.
Hello friend. I'm glad that you could come.

When you talk, I hear the echo of the places you have been;
When you walk, colours all around you fluttering in the wind;
When I listen to your song, I feel you really do belong;
Am I the stranger, the one who's just come in?

I think I know what made you come here but what made you want to stay?
Will you go if the weather and the welcome seem too cold and grey ?
Do you feel you'll never find all the warmth you left behind?
Never mind—I hope you want to stay.

Did you find new friends to help you? Can you earn a living here?
Do you mind the smoke and grime around you and the warning loud and clear?
Or did your troubles just begin with the colour of your skin?
Never mind—I'm glad to see you here.

Did you come to climb a mountain and end up in a hole?
Have you won [he right to join our people signing on the dole?
Can you be happy here amid suspicion and the fear.
Or will you run, and never more return?

Hello friend, all of us are strangers in this green and pleasant land.
Once again battle ranks are forming and we need a friendly hand.
Yours the fear and ours the shame, but our goal is just the same,
In the end this will be OUR native land.

credits

from At The Present Moment, released September 14, 1973
Ewan MacColl - vocals
Peggy Seeger - vocals, autoharp

Engineered by Mike Cooper
Recorded at Pan Sound Studios

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Ewan MacColl London, UK

This site is maintained by the MacColl family, aiming to make Ewan's catalogue available to download.
Ewan MacColl is known to most as a songwriter and singer, but he was also of significant influence in the worlds of theatre and radio broadcasting. His art reached huge numbers through the folk clubs, greater numbers through his recordings and untold millions through the radio. ... more

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