This Land Belongs to the Ones Who Belong to This Land
From observations made at the border we share with Mexico.
Copyright 2013 Dana Clark
VIDEO: https://danaclarkmusic.com/video-this-land-belongs-to-the-ones-who-belong-to-this-land
VERSE: The bones of their fathers lie deep in this desert
The dust of their mothers, it blows with the sand
The blood of their children will flow in this river
This land belongs to the ones who belong to this land
VERSE: For thousands of years, they have walked these arroyos
They've clung to these canyons with hearts and with hands
Now the wall has gone up and the village is dying
This land belongs to the ones who belong to this land
VERSE: Guilty of nothing but labeled illegal
These families do what survival demands
Risking their lives for the sake of their children
This land belongs to the ones who belong to this land
BRIDGE: My family came when this country proclaimed,
“Give us your tired, your poor.”
What right do we have to close that door?
How can we say, “Not anymore?”
VERSE: A guard whose own grandparents once swam this river
Takes orders that come down a chain of command
From those who are hungry to feed on our fear
This land belongs to the ones who belong to this land
VERSE: When centuries pass and this age is forgotten
The moon will still rise, the sierras still stand
This river, still winding, will no more divide us
This land belongs to the ones who belong to this land.