Empire Tags
How long will it take?
How long do we wait?
Tell me once again Cook fount it
A ghost town they claimed for England
Sunburnt realm of a distant kingdom
Untold riches, that is what it would bring them
Guided by the righteous whiteness within them
Terra nullius land that belonged to no one
Some black fellas here, they got no guns
And we'll quell rebellion but that ain't no rum
She's got red dirt, she's got blue gums
She knows drought well, yeah she'll bring you some
She'll swallow you up like Burke and Wills son
And this ain't London, but we'll try build one
Though it's uphill, and done by spilt blood
We did not know the land or climate
The eyes that we farmed with for years were blinded
But there's no going back, that's why we signed up
We made our mind up, you let me say
Mark my words, we in a gold rush
Youth can't hide the fact we getting older
A little outpost that boxed above weight
In the process became great
Mark my words, we in a gold rush
Youth can't hide the fact we getting older
And all of this could be what we imagine
And that could be the national anthem
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long do we wait? (How long do we wait?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
Come on, tell me
She knows bushrangers, she's got bankers
Captain Thunderbolt to Rodney Adler
Too many crook cops and she watched gangsters
Couldn't save Doomagee but she knew the answer
She's seen Razor gangs, Armed resistance
Stolen Generations put away to the Missions
Sunburnt realm of a distant kingdom
A colonial imprint on an ancient wisdom
How we found victories in the battles we lost
From an unmarked grave a Victoria Cross
And democracy born in a Eureka plot
Now she's loyal to an alliance and eyeing them off
Gallipoli and the Somme, Vietnam and beyond
She's so far from the frontline but part of the song
Hit and miss little myths that are part of the bond
Lond trumpet at an Anzac dawn so
Mark my words, we in a gold rush
Youth can't hide the fact we getting older
A little outpost that boxed above weight
In the process became great
Mark my words, we in a gold rush
Youth can't hide the fact we getting older
And all of this could be what we imagine
And that could be the national anthem
Come on now
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long do we wait? (How long do we wait?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
So come on tell me
Come on, tell me
Now once upon a time it's who we were
Once upon a time we clung to her
Once upon a time but no longer
One corner of our flag is insecure
From a time when the empire tagged the globe
We ain't cleaned that graffiti off the front of out home
What I'm telling you we already know
That it's time, time for the Jack to go
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long do we wait? (How long do we wait?)
When we gonna get our new flag
How long will it take? (How long will it take?)
When we gonna get our new flag
So come on tell me
Come on, tell me