The Herd - Shihaba lyrics

Even if I swear life isn't fair in a song
There's more than part of me hoping
That I'll be proved wrong
The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower
Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?
What is my life worth, if I let that die?
That ideal, that I feel
Don't seem so surreal
What is my life worth, if I let that die?

Let me tell you 'bout the story of Shihaba
Of adventure of disaster of
Dreams worth chasing after
The first born of six
Little sisters and brothers
Duty bound to help her mother
It was second nature to help another
See that was bread and butter but she
Would hold it down at school
Not every kid can afford a
Phase of being a fool

Locked in family routine still a teen
Future still a dream
The view of the world from home
- all's not as it seems
Picture when she graduated
The freedom that activated
It hurt when her mum begged her
To stay but she was motivated
By, the rite of passage
Sky opened up before her
As she imagined what it'd be
Like across the water
With the desire inside for living the
Life only the fire burned
Will she be the same when she returns?

Even if I swear life isn't fair in a song
There's more than part of me hoping
That I'll be proved wrong
The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower
Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?
What is my life worth if I let that die?

So she saved up for a year and used it
A return ticket to Europe
Excited eyes below a disguise
Of a naive tourist
One stop on the way included where
Her mum and dad were born
Sri Lanka just a postcard 'til
She flew in at dawn
Warmly welcomed by family she'd barely met
A visit that was too short
Now she back up on a jet

And she clicked between the
Channels in her seat, stretched her feet
Got the feeling that freedom was
Found at thirty thousand feet fell asleep
But woke up to "This is your pilot speaking
Immigration slips we give you need completing
Please be seated as the plane descends"
Her heart beat faster then
Thinking 'bout all the adventures in
The months that lay ahead
And below in the snow of Glasgow she stared

And she remembers what her dad
Said just before she left
Of the importance of appreciating how adept
The culture will enrich you
Illuminate the bigger picture
The greater issues
That despite it all unite us
What is my life worth, if I let that die?

You need clear eyes to see it
The reason to believe in
The good in everyone even
When looks are deceiving
We're all living breathing
Real life flesh and blood
The injustice huh, it never quite be enough
To kill human kindness
Sever the ties that bind us
Colour, creed or nation
Yo they're not enough to define us
Let the singular nature of our
Blood stain the great space
Close your eyes and see the human race

Her navy blue Australian passport
Did not stop customs being sceptical of how
Long her stay would last for
Raw fear and confusion and
Tiredness engulfed her 'I don't believe you
You're lying' is what they told her
(Come this way) meanwhile others looked on
Passengers she sat near
They could hear her pleading
Being dismissed by deaf ears (She lost it)
It can't be happening
There must be a mistake (Panic set in)
The tears that took it in
Were streaming down her face (Breaking down)

Arbitrarily deported, reported and recorded
'Shut up and stop crying'
Official customs orders
A rite of passage - the
Sky opened up before her
Humiliated she was heading back
Across the water
Desire for a life lived, the fire burned
Will she be the same when she returns?

Even if I swear life isn't fair in a song
There's more than part of me hoping
That I'll be proved wrong
The disappearing view from my, my ivory tower
Do I let what I feel decompose to powder?

What is my life worth, if I let that die?
That ideal that I feel don't seem so surreal
What is my life worth, if I let that die?
That ideal that I feel don't seem so surreal
What is my life worth, if I let that die?