There’s a cold rain on the Autumn wind
A brother murdered in Sydney Town
Marrickville brother under legal cover
In his home they gunned him down

And we say oh oh oh oh oh ooooooh
They shot him down
Sad river of tears
Two hundred years in the river of fear


They took him out at point blank range
In his home with his small young son
Shot him dead in his Marrickville bed
With a pump action 12 gauge shotgun

Oh oh oh oh oh oooooh
They shut him down
And we say oh oh oh oh oooooh

Sad river of tears
Two hundred years in the river of fear

He left a fatherless child and a grieving wife
A black fugitive on the run
Runing from two centuries
Of oppressions loaded gun
We say oh oh oh oh oh oooooh
They shoot you down
Sad river of tears
Two hundred years in the river of fear

They shoot you down
Sad river of tears
Two hundred years in the river of fear

Terrorists dressed in uniform
Under the protection of their law
Terrorize blacks in dawns of fear
They come crashin’ through your door

You’re not safe out there on freedom street
You’re not safe inside the “can”
For with their shotguns and their stunt gas
They’re licensed to drop you where you stand

There’s a cold rain on the Autumn wind
A brother murdered in Sydney Town
Marrickville brother under legal cover
In his home they gunned him down

You’re not safe out there on freedom’s street
You’re not safe inside the “can”
For with their shotguns and their stunt gas
They’re licensed to drop you where you stand