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Child of the Modern World (live, 1991)

from Archive Vol. 2: Songs from the Borderline 1989​-​1992 by Penelope Swales

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lyrics

Child of the Modern World
© Penelope Swales 1991

If you’re a child of the modern world
Now, do you feel hemmed in?
I wake up on a dead-end street
And I don’t know where I’ve been
I look around at the broken glass
But no memory comes clear
‘Bout where I went or what I did
Or what happened when I got there
If I slumber, then I might dream
And I might waken
Not knowing what it was that made me scream

If you’re a child of the modern world
Do you feel ill at ease?
We all know the facts are there
And the rhetoric is aimed to please
But lookin’ around at the Springtime glow
It’s hard to criticise
The almost eerie presence
Of unbroken, sunny, clear-blue skies
And the weather changed like the turning of a switch
And the fruit will wither on the vine
Sweet frogs die dehydrated in the ditch

Ahh…

Gripped by the fever of industry
I ponder many books
Sweet innocents around me
Toss their hair and give me funny looks
Well, I’ve never been forgiven
For not requiring their permission
But it’s too late now, it’s too late now
And compensation’s best directed
Down, down into the ground
And the answer from the deep, rich soil
Says – surely there must be some other way around?

credits

from Archive Vol. 2: Songs from the Borderline 1989​-​1992, released July 1, 2005
Vocals, Guitar - Penelope Swales
Recorded live at One-C-One folk club, Mechanics Institute, Brunswick, Melbourne by 3CR Dynamic Recorders, Engineered by Trish Anderson

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Penelope Swales Boolarra, Australia

Penelope Swales has been articulating the human condition with passion and humour for 30+ years. She sings about politics, love, friendship, the unbreakable bond between us and dogs and the impact of the Internet on society. She won the 2019 Alistair Hulett Songs for Social Justice Award with “Cambridge Analytica”. “The Ides of March in Christchurch" was short-listed for the same award in 2020. ... more

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