We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes as a cd/dvd set in double jewel case with matching picture discs. Artwork features Penelope's "activist patch" coat with patches collected from activist campaigns all over the world that Penelope has played for and/or supported in 15 years of touring

    Includes unlimited streaming of Legacy: Two Decades of Topical Writing via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $35 AUD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1.75 AUD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 11 Penelope Swales releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Captains of Industry, Legacy: Two Decades of Topical Writing, Skin: Deep, Archive Vol. 2: Songs from the Borderline 1989-1992, Monkey Comfort, 'Archive': Demos, Out-takes and One-offs 1995-2000, Justifying your Longings to the Doctor, Homemade Wine, and 3 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $103.50 AUD or more (25% OFF)

     

lyrics

So Lucky
© Penelope Swales 2004

We’re so lucky to be here
In a beautiful place, in a time of peace
Of local peace, this peace is local
and it’s important to know and to remember
That it is not peaceful everywhere
We’re so lucky to sit here in the expectation that we can sit here
That no bomb will fall, that these walls will not cave in on us
Our governments may be at war, but we have no argument with anyone
That’s how we feel, that’s what we like to believe
It’s not necessarily what the people on the other side might see

But it’s only random good fortune that leads us to be born into the bosom of the strong
Where we’re so lucky to be able to worry about romance or cars
Or whether or not we like our boss
Lulled by the luxury we don’t realise
The extent of the compromise
That we’re just cogs ina machine, making money for a man
We’ll never meet

It’s important to remember that we did nothing to deserve this good luck
It’s not because we’re better, have better Karma or possess a better god
It’s certainly not because we’ve got better leaders, we’re here because
In order to have all that wealth and power, those in power need consumers

We’re so lucky to be here wearing clothes of our choice
To reveal skin to conceal skin
To pain our faces or leave them plain
To grow our hair or cut it short
We’re so lucky to be able to go out and work
And be independent of our families and of our culture
We may get lonely, we may be exposed to danger
We may get lonely, we may be exposed to danger
We may get lonely, we may be exposed to danger
But we’re still safer here than we would be almost anywhere else

It’s important to remember that we did nothing to deserve this good luck
These luxuries are the legacies of the labours and struggles of the people of the past
Of the women, of the unions, of those who worked so hard
Who risked their lives, who compromised their families, so we could be
So lucky to be here,
In a beautiful place, in a time of peace

It’s important to remember that we did nothing to deserve this good luck
It’s not because we’re better, have better Karma or possess a better god
It’s certainly not because we’ve got better leaders, we’re here because
In order to have all that wealth and power, those in power need consumers
And we’re just lucky that we happen to be the consumers

But in order for them to make money from us
They have to have something for us to consume
And that has to come from somewhere
It has to come from someone
Who once lived in a beautiful place,
In what once was a time of peace

Somewhere someone else has to have less so that we can have so much more than we need
So if we’re lucky enough to be here
In this beautiful place, in this time of peace
If we’re lucky enough to still have some freedom of movement
Some freedom of speech
Then we’re lucky enough to know
What it is that we’ve been seeing
If we’re lucky enough to live
In what must be called, for want of a better word, a democracy
Then we have to shoulder the responsibility
Because we are responsible for the actions
of our leaders.

I’m calling on you to wake from your dream
While you’re, while you’re, while you’re still
While we’re still
So lucky to be here
In a beautiful place, in a time of peace

credits

from Legacy: Two Decades of Topical Writing, released July 1, 2010

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

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

contact / help

Contact Penelope Swales

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Penelope Swales, you may also like: