Story Behind The Song

Black Saturday. Victoria, 2009

Song Description

Folk ballad. Male vocals, acoustic guitar, distorted guitar, drums, bass, piano, strings

Lyrics

We woke up to the smell of smoke
And children screaming in the street
A code red call so the schools were closed
From a wave of searing heat

The TV news warned the fire could spread
So we should be prepared
But people sprayed their rooves instead
And no one really cared

By two o'clock the power turned off
At forty-five degrees
The hot wind blew like a desert storm
As we walked through empty streets

Sat on the roof to see the blaze
And waited for the call
Under a red sky choked in haze
We saw the white ash fall

It wasn't long before we had to move
The fire had come so fast
We took the highway out of town
With sirens rushing past

The traffic stopped on Great Ocean Road
Silent panic in the air
We all knew there was no way out
And turned to hopeless prayer

The last we heard before we ran
Fifty people at first count
The water dumps had just began
But they were too late now

The old man who lived next door
Never wanted to escape
He said he'd been through this before
And his life was in these walls

And the families who lived out in the bush
Never had a chance to run
Never heard the news or saw the smoke
Until the flames had come

One by one the numbers grew
And phone calls with bad news
White bags laid out in endless rows
In the Devil's waiting room