I speak on behalf of the next generation
Our sons and daughters, their children to come
What will we leave them for their recreation
An oil slick, a pylon, an industrial slum
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
A gift given once for eternity
We plunder, we pillage, we tear and we tunnel
Trees lying toppled, they finger the sky
Building a land for machines and computers
In the name of progress the farms have to die
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
A gift given once for eternity
Fish in the ocean polluted and poisoned
The sand on our beaches, all stinking and black
We and our tankers and banks and investments
Say, "Never worry, the birds will come back"
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
A gift given once for eternity
When the last flower has dropped its last petal
When the last concrete is finally laid
The moon will shine cold on a nightmarish landscape
Our gift to our children, this world that we made
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
A gift given once for eternity
Eternity
Eternity