Song #49 Across the Mekong

ACROSS THE MEKONG (listen in mp3)

In a world meant for others
I still find it hard to see
My way to the top
When there’s nothing there for me that I can see

I come from far away
But I’m forced to live here
Where everybody talks different
And not many care for me that I can see

I rowed across the Mekong
I spent months upon my feet
With my child in tow behind me
His mother’s gone to meet a different end

I don’t know whether to tell him
That everything will work out fine
He’s learnt the ways of this land
Where the sun always shines – but not for me

I’ve been 7 years a stranger
But there’s still no place for me
And though I still keep tryin’
I’m unemployed and dyin’ but I’m free

So I’ll leave it to my children
To reap the rich reward
From this land I’m forced to die in
Desolate and bored – where is she?

Did you get across the Mekong
And think of us lifelong
This dream we had to find you
Has long since gone away
But we’re free

(Copyright M. Coghlan 1989)

Commentary

I had begun working as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and was in daily contact with people who had come to Australia from all sides of the planet. This song is based on the true story of a Cambodian man who escaped from the Khmer Rouge with his son but lost contact with his wife along the way and found himself alone as a single father here in Australia.