Mirrors Songtext
von Eric Bogle

Children are born with trust in their eyes
It′s the first thing that we betray
Children are born believing in magic
It's the first thing we take away
Fill them with doubt instead of magic
And fear instead of trust
And after a while they′re just like us
On this earth there is a city
In a rich, green pleasant country
Where they kill the children
The children of the streets
Free enterprise extermination
No wasteful rehabilitation
The bullet is forever
It's so final, quick and cheap
And the death squads all wear policeman's badges
And the kills supplement their wages
Earn their bloody bounty
With a gun and a club and a knife
While profit-conscious businessmen


Upright solid citizens
Pay them a few percentos
For every murdered street kid′s life
(But they′re children)
They're garbage on the street
(Only children)
They′re beggars whores and thieves
(Oh pity the children)
Pity me if you will
There's none on the streets of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
To bless this piece of paradise
High on a hill stands Jesus Christ
Gazing down with sightless eyes
At the daily blasphemy
A mocking marble contradiction
Arms spread wide in benediction
Suffer the little children
Suffer them to come to me
And the death squads cry amen, amen
While they bow their knees to Bethlehem
Kiss me in the face of humankind
Turn our dreams to worthless dust
And the future as it′s always done
Stares down the barrel of a gun
Which once more begs the question
When will the death squads come for us?
(But they're children)
Have you seen their eyes?
(Only children)
Hard and weary and streetwise
(Oh pity the children)
There are no children here
Only old eyes full of hunger
And hate and hope and fear
(But they′re children)
Abandoned and forsaken
(Only children)
Useless human flocks
(Oh pity the children)
And pity us as well
For in our children's eyes
We see mirrors of ourselves