National Workers’ Memorial on the International Day of Mourning

These Two Arms
A Song by John Warner©John Warner 2013

- [play]

These two arms cannot hold a woman close,
Or bounce a laughing child upon my knee,
When I want to end my life,
These two hands won't hold the knife,
Cutting safety for the corporate bottom line
Did that to me.

The last I remember was the snapping of the bolts,
Some distant words I heard somebody shout,
Brief seconds of despair as I tumbled through the air,
A crashing impact and the lights went out.
I awoke to the fearful smell of hospital,
Inside my skull, bells ringing their alarms,
All was numb below my head, and I realised with dread,
There was no sensation in my legs and arms.

These two arms  …

I used to practice footy with the blokes after work,
I don't suppose that I'll be doing that again,
The swimming, the surfing, the nights out with the girls,
There's nothing for me in the world of men.
And there's no use for me to watch it on TV,
My brain screams things my body just won't do.
I barely see my friends and conversation ends,
As my helpless eyes say “It's all right for you.”

These two arms …

Ah, there's folk who do their best to help when I'm depressed,
But no-one shares the quadraplegic's view.
I want to scream and squall, to punch and kick the wall,
And vent my rage like other people do,
As the rage spins in my head, I'm a corpse before I'm dead,
And I lie here just a hopeless, yearning wreck,
If I only had the power, I'd kill myself this hour,
Or go out and break some other bastard's neck

These two arms …

Safety's not for bargaining, you've only got one life,
It's been said before, the workers must unite,
The cost is way too high if we're injured or we die,
Keep untrained labour off the building site.
Let workers from the union inspect a building site,
For proper safety maintenance and care,
And call their members out if there's any kind of doubt,
If they want me on the picket, I'll be there...in my wheelchair.

These two arms cannot hold a woman close,
Or bounce a laughing child upon my knee,
When I want to end my life,
These two hands won't hold the knife,
Cutting safety for the corporate bottom line
Did that to me.

Notes

These Two Arms is being used for the opening of the National Workers’  memorial on the International Day of Mourning, 28th of April, along with Unknown Worker and Bring Out the Banners.