Reading · Social Issues in Song

For some newer subscribers, this is a post from 2023 that you might have missed.

Welcome to regular readers and new subscribers! Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Let the Franklin Flow”, a song from 1983 written by Shane Howard, a member of the Australian folk/rock band, Goanna. Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics and a YouTube video of the song below the article. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEIC (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

Background

(542 words)
In 1972, the Tasmanian Government in Australia allowed dams to be built on the Serpentine and Huon rivers, causing Lake Pedder to flood. This damaged a great deal of the environment in the area. In spite of protests, the dams were constructed. Activists, like Dr. Bob Brown, formed the Tasmanian Wilderness Society in 1976 to fight against deforestation, mining, and road building in wilderness areas.

In 1978, plans for a dam on the Gordon River created

controversy due to potential damage to the Franklin River and its surroundings. The Wilderness Society and other environmental groups urged the government to protect the endangered species and First Nations rock art that was located there. Thousands of people protested in the street against the planned dam.

A new government was elected in Tasmania, but it supported construction of the dam. Environmental groups asked the Australian Government to take action, but it refused.

In 1982, the Wilderness Society created a blockade of the Franklin River so that construction of the dam could not proceed. Of the 2,500 protesters, 1,400 were arrested. Some spent time in jail.

At that time, UNESCO listed the Franklin River as a World Heritage site, but the Tasmanian Government still refused to cancel plans for the dam.

In 1983, the Labor Party won the national election. Its leaders decided to stop the dam project from moving forward. The Tasmanian Government took the case to court, but the Australian government won and stopped the dam project.

This movement increased environmental awareness and led to the creation of green political parties, with the Greens becoming the third largest political party in Australia.

Photo: Tom Worthington (Wikimedia Commons)

The Song

The song tells the story of these events and of how protecting this beautiful area of nature was worth fighting for.

The lyrics include the line, from Kuta Kina to the south-west shore. Kutakina Cave is located on the Franklin River. It has evidence of the First Nation people and part of it has been dated to about 14,000 years ago.

we fell the forests and we scar the land … and desecrate it with greedy hands, destroy the beauty that nature planned
Here, songwriter Shane Howard is saying that there are companies who make a great deal of profit by building dams, but in the process, they destroy the wilderness that nature has designed.
a thousand people arrested and bailed
has to be something worth fighting for
voices crying in the wilderness
saying this is something worth fighting for
He is saying that the people who were arrested were speaking on behalf of the thousands of natural species of plants, animals, and insects who live together in this natural environment.

oh Tasmania
the hardest heart could understand
just to feel your wilderness
your silence sings to me

Howard begs the listener to consider the request of the thousands of activists who were trying to save this habitat. Just being in the wilderness can cause a person with a “hard heart” to soften and come to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the place.

Rummin_matt on Instagram asked Shane Howard about the song. Howard replied, “You call it a protest song. I think of it as a prayer or a hymn to nature.”

Leaving a comment is a good way to practice your writing skills.

Saving the planet, one river at a time

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