The war'd not long been over
and the future seemed so bright
We gathered in the church hall
in Georgetown at night
He said there's work in England
for woman and for man
So I clapped the hand,
some stranger with these hands
Farewell to Guyana,
the land where I was born
We sailed for Southampton
on a bright April morn
And the moon was sinking quickly
as we looked back to the land
And I held on to the railing
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with these hands
Now when we came to England
it was late in the night
Took a train to Paddington
and my, what a sight
Was a white woman
sweep ing up
around a paper stand
And I rubbed my eyes in wonder
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with these hands
Now I was a heart maker
and I had skills to share
Songs to sing and joy to bring
and children to bear
But no blacks, no dogs, no Irish,
I couldn't understand
But I wiped away my tears,
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with these hands
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Now the first place that I found to rent,
it didn't have a bath room
The next place barely had a roof,
sometimes you have to lie
For under an umbrella,
well it wasn't what I'd planned
But I cooked the Christmas dinner,
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with these hands
I became a foster mother,
took a hundred children in
Loved everyone, kissed everyone,
no matter what their skin
And they offered me an MBE,
I said, I don't need one
Besides, I've no good
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dress to wear it on
So I asked if I could trade it
for the things I really need
Like bed sheets and pillow slips
for all the kids I feed
And the Mayor, listened to me
and he made this promise proud
And the keys of the new house
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were in his hands
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Oh and soon Jack Boots
came marching
through the streets of our town
Our tyres slashed, win dows smashed,
our youth club burned down
And I prayed that my children
didn't understand
As I wiped their smeared faces
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with these hands
And the words of the stranger
who had led me here
Weren't the words of welcome now
but words of fear
And the river was bleeding
and the smell was found
For the stranger's name
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was Enoch Pound
And at four o 'clock one morning
a knock came at my door
They took me down to Deptford
where ra ging fires roared
Thirteen would die that night,
the flames could not be fanned
And still the smell of New Cross
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is on these hands
But as the people gathered
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and as the people cried
As the flames fell
and as the flames died
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I stood amidst the ashes
and beneath the brooding skies
I said my name is Phoenix
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and we will rise
For these hands where the years of love
they bear the scars of pain
These hands have built a
better world
and these hands will again
And though these hands are old now,
well they've got more to give
But these hands don't forget,
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but they forgive
And though the walls are rising,
now you may think Corby's gone
These hands of mine,
they are the proof
of all that can be done
So whoever is your neighbour,
link arms and make a stand
And we will face the future
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with these hands
Whoever is your neighbour,
link arms and make a stand
And we will face the future
with these hands
The Young'uns 
