Story Behind The Song

This song was inspired by a visit to the actual "outback." My husband and I spent 5 weeks trekking around Australia in 2009 and no visit to that country is complete without a journey to Ayer's Rock, or as the Aboriginals call it, Uluru. The trip to this sacred land typically starts in a small town called Alice Springs. There is a bridge in the middle of that town that crosses over a riverbed that is a narrow stretch of parched red earth. Coming from lush Wisconsin, I'd never seen anything quite like it. The other thing that struck me about Alice Springs was the clash of cultures between the Aboriginals and the white folks. Stories of the cultural divide were rampant in the evening news and the Aussie newspapers. I tried to wrap my head around the issues, many of them surrounding land rights. Clearly the two sides had vastly different views on what it meant to "own" the land. The tension was most apparent when we arrived at Uluru. Signs urging visitors to not climb Uluru out of respect for Aboriginal tradition were literally, everywhere, yet a steady string of tourists could be seen trudging to the summit of the rock. We chose to stay on the ground.

Song Description

The singer is 'trapped' in a desert town

Lyrics

the river bed
is cracked n' dry
in this God-forsaken town

lonely people
walkin' slowly
and everyone's looking down

such a long way
such a long way
from here to Heaven

brittle branches
stretch from the trees
like frozen hands of desperation

strong hot wind
don't bring no relief
from the sun in its high noon station


such a long way
such a long way
from here to Heaven

dust in my hair
dust in my eyes
dust in my chest
dust in my ears
dust in my mouth
dust in my head

dust in my throat
dust in my heart
dust in my soul
dust in my creases
dust in my pockets
dust is all I know

such a long way
such a long way
from here to Heaven

dust in my pores
dust on my tongue
dust beneath my nails
dust in my nose
dust in...............