The Franklin Must Ever Run Free

Words: Anonymous
Tune: Traditional (Botany Bay)



Oh the Franklin's the sweetest of rivers
And the wildest we ever have named
And despite bully boys and their ignorance,
The Franklin must never be tamed

CHORUS:
Singing toorallai, toorallai addity
Singing toorallai, toorallai-ee
Despite bully boys and their ignorance,
The Franklin must never be tamed

There's the Hydro-Electric Commission
At building power stations they're great
And the Hydro-Electric Commission
Builds the dams, makes the power, runs the state

There's the wild and the wet and the beautiful
There's the tame and the shame and the taint
There's a government that's ever so dutiful
To a premier who thinks he's a saint.

For there's not just the past there's the future
We must build for tomorow you see
And the duty we owe to our children's kids
Is to make sure the Franklin runs free.



From Franklin River Blockade Songs - The Franklin River Blockade Songbook, Volume 2, Hobart, February 1993. Published by the Tasmanian Wilderness Society.


The protests over the proposed damming of the Franklin River were a significant example of community political mobilisation in Australia in the 1980s. A summary of the events can be found here:

http://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/wild-rivers/franklin


The Wilderness Society developed out of the principal organisation involved in the protests, The Tasmanian Wilderness Society. The head of the TWS (Dr Bob Brown) went on to become leader of the Australian Greens and has represented that party in the Senate since 1996.