Uniforms Lyrics

Lyric discussion by inverarity 

Cover art for Uniforms lyrics by Shearwater

Send back the uniforms! Send back the generous reich! Send us back to our lives on the waving blue wild and remove every mark down to the waterline and with your arms at your sides turn homeward.

Over seas. Over roads. Over burning atolls. Hurl your empire's crown back in the heart of the waves.

eber im lok jiktok ikerele kot iban bok hartu jonan an elap ippa

Relay, relay the unquenchable song through the wire where your horses alight on the shores of our lives.

The world blooms for the last time.

Lyric Correction

Very straightforward continuation of the album's main theme, the destructive effects of colonialism and, especially, World War II on the indigenous island peoples of the world. Like other songs on the island, it is from the perspective of the island peoples.

The song's (and album's) overarching message is, "Go home colonialists!" "Burning atolls" is probably a reference to the atomic tests conducted on various South Pacific islands. (It might be a reference to the whaleship Essex, but that's a stretch.)

"Eber im lok" etc. is another quote from the Bikinian anthem, a sample of which opens...