Intro
C
[Verse 1]
C F G C
I speak on behalf of the next generation
C F G C
Our sons and daughters, their children to come
C F G C
What will we leave them for their recreation
C F G C
An oil slick, a pylon, an industrial slum
[Chorus]
A# F
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
Eb F
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
A# F
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
Eb F C F G C
A gift given once for eternity
[Verse 2]
C F G C
We plunder, we pillage, we tear and we tunnel
C F G C
Trees lying toppled, they finger the sky
C F G C
Building a land for machines and computers
C F G C
In the name of progress the farms have to die
[Chorus]
A# F
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
Eb F
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
A# F
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
Eb F C F G C
A gift given once for eternity
[Verse 3]
C F G C
Fish in the ocean polluted and poisoned
C F G C
The sand on our beaches, all stinking and black
C F G C
We and our tankers and banks and investments
C F G C
Say, "Never worry, the birds will come back"
[Chorus]
A# F
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
Eb F
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
A# F
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
Eb F C F G C
A gift given once for eternity
[Verse 4]
C F G C
When the last flower has dropped its last petal
C F G C
When the last concrete is finally laid
C F G C
The moon will shine cold on a nightmarish landscape
C F G C
Our gift to our children, this world that we made
[Chorus]
A# F
Leave them a flower, some grass and a hedgerow
Eb F
A hill and a valley, a view to the sea
A# F
These things are not ours to destroy as we want to
Eb F C F G C
A gift given once for eternity
C
Eternity
C
Eternity