Lyrics Dumb Things (triple j Like A Version) - Paul Kelly , A.B. Original

Welcome strangers to the show
I'm the one who should be lying low
Saw the knives out, turned my back
Heard the train coming, stayed right on that track

In the middle, in the middle
In the middle of a dream
I lost my shirt, I pawned my rings
I've done all the dumb things

Yeah, them dumb things
This goin' out to all my brothers down there in Don Dale
Dealin' with that disaster that them guards are there and not jail
Thinking we gettin' our welfare, huh?
Thinking we gettin' our healthcare, huh?
Think about if it was your son,
Now think about sending some help there, yeah
What's dumber than that mate?
What's dumber than dressing up blackface?
What's dumber than doing it knowing it
Hurts and don't even work to make that change
Let's go

In the middle, in the middle
In the middle of a dream
I lost my shirt, I pawned my rings
I've done all the dumb things Verse 3: Briggs]
We got
We got islands for the ones who seekin' asylum
We got silence for the ones who died in confinement
If you're complacent to the words of a racist
Don't you dare complain when that's what leading your nation
Send in the clowns, they're blackfacing
They're locking up couples,
They're locking up brothers, but they ain't leavin' the station
The date's changin'

In the middle, in the middle
In the middle of a dream
I lost my shirt, I pawned my rings
I've done all the dumb things

Ladies and gentleman. On the keys and drums Mr John,
Mr Paul Bartlett AKA SixFour. On the guitar,
My brother Dan Sultan. And to my right, Mr Paul Kelly

Yeah, them dumb things
Lumped in, looking for peace, but won't find it
They holdin' us back from closing the gap by keeping them close minded
See, no surprises there, hearing both of them sirens blare
Them coppers where I'm from are kind of
Fair, if you kinda fair
What's a royal commission to the ones who live on a mission
To the ones who's killed by the system
By the ones that's meant to assist 'em
At the hands of policemen, who's gonna police them?
They killin' us Koori's,
They got it on footage, they need to release them

In the middle, in the middle
In the middle of a dream
I lost my shirt, I pawned my rings
I've done all the dumb things

Mr John Bartlett

My brother Dan Sultan

Mr Paul Kelly

In the middle, in the middle
In the middle of a dream
I lost my shirt, I pawned my rings
I've done all the dumb things