We Looked Away is the new single from Reg Meuross. Track One on his latest album – RAW.
Order RAW HERE
See Reg Meuross live: DETAILS
Video produced by Katie Whitehouse, Shot & Edited by Jake Cauty, Production Lighting by Kelly-Anne Bond, Filmed at The Barrel House, Totnes
In conversation Reg said this:
“The first verse is about when I went to Dachau, the concentration camp, and I remember how suburban and leafy and comfortably middle class it was… with the camp hidden behind some trees. I thought about how those people would’ve seen the trucks but never questioned it. The second verse is about the dictatorships that even we seem to be under now with Trump and May and the fact Mugabe hung on so long and Gadaffi… and how they continued to get away with unbelievable atrocities – the rivers ran crimson – and still they weren’t deposed.. With Trump and May it’s less obvious but it still feels like we’re being destroyed by them. And the last verse is about the environment, the Extinction Rebellion protests, the overwhelming proof of global warming ignored by governments.
I’m not trying to be accusing but just feel we should be more aware, and we should find our voice and speak up, and take action where we can. And I question the fact a lot of people don’t even use their vote”
WE LOOKED AWAY lyrics
When the leaves were softly turning
And the constant engines rolled
And the ancient air was rich with summer turning
While the war was far off raging
We were safe behind these trees
And nothing changed but something distant burning
There was talk and there were rumours
Those who never came back home
Troops on the streets and cries behind the curtains
Those unsafe by their religion or the colour of their skin
Yes we heard the news but how could we be certain?
No we never asked the questions
We were busy with our day
We looked away we looked away
His eyes were bright with promise
And they shone with his great gift
And a nation swore allegiance to his vision
And his word rang like cathedral bells
Calling all lost souls to join
And praise and to rejoice in his great mission
While the rivers turned to crimson
We were busy with our day
We looked away we looked away
In the north the ice is melting
And the oceans fade to grey
And the whales cry for the dying of their nation
And the earth is stripped and wasted
Greed and progress have their way
While it sickens more with each new generation
Roll the blinds and draw the curtains
We are busy with our day
We looked away we looked away
Come the hour of your judgement
Would you take the stand and say
I looked away I looked away?