Intro
It‘s one of London‘s roughest places
Just off the river Thames
And it‘s got a lot of cases
Oh I won‘t call any names
Of crooks, burglars and weird blokes
Much violence, drugs and abuse
Though also good hard working folks
And some who got the blues
Row, row, row the boat
Gently by the stream
If you see a crocodile
Don‘t forget to scream
Verse 1
I‘ve heard and seen
And passed by scenes
More or less cool
On my way to school
But made no fuss
As a teacher of a year 1 class
The kids were just five years old
Some were shy and some were bold
Bright good children – I‘ve hardly scold
One lovely little boy
Was guarded fine and coy
His mum used to bring him to school before nine
And he was happy to see
His sister who picked him up at half past three
A nice young woman of 16-18
She adored her little brother
And looked after him
One morning during Math, he gazed sadly
Then spoke out suddenly:
My sister has gone away
And did not come back yesterday
I tried to comfort the little guy
„Sometimes big sisters go away
But they will return some day“
He looked on very upset
And on intuition just said:
„She‘s not coming back“
Verse 2
Two days later I watched the News at night
A policemen reported a femicide
Then – oh dear, I got this fear..!
The boy‘s mum did appear
On the screen
Crying she asked if anybody has seen
Or heard something
To please come forward and tell everything
Cos my lovely girl has gone away
Now she cannot come back any day
They found her in a wasteland
She was violated and I‘m so sad
My wonderful daughter is dead
And a mother cares to know what happened!
Somebody took my daughter away
And did not let her go home any day
The brave woman carried on to speak
In a way she was so meek:
Has anyone heard her sighs and painful cries ?
Did anybody recognize
The agonizing fear in her eyes?
Did someone see her feeling lost and
lonely ?
And, oh if only –
A kind spirit has taken her by the hand
To guide her into „summerland“…
I urge people PLEASE
If you realise anybody being violent
Do NOT stay SILENT!
All I can say is I can‘t find peace
Now my daughter has passed away
But all the violence
Stays alive in the silence!!!
Verse 3
A couple of days later the boy returned to school
Obviously concerned and watchful
But safe and sound
Although his world has turned around
Let me just put you in the frame
This London boy was not the same!
Sensible but resilient, tough but caring
Bold though still fearing
Streetwise and smart
One day he might take up his part
Cos he‘ll forever miss her
And always will watch out for any sister
„So a sister who has gone away
Can SAFELY return home any day“
„I help you“, his friend would whisper
His classmates got the clue:
„We all help you
Cos nobody sinister
Should ever harm a sister!“
The boy now brought to school by a neighbour
And needed to be even braver
Cos no sister came to to take him home
This little boy walked all alone …
Outro
By a femicide this family‘s
Life was shattered
Somehow they have to cope
Though little children know what matters
So there is some hope –
Please do bother
To take care of yourself and one another!
Row row row the boat
Gently by the stream
If you see a crocodile
Don‘t forget to scream…
I know I might have got you worried
As long as still
Every 10 min a women is killed in this world I‘m sorry
But take my word
I cannot fail
To tell such a tale
In full sobriety
„Cos any gender based violence
Grows like cancer
If society keeps it‘s silence!“
H. Susanna Beck ist Mitglied des QWCV (queer writing circle Vienna) und des „English Story telling Collective“
