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about

Paterson traveled to Egypt as an honorary vet and a commanding officer during WW1 and probably found the inspiration to write this riddle from the landscape there.
I wrote the music to sound middle eastern.

lyrics

A grain of sand

Beneath the blue Egyptian skies,
With ramp and roller, guide and stay,
I saw the Pyramids arise
And I shall see them pass away.

I watched when Alexander passed;
I saw Napoleon’s flag unfurled -
The greatest and perhaps the last
Of men whose footsteps shook the world.

To each his hour of pride and place,
Arab and Persian, Greek and Jew;
Mahomet trod upon my face,
Darius spurned me with his shoe.

And yet I am not Priest or Kin,
Sultan or chief in high command.
I am that one unchanging thing,
And i have spread across the lands
. . . . . .
And yet I am not Priest or Kin,
Sultan or chief in high command.
I am that one unchanging thing,
I am a grain of desert sand

credits

from Aussie Art Song - Banjo Paterson Edition, released February 13, 2020

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about

Niq Reefman Sydney, Australia

Niq trumpets like a singer, keyboards like a bass player, sings like a narrator and ukuleles like an electric guitar - his musical performance is best described by picturing “Tim Minchin, flying a trumpet through a thunderstorm”.
He spreads songs of beauty, mirth, camaraderie, inspiration and action to a world that craves the social zest of an Irish pub and the hopeful melodies of nature.
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