[Lyrics]
What a time it was
With so few friends to turn to
What a time it was
When all we did seemed wrong
We'd broken all our bonds
And the battle plan was drawn
What a time
What a time it was
1965, the year of U.D.I.
Who'd have thought the country
Would survive or stay alive
The UN made us outcasts
And the British said we couldn't last
That we would fall when the oil did not arrive
Now, I don't say we were right
And I don't say we were wrong
I'm just trying to tell it
Like it was, in simple song
You see when people love their homeland
They regard it as their own land
And they fight whether they're right or they are wrong
What a time it was
With all the world against us
What a time it was
Not all we did was wrong
We'd broken all our bonds
But life kept going on
What a time
What a time it was
1966 saw some ocean politics
When two men climbed the Tiger
To have talks about the talks
They talked, and talked, and talked, and talked
And talked, and talked some more
The negotiations ended in deadlock
And in 1968, there was another great debate
This time aboard the Fearless
But the end was much the same
November saw a new flag raised
While the people prayed for better days
And hope was still the surname of the game
And in 1970, our republic came to be
Solution seemed to fly
A little further out of reach
But the next year through the gloom
Came Sir Alec Douglas-Home
And it seemed they found a way across the bridge
So in early '72, Lord Pearce and his retinue
Arrived to put the nation
To a test that they had planned
But still it seemed the plan was bad
No better than the last they'd had
And no's the word we heard across the land
What a time it was
With all the world against us
What a time it was
When all we did seemed wrong
We'd broken all our bonds
And the battle plan was drawn
What a time
What a time it was
1975, and Mr. Vorster had arrived
With President Kaunda
For some talks across the falls
But nothing there could be resolved
The problem still was too involved
And the impetus slowed down until it stalled
1976 was when cosmopolitics
Finally put pressure
On the players in the game
Kissinger's proposals
Were broadcast to the nation
With one man and one vote the final aim
Well, Geneva should've sealed it
But instead, it just revealed
That all the players in the game were pulled apart
Well, they had to find a way
To start again another day
With all prepared to take a peaceful part
What a time it was
With all the world against us
What a time it was
When all we did seemed wrong
We'd broken all our bonds
And the battle carried on
What a time
What a time it was
Now, in 1978, while the rest still vacillate
We found a way to work it out
Within the land
Never mind the rest
What we're doing's for the best
And all we want is a peace we understand
There'll be votes for all the folks
And with sanctions gone, we hope
To rebuild this little country
To a proud and single nation
We've got to end this dreadful war
We've found what we've been fight for
Will the world wake up and stop this conflagration
What a time it's been
With so few friends to turn to
What a time it's been
When all we did seemed wrong
We're trying to put things right
But the battle still goes on
What a time
What a time it's been
[Lyrics transcribed by The Ghost of Ian Smith in June of 2019]
