Don’t Turn My Country Into a Riverbed-Country Love

[Verse 1]

When the river lost its way,

It turned into a riverbed.

The riverbed never dreamed,

Of living dry and dead.

When the people left the village,

The village began to cry.

It never wished to be empty,

Under a silent sky.

The courtyard still remains,

The doorway still stands there.

But where are the returning footsteps?

Where is the dreamer’s care?

The soil is still waiting,

The roads are still wide.

But where are the hands that carry,

A nation’s hope with pride?

[Pre-Chorus]

A country needs its people,

People need work and dreams.

A city may need many things,

But a nation needs honest streams.

[Chorus]

Don’t turn my country into a riverbed,

Let it flow like a river again.

In the courtyard of forgotten villages,

Let human laughter return again.

The soil is calling, don’t leave me behind,

The dream is pleading, don’t break my line.

When hands come together, the nation will rise,

Green will return to the barren fields in time.

[Verse 2]

The school is still open,

But fewer children come.

The resting place is waiting,

But no travelers hum.

A mother watches the dusty road,

For news of her son someday.

He went abroad to earn a living,

But his heart never went away.

We went searching for money,

But our souls kept crying here.

A country cannot be built,

By leaving its heartbeat in fear.

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Electric lights alone are not development,

Tall buildings are not the whole light.

Without justice, skill, work, and trust,

A nation’s heart cannot grow bright.

[Chorus]

Don’t turn my country into a riverbed,

Let it flow like a river again.

In the courtyard of forgotten villages,

Let human laughter return again.

The soil is calling, don’t leave me behind,

The dream is pleading, don’t break my line.

When hands come together, the nation will rise,

Green will return to the barren fields in time.

[Bridge]

Let no hand remain empty,

Let no stomach sleep in pain.

Let no young soul sell its sweat,

In foreign dust and rain.

Let roads be built, but hearts connect,

Let schools open, let dreams be read.

True development begins, my friend,

When light enters every eye ahead.

[Final Chorus]

Don’t turn my country into a riverbed,

Let it flow like a river again.

In the courtyard of forgotten villages,

Let human laughter return again.

A country needs its people,

People need respect and work.

The soil turns green with love,

And truth must rise from every heart.

[Outro]

When the river lost its way,

It turned into a riverbed.

The riverbed never wished,

To live so dry and dead.

When the country feels the pain,

The heart begins to cry.

We were never born, my friend,

To become strangers to our sky.