Poor family got a lean-to
Now the rainy season's gone
Coloured kids playin' in the hard mud
Kicking that skinny dog
He works on irrigation
Moving water to the

And he dreams of being a spear someday
In the heart of Johannesburg
He dreams of being a spear someday
In the heart of Johannesburg

And we live in
And we live on
And we die in
Corrugated iron

Pray to Tokoloshe
When the red dirt comes back
Cattle try to find the river bed
And in-between the cracks
Chief man he got his hard hat
From the civilized Western man

He's got a ton of 'em down in Capetown
He's gonna grease the poor black hand
He's got a ton of 'em down in Capetown
He's gonna grease the poor black hand

And we live in
And we live on
And we die in
Corrugated iron
And we're building
And we're trying
Our tribes are born in corrugated iron

You gotta stand to the left
Remain at the back
And give 'em corrugated iron
To put on their shacks
Stand to the left
Remain at the back
And give 'em corrugated iron
To put on their shacks

And he dreams of being a spear someday
In the heart of Johannesburg
He's got a ton of 'em down in Capetown
He's gonna grease the poor black hand

And we live in
And we live on
And we die in
Corrugated iron
And we're building
And we're trying
Our tribes are born in corrugated iron