Then the Quail came

There we were, hungry and scared, wishing we never had come

Homes on our backs, dust in our hair, cursing the day we'd begun
"Tell me I ask you," a friend of mine said,
"Was it so bad where we were?"
"We didn't have to come here to be dead, was what we had so nsure?"

chorus:
    Then the quail came, falling like dew on the ground
    The quail came, each evening our food to be found
    And taking our curses and turning 'em round
    And filling our ears with those ungrateful sounds
    Unworthy to stand
    I bow down

There we were, angry and naked, looking for someone to blame
Our bodies were aching, babies were crying
And each day was so much the same
"I tell you people, this journey is crazy."
I heard someone say in his rage
"How long will it be 'till we realize our folly
And get back to where we were safe?"

(chorus)

Here we are, alone on a desert, fed dawn to dark, dusk to day
Every morning we wake up to find just the measure
Of food we need for the way
Oh once we would ask if we could have more
To see that our future survived
But  we know now at last, that nothing is sure
Except that at evening the quail will arrive

(chorus)   

Michael Blanchard
©1975 Gotz Music

(Sung by Noel Paul Stookey)