Born in 1825 in the old Cape Colony
Your family trekked away
Searching to be free
You were born and brought up on a wild frontier
Became a soldier and a president but you were a pioneer

They say you knew the Bible off by heart
I'm sure you often pondered a while upon the part
In Genesis chapter one
In the twenty eighth verse
Where the good Lord commanded us all to conserve

Uncle Paul
You started it all
Long ago in the days of the old Transvaal
It was back in 1898
You stopped the overkill to save wild animals from their fate

Though you were a ruthless hunter yourself
You realized the biggest prize was Mother Nature's wealth
Between the Crocodile River and the wild Sabi
You gave God's creation a special sanctuary

For reasons absurd came the tragedy of war
'Twas guns that were heard not the lion's roar
And the quest to feed the soldiers, overkill began again
Paradise became a battlefield your dream seemed all in vain

Uncle Paul
You started it all
Long ago in the days of the old Transvaal
It was back in 1898
You stopped the overkill to save wild animals from their fate

Uncle Paul was a defeated heartbroken president
Away to Europe in exile he was sent
Other wars ended and other wars began
And the miners and the farmers came looking for land

But his legacy stood firm and a park was proclaimed
From the Limpopo in the North, bearing his name
To the Crocodile River in the south in 1926
Minister Piet Grobler got the borders fixed

Uncle Paul
You started it all
Long ago in the days of the old Transvaal
It was back in 1898
You stopped the overkill to save wild animals from their fate

Now Noah saved the animals in his ark
Uncle Paul did much the same with Kruger Park
And the story of the Kruger millions never dies
They're in the form of animals right before your eyes

Uncle Paul
You started it all
Long ago in the days of the old Transvaal
It was back in 1898
You stopped the overkill to save wild animals from their fate