Nine days before I was born you were gone
But what you left behind
Great architect of health reform came forth
From your soft heart and tougher mind
When nothing good comes easy
We fight for the dreams that we hold
When you finally got that bill through though
You had to stuff their mouths with gold

And the purpose of power is to give it away
This is my truth tell me yours
And freedom won’t be freedom until poverty is gone
So Nye, your dream’s alive and strong

Nurse tired and drained it’s 2 a.m.
She’ll summon up the strength again and smile
It’s not for the wage she does this job
It’s a greater call that cannot be defined
The surgery, the plaster tape
The arm around the aching and confused
And drugs to give a little one more time to play
Should never be refused

And the purpose of power is to give it away
This is my truth tell me yours
And freedom won’t be freedom until poverty is gone
So Nye, your dream’s alive and strong

The accident, the cancer cell
The final breath of sacrament at dawn
The beating heart, the broken
And the cry of the fragile being born
Nine days before I was born you were gone
But what you left behind
Your greatest hour remains with us
If we hold on with soft hearts and tougher minds

For no society can call itself civilised
If the sick are denied through lack of means
And if you don’t believe me take a plane my friend
Go break your arm, see what it costs in New Orleans

And the purpose of power is to give it away
This is my truth tell me yours
And freedom won’t be freedom until poverty is gone
So Nye, your dream’s alive and strong