One Family

Been giving thought to my past these days
And there are so many ways
I could have been a different man
But perhaps there is little
That could have steered me from this path

On an island so far away
My father's father raised his family
With his English wife and his four mixed kids
Their love so strong to make it through
The times that they lived

Dedicated to his home of Taiwan
He fought for self-determination
Had to move his family overseas for their safety
He remained firm in his belief

To face the future strong
To be the changing faces of our world
For the lives we seek
To make the mighty meek
We must raise one family
One Family

Just as the mothers are the holders
Of stories in the villages of old
This is the story my mother told
Of my great-grandfather who fled war-torn China
Moved his family to the Straights of Malaysia
Though he was a doctor
He preferred to play Chinese checkers
And gamble all day long in an old coffee shop
Flirt with the women and sing his Hakka songs
It sounds a lot like me and my wayward ways
My wayward ways, my wayward ways

His son Old Joe well he had no choice
At 11-years old he had to raise himself
When he had four daughters
He sent them all to study in the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth
Where my mother met my father
In London, England
Grandfather was a stubborn Chinese man
But he sure had vision, yah he sure had vision

To face the future strong
To be the changing faces of our world
For the lives we seek
To make the mighty meek
We must raise one family

One Family