Archie Roach is normally the gentlest of our Indigenous protest singers. He writes songs of great moral force and clarity but his voice, even after the ravages of age and illness, is quiet and hymnal, giving his work a bittersweet quality that allows him to connect easily with a broad audience.
The song that introduced him to most Australians, Took the Children Away, remains the one for which he is most famous. Its opening lines are:
