Ghost Nation
Hunters & Collectors Lyrics


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Too old to move, too rich to ignore
Garden of Eden on the South Pacific shore
Sweet wonderland.
No horizon, no borderline
Too far away to know or define
Sweet wonderland.
Empty playground, drenched in sorrow
The forest weeps last harvest tomorrow
Sweet wonderland.
Made in Japan

The pleasure boats are leaving
But there's nowhere to go
Into time-on, only minutes left
Hear the whistle blow
Sweet wonderland.
Dream of the future, forget about the past
I'll sell you something, you think it's gonna last
Sweet wonderland




Give away your riches, give away your gold
Ghost nation's soul can never be sold.

Overall Meaning

In "Ghost Nation," Hunters & Collectors artfully depict the struggle of a nation that may have everything on the surface but is plagued by a lingering sense of emptiness and sorrow. The opening lines, "Too old to move, too rich to ignore / Garden of Eden on the South Pacific shore," suggest a sense of stagnancy and complacency as the country has grown comfortable and settled but is still missing something fundamental. The term "sweet wonderland" comes up throughout the song, which can be interpreted as irony - the country may look and feel sweet and perfect, but underneath the surface it's anything but.


The lines "Empty playground, drenched in sorrow / The forest weeps last harvest tomorrow" paint a particularly haunting picture of a nation that's dying inside. The use of the word "ghost nation" in the chorus further emphasizes the sense of hollowness, as if the people have long since left and all that's left is an empty shell of a place. Even as the pleasure boats depart and time marches on, there still seems to be no real hope for the future, just a cycle of evanescent pleasure that ultimately leads nowhere.


Line by Line Meaning

Too old to move, too rich to ignore
We are at a point in our lives where we have attained wealth, but we are also too old to start afresh and create something new.


Garden of Eden on the South Pacific shore
We are in an idyllic location that reminds us of the perfect paradise, the Garden of Eden.


Sweet wonderland.
The setting is beautiful, and we are surrounded by a sense of enchanting beauty.


No horizon, no borderline
We are in a place where there is no visible limit or boundary.


Too far away to know or define
The location is so far away from us that we don't have the complete understanding or definition of it.


Sweet wonderland.
The beauty of this place continues to amaze us, and we find it enchanting.


Empty playground, drenched in sorrow
The place that was once filled with fun and laughter is now desolate, and its emptiness makes us sad.


The forest weeps last harvest tomorrow
The forest is about to witness its last harvest, and it cries in despair.


Sweet wonderland.
Despite the sadness, the beauty of the place still persists, and we find it enchanting.


Made in Japan
An indication that the products offered are of Japanese origin or have been manufactured in Japan.


The pleasure boats are leaving
The pleasure boats are departing from the coast, implying that people are leaving this enchanting location.


But there's nowhere to go
The people leaving can't seem to find another destination that is as captivating as this location.


Into time-on, only minutes left
We may have only a few minutes left to experience the beauty of this location, and time seems to be running out.


Hear the whistle blow
The sound of a whistle indicates that it's time for us to leave the location and move on.


Sweet wonderland.
Despite the fact that our time is up, we still find the wonderland enchanting and beautiful.


Dream of the future, forget about the past
We need to focus on the future and let go of the past that holds us back from moving forward.


I'll sell you something, you think it's gonna last
We are tempted to buy things that we think will last, even though we know in our hearts that they won't.


Sweet wonderland
Despite our awareness of the temporal nature of life and material possessions, we still find the location sweet and charming.


Give away your riches, give away your gold
We should be willing to give away our wealth and riches and not hoard them for ourselves.


Ghost nation's soul can never be sold.
The soul of the nation cannot be sold, no matter how much wealth or riches we may have.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BARRY JOHN JOSEPH PALMER, DOUGLAS JAMES FALCONER, JEREMY STUART SMITH, JOHN ALBERT HOWARD, JOHN MELVILLE LEE ARCHER, MARK JEREMY SEYMOUR, MICHAEL BERNARD WATERS, ROBERT DAVID MILES

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Comments from YouTube:

Zyuni loves Bali

Very underrated group , XLENT WORK GUYS!

David Bicket

True legends. Is Mark the coolest most polished man in the world?

elaine byrne

One of my favourite albums

Pete Fummy

Cannot believe I am the first to comment, on this, my favourite song of Hunters & Collectors.

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