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 eight 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.
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.
You stopped the overkill to save wild animals from their fate.
Uncle Paul you started it all
Long ago in the days of the old Transvaal.
It was back in 1898.
Now Noah saved the animals in his ark.