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Complete poem written in 1904 by Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922) .

lyrics

Break O’Day (1904)
by Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922)
--------------------------------------------
[ V1 ]
You love me, you say, and I think you do
But I know so many who don't,
And how can I say I'll be true to you
When I know very well that I won't ?
I have journeyed long and my goal is far,
I love, but I cannot bide,
For as sure as rises the morning star,
With the break of day I'll ride.

---------------- [ CHORUS ] -------------------
I was doomed to ruin or doomed to mar
The home wherever I stay,
But I'll think of you as the morning star
And they call me Break o' Day.
-----------------------------------------
[ V2 ]
They well might have named me the Fall o' Night,
For drear is the track I mark,
But I love fair girls and I love the light,
For I and my tribe were dark.
You may love me dear, for a day and night,
You may cast your life aside;
But as sure as the morning star shines bright
With the break of day I'll ride.

----------------- [ CHORUS ] -------------------
I was doomed to ruin or doomed to mar
The home wherever I stay,
But I'll think of you as the morning star
And they call me Break o' Day.
----------------------------------------------------
[ V3 ]
There was never a lover so proud and kind,
There was never a friend so true;
But the song of my life I have left behind
In the heart of a girl like you.
There was never so deep or cruel a wrong
In the land that is far away,
There was never so bitter a broken heart
That rode at the break of day.

------------------ [ CHORUS ] -------------------
I was doomed to ruin or doomed to mar
The home wherever I stay,
But I'll think of you as the morning star
And they call me Break o' Day.
----------------------------------------------------
[ V4 ]
God bless you, dear, with your red-gold hair
And your pitying eyes of grey —
Oh ! my heart forbids that a star so fair
Should be marred by the Break o' Day.
Live on, my girl, as the girl you are,
Be a good and a true man's bride,
For as sure as beckons the evening star
With the fall o' night I'll ride.
---------------------------------------------
[ FINAL CHORUS ]
I was born to ruin or born to mar
The home wherever I light.
Oh! I wish that you were the Evening Star
And that I were the Fall o' Night.
==============================

credits

from Henry Lawson (the poet in song) Vol​.​3, track released April 10, 2021
Tune by Bruce Woodley

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The Queensland Tiger

The Queensland Tiger covers traditional Australian ballads mainly from 19C.: e.g. Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, Breaker Morant, Charles Thatcher, etc…. true to the original works.
website : www.thequeenslandtiger.com or Youtube channel : The Queensland Tiger ... more

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