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Complete poem (1917) by Henry Lawson (1867 - 1922)........ ...
Tune by Ade Monsbourgh , originally on Shirley Jacobs 1972 album "A Voice From The City: A Tribute To Henry Lawson".

Violin by Mikhail Bugaev.

lyrics

Scots of the Riverina (1917)
By Henry Lawson (1867 -1922)
----------------------------------------
[ V.1 ]
The boy cleared out to the city
from his home at harvest time —
They were Scots of the Riverina,
and to run from home was a crime.
The old man burned his letters,
the first and last he burned,
And he scratched his name from the Bible
when the old wife's back was turned.
-------------------------------------
[ V.2 ]
A year went past and another.
There were calls from the firing-line;
They heard the boy had enlisted,
but the old man made no sign.
His name must never be mentioned
on the farm by Gundagai —
They were Scots of the Riverina
with ever the kirk hard by.
-----------------------------------
[ V.3 ]
The boy came home on his "final",
and the township's bonfire burned.
His mother's arms were about him;
but the old man's back was turned.
The daughters begged for pardon
till the old man raised his hand —
A Scot of the Riverina
who was hard to understand.
-----------------------------------
[ V.4 ]
The boy was killed in Flanders,
where the best and bravest die.
There were tears at the Grahame homestead
and grief in Gundagai;
But the old man ploughed at daybreak
and the old man ploughed till the mirk —
There were furrows of pain in the orchard
while his housefolk went to the kirk.
--------------------------------------
[ V.5 ]
The hurricane lamp in the rafters
dimly and dimly burned;
And the old man died at the table
when the old wife's back was turned.
Face down on his bare arms folded
he sank with his wild grey hair
Outspread o'er the open Bible
and a name re-written there.

===========================

credits

from Henry Lawson (the poet in song) Vol​.​3, track released April 10, 2021
Tune by Ade Monsbourgh. Violin by Mikhail Bugaev.

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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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