As a kid I’d sit and listen
To the man with the smile and song
As he rode to outback places of Australia
Bringing help and righting wrong
On a wonder horse, he’d ride this land
Each week on the radio
And those days before TV don’t seem
So very long ago.
He’d paint a song about this wide country
And all the people whom he’d meet
He’d spin a yarn or make the sounds
Of four-legged friends at his feet
He’d ride the streets of Sydney town
At Waratah Festivals each year
And those childhood memories, now long ago
I will always hold dear.
And still today he’s painting songs
For his palate has no end
Of Old Kancoban, the High Country
And Nellie, the blind man’s friend
And the heritage of this country grand
He’s captured in the words he sings
And I raise my glass to this troubadour
For the wisdom and pleasure he brings.
