I AM AUSTRALIAN (Bruce Woodley)

I came from the dream-time,

F C

from the dusty, red-soil plains;

Am

I am the ancient heart,

F G C

the keeper of the flame.

C

I stood upon the rocky shores,

F G Am F

I watched the tall ships come;

C Dm

For forty thousand years I've been

F G C

the first Australian.

C

I came upon the prison ship,

F C

bowed down by iron chains;

Am

I fought the land, endured the lash

F G C

and waited for the rains.

C

I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife,

F G Am F

on a dry and barren run;

C Dm

A convict, then a free man,

F G C

I became Australian.

C

I'm the daughter of a digger,

F C

who sowed the mother load;

Am

The girl became a woman

F G C

on the long and dusty road.

C

I'm a child of the depression,

F G Am F

I saw the good times come;

C Dm

I'm a bushy, I'm a backer,

F G C

I am Australian.

Chorus:

C F C

We are one, but we are many;

Am G C

And from all the lands on earth we come.

C F C

We'll share a dream, and sing with one voice,

F G Am G F G C

I am, you are, we are Australian.

C

I'm a teller of stories,

F C

I'm a singer of songs;

Am

I am Albert Namatjira

F G C

and I paint the ghostly gums.

C

I'm Clancy on his horse,

F G Am F

I'm Ned Kelly on the run;

C Dm

I'm the one who waltzed Matilda,

F G C

I am Australian.

C

I'm the heart wind from the desert,

F C

I'm the black soil of the plains;

Am

I'm the mountains and the valleys,

F G C

I'm the drought and flooding rains.

C

I am the rock, I am the sky,

F G Am F

the rivers when they run;

C Dm

The spirit of this great land,

F G C

I am Australian.

(Chorus twice)

C F C

We are one, but we are many;

Am G C

And from all the lands on earth we come.

C F C

We'll share a dream, and sing with one voice,

F G Am G F G C

I am, you are, we are Australian.

F G Am G F G C