Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

With My Swag All on My Shoulder

 


When (C) first we left old England's shores, such yarns as we were (Am)told,
As how(F) folks in Au(C)stra(Am)lia could (D7)pick up lumps of (C)gold.
So (F)when we got to Mel(C)bourne Town, we were (Am)ready soon to (E)slip,
And get even with the (C)captain, we (G)scuttled from the (C)ship.

With my (C) swag all on my shoulder, black (F) billy in my (C)hand,
I travelled the bush of Au(Am)stralia like a true-(F)born native (C) man.

We steered our course for Portland Town, then north-west of Ballarat,
Where some of us got mighty thin, and some got sleek and fat.
Some tried their luck at Bendigo and some at Fiery Creek
I made a fortune in a day and spent it in a week.

(Chorus)

So round the tucker tracks I tramp, nor leave them out of sight
My swag's on my left shoulder and then upon my right,
And then I take it on my back and oft upon it lie
These are the best of tucker tracks, so I'll stay here till I die.

(Chorus)

I travelled the bush of Australia like a true-born native man.
* Here's an alternative version which I once found in a book of Aussie poetry.

Still Seeking the Seekers After All These Years