INTRO/VERSE RIFF:

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[D/C#] [G/B] [D/A]

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[D/F#] [D/A] [D/E] [D/A]

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Ga[D/C#]lleri[G/B]es o[D/A]f pink galahs, crystal nights with diamond stars
Apr[D/F#]icots[D/A] pre[D/E]serv[D/A]ed in jars, that’s my home
La[D/C#]nd of[G/B] oce[D/A]ans in the sun, purple hazes, river gum
It [D/F#]break[D/A]s yo[D/E]ur h[D/A]eart when rain won’t come, it breaks your heart

It[G6/D] takes [G6/D]a harsh and cruel drought to sort the weaker saplings out
[G6/D]It makes room for stronger trees, maybe that’s what life’s about
Wi[G6/D]nter's [G6/D]come, the hills are brown, the shops are closed, the blinds

are down
Ev[G6/D]erybody’s leaving town, they can’t go on

Th[D/C#]e sou[G/B]th w[D/A]ind through verandah gauze, whines and bangs the homestead

doors
A m[D/F#]other[D/A] cur[D/E]ses [D/A]dusty floors, and feels alone
Tr[D/C#]ucks [G/B]and [D/A]bulk bins filled with rust, boy leaves home to make a crust
A f[D/F#]ather[D/A]’s d[D/E]ream[D/A]s reduced to dust, but he must go on

To[G6/D]rtured [G6/D]redgums unashamed, sunburnt country, wisely named
[G6/D]Chisel ploughed and wire claimed, but never never, never tamed

SOLO: (Not relative to capo, played on electric guitar)
[—–]
[G6/D] [G6/D]

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[G6/D]

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[D/C#] [G/B] [D/A]

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[D/F#] [D/A] [D/E] [D/A]

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Wh[D/C#]irlwi[G/B]nd s[D/A]wirls a paper high, same old news of further dry
Of [D/F#]broke[D/A]n cl[D/E]ouds[D/A] just passing by, that’s my home
La[D/C#]nd of[G/B] oce[D/A]ans in the sun, purple hazes, river gum
It [D/F#]break[D/A]s yo[D/E]ur h[D/A]eart when rain won’t come, it breaks your heart

End On D Chord

[Fm7/Bb]
Don’t go lookin’ through that old camphor [Fm7/Eb]box woman,

You know those old things only make you [Fm7/Eb]cry.

When you dream upon that little bunny [Fm7/Eb]rug

It makes you think that life has passed you [Fm7/Eb]by

There are days when you wish the world would [Fm7/Eb]stop woman,

But then you know some wounds would never [Fm7/Eb]heal

But when I browse the early pages of the [Fm7/Eb]children

It’s then I know exactly how you feel.

Hey it’s J[Fm7/Eb]uly and the winter sun is shining

And the [Fm7/Eb]Cootamundra wattle is my friend

For [Fm7/Eb]all at once my childhood never left me

‘Cause wattle blossoms bring it back again.
It’s Sunday and you should stop the worry woman,
Come out here and sit down in the sun
Can’t you hear the magpies in the distance?
Don’t you feel the new day has begun?
Can’t you hear the bees making honey woman,
In the spotted gums where the bellbirds ring?
You might grow old and bitter cause you missed it,
You know some people never hear such things
Hey it’s July and the winter sun is shining
And the Cootamundra wattle is my friend
For all at once my childhood never left me
‘Cause wattle blossoms bring it back again
Don’t buy the daily papers any more woman,
Read all about what’s going on in hell.
They don’t care to tell the world of kindness,
Good news never made a paper sell.
There’s all the colours of the rainbow in the garden woman,
And symphonies of music in the sky.
Heaven’s all around us if you’re looking,
But how can you see it if you cry.
Hey it’s July and the winter sun is shining
And the Cootamundra wattle is my friend
For all at once my childhood never left me
‘Cause wattle blossoms bring it back again.

[D/F#]

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You can almost [D/F#]touch the ocean
Shimmering in the distant haze,
As you stand there [G/F#]on the mountain
On this loveliest day of days.
Round half the [D/F#]world you’ve drifted
Left no wild oats unsown,
But now your [G/F#]view has shifted
And you think you’ve just come home.

REPEAT INTRO

And you’re drowning in the sunshine
As it pours down from the sky,
And there’s something stirring in your heart
Bright colours fill your eyes.
As from here to the far horizon
Your beauty does unfold,
And oh, you look so lovely
Dressed in green and gold.

SOLO:

[D/F#]

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[D/F#]

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To the homeless and the hungry
May we always open doors,
May the restless and the weary
Find safe harbour on our shores.
May she always be our dreamtime place
Our spirit’s glad release,
May she always be our shelter
May we always live in peace.

REPEAT INTRO

Chorus
For the rain never falls on the dusty Diamantina
And a drover finds it hard to change his mind
For the years have surely gone
Like the drays from Old Cork Station
And I won’t be back till the drovin’s done

Verse 2
Well it seems like the sun comes up each mornin’
Sets me up and takes it all away
For the dreaming by the light
Of the camp fire at night
Ends with the burning by the day

Chorus
For the rain never falls on the dusty Diamantina
And a drover finds it hard to change his mind
For the years have surely gone
Like the drays from Old Cork Sta-ation
And I won’t be back till the drovin’s done

Instrumental

Verse 3
Sometimes I think I’ll settle back in Sydney
But it’s been so long it’s hard to change my mind
For the cattle trail goes on and on
And the fences roll forever
And I won’t be back till the drovin’s done

Chorus
For the rain never falls on the dusty Diamantina
And a drover finds it hard to change his mind
For the years have surely gone
Like the drays from Old Cork Sta-ation
And I won’t be back till the drovin’s done

Chorus
For the rain never falls on the dusty Diamantina
And a drover finds it hard to change his mind
For the years have surely gone
Like the drays from Old Cork Sta-ation
And I won’t be back till the drovin’s done

Push a wheelbarrow to Broken Hill,

Test your endurance, test your skill,

Where the sun is hot and the hills are slow.

Ten grand to the winners;

Push a wheelbarrow to Broken Hill,

Test your endurance, test your skill.

With a pick and shovel and an old crowbar

And a billy wrapped up in a blanket.

(CHORUS)
Put your men through the toughest test,

Half a dozen of the very best.

The team to beat is from the west.

You’ve gotta be fit or the heat will kill.
The man with the flag and the paint on his shirt,
Loves the town like his mother.

Push your wheelbarrow to Broken Hill,
Test your endurance, test your skill.
Quicker changes up the rise,
Keep the driver sober.

(SECOND CHORUS)
Paint me a purple billabong,
Where the limbs are hollow but the roots are strong,
Where the world is peaceful all day long,

oh, Paint me a purple billabong,

Where the limbs are hollow but the roots are strong,

Where the world is peaceful all day long.

Paint this country how it feels,
A rusty roof, a horse on wheels.
Shirts and singlets on the line,
Little chance of rain.

Push a wheelbarrow to Broken Hill,
Test your endurance, test your skill
It’s gonna get harder every year stiffer competition

(THIRD CHORUS)
Paint me a pub, it’ll suit me fine,
A bucket of yabbies and a barrel of wine,
Paint me a Mallee tree down by the mine.
Oh paint me a pub, it’ll suit me fine,
A bucket of yabbies and a barrel of wine,
Paint me a wheelbarrow over the line.

shes my mother, she’s my aunty,
she is many that i’ve known
the backbone of the bush, where country kids have grown
she’s raised and she’s nurtured those children of her own
while her man does his battles on the land
and he comes on from the shearing, still aching in the back
the kids are finally tucked away, her days are never slack
but she makes it look so easy, as she cooks him up a storm
that unselfish, unsung hero of the land

she’s keeping books, she’s nursing
raising money for the town
she’s the last one standing, when all is falling down
ferocious as a tiger to defend her little clan
my hero the woman on the land
so i propose a toast, to the mothers that we know
proud to be the better half, who really run the show
and if you shed a tear boys, i will understand
to our hero the woman on the land

and he comes in from the harvest, a dissapointing yield
he’s tired and he’s dusty, twelve hours in the field
and although her day’s been difficult, she greets him with a smile
that unselfish, unsung hero of the land

to our hero, the woman on the land

(harmonica solo) F C F C F C DM G7 C

Well it cost me thirty bucks to fix my budgie,

When the little blighter only cost me five.

The veterinary surgeon saw me coming,

But I had to keep my feathered friend alive;

He was shaking on his perch, the kids were crying,

The family gathered round his little cage.

I said I think it’s time we got a new one,

That’s when the family went into a rage.

Oh, the waiting room ponged like a rat house,
With heartworms and lungworms and lice.
And a Persian had her eye on the shoebox,
I suppose she thought our budgie might be nice.

Well the bird st on the veterinary surgeon,
I heard him say the dirty little chick.
Guess he wondered why I didn’t use my brains
And hit him over the head with a brick.

(CHORUS)

Oh antibiotics for his colour,

Two drops a day on his beak.

Some powder on the nose for his feathers

And clean out his cage twice a week.
(harmonica solo) F C F C F C DM G7 C

Well it cost me thirty bucks to fix my budgie
When the little blighter only cost me five
And the bludger wakes me early in the morning,
It’s got me puzzled how he survives.

One night I’ll feed him to the tom cat.
Instead of worrying about him when we go away.
No-one wants to feed a stty budgie,
When everyone’s on holiday

(repeat CHORUS & harmonica solo)

No self-respecting farmer lets a rodent eat his wheat
He’ll shoot ‘em and he’ll skin ‘em and he’ll dress ‘em up to eat
But since the spread of mixo He’s almost got ‘em beat
And I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee boy

Where little town dogs howl at the morning train,
Where a cocky makes a living on twelve inches of rain
Where his woman provides and is rare to complain
And I still love the smell of that sandy soil,
Some say it’s dusty, some say it’s gold
Cause it grows the sweetest fat lambs the markets ever sold
And I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy,

Woooo….do-do, do-do, do – doo
No I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy.

Where you can lose an ear on duck opening day,
Where slickers bring their shotguns from miles away,
And shoot the life out of shags and swans that fly their way.
Where a bloke grows as stocky as a Mallee bull,
Where they come from miles around to see the tractor pull,
When the paddocks are clean and seed silos are full,
And I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy.
(harmonica………….…….)
Well I’ve ripped and dug out burrows on a sandy bulloak hill,
Eradicating rabbits doesn’t take a lot of skill,
And a boy born in the Mallee doesn’t find ‘em hard to kill.
But they’ll never be as rare as a Quandong tree
My grandma made some jam for my brothers and me
They’re like the Mallee Fowl you hardly ever see
But I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy.
No I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy.

Woooo….do-do, do-do, do – doo
No I don’t mind at all if you call me a Mallee Boy.
(harmonica………….…….)

(VERSE ONE) Wouldn’t you like to ride along a country road,

I’ll give you a gentle push.

I swell with pride to see the countryside

When I wander aimlessly through the bush.

‘Cause that’s where I get my music

And that’s where I live my life.

You can call me a j[EM/B]olly swagman [C/G]if you lik[DM7/A]e.

(CHORUS 1)

Call it humpin’ my bluey,

I reckon that’s the style,

So why don’t you climb aboard with me, along the road a while

(VERSE 2)
Been workin’ in the big smoke, singin’ at the pub,
I talk to people everywhere who still love the scrub
All longing for a piece of land and the eucalyptus air,
So why don’t you come with me I’ll take you there

(CHORUS 2)
Maybe we’ll find a shack somewhere,
Plant an avocado tree
With fences only to deep out the cows,
Share a dream with me

(INSTRUMENTAL VERSE AND CHORUS 1)

(VERSE 3)
I’ve spent some time in your town, at every waterhole
‘Cause I must drink a big brown land,
To quench a thirsty soul,
And north to the black soil plains
Through cattle, sheep and hills of golden grain

(CHORUS 3)
The snow on Kosciusko,
My friends in the Territory
And springtime in Tasmania,
It all belongs to me

(INSTRUMENTAL VERSE AND CHORUS 1)