Across The Warrego
Jim Grahame was a good mate of Henry Lawson, the great Australian poet and writer. They would often go tramping in the Wide Australian Outback and I feel that on one occasion he would have felt inspired to write this set of words, as indeed was I inspired to write this tune to make his poem into a song, tune to poem to song. Martyn
Across the Warrego Words by Jim Grahame / Tune M. Wyndham-Read
I dreamt some dreams of dried up streams of streams that seldom flow
Of men and things misfortune brings to cross the Warrego
And I could see old faces there old faces grim and set
Old mates of mine that tramped with me and some are tramping yet.
And in my sleep I saw the sheep and heard them bleeting low
The ringing flocks the stringing flocks that crossed the Warrego
The young and strong were in the lead the old and weak behind
With lagging feet and dragging feet and some of them were blind.
And in my dreams I saw the teams the teams I used to know
The long long teams the strong strong teams that crossed the Warrego
And lurching wool bales strained the ropes that lashed them fore and aft
And every ounce of horse flesh pulled from leader to the shaft.
I dreamt of nights by campfire lights the flicker and the glow
The great white moon the black Gin’s croon across the Warrego
And I could hear the bullock bells ringing on the plain
And thirsty kangaroos bounced in and bounded out again .
And in the scrub I saw a pub the name I do not know
But it was there to cash the cheques that crossed the Warrego
A graveyard stood right out in the front two pepper trees were near
And goats were camping underneath a skillion at the rear.
And in the night I woke in fright my pulse was far from slow
I dreamt that I was on the track along the Warrego
I dreamt a mirage danced ahead the dry plains at my back
And I was trudging trudging on alone along the track
And I was trudging trudging on alone along the track.