THE DROVER'S BOY   ~   Ted Egan


They couldn't understand why the drover cried
   as they buried the drover's boy,
For the drover had always seemed so hard
   to the men in his employ.
A bolting horse, a stirrup lost, and the drover's boy was dead
The shovelled dirt, and a mumbled word
And it's back to the road ahead
And forget about…..the drover's boy.

They couldn't understand why the drover cut
   a lock of the dead boy's hair,
Put it in the band of his battered old hat
   as they watched him standing there.
And he told them "Take the cattle on; I'll sit with the boy awhile"
A silent thought, a pipe to smoke
And it's ride another mile,
And forget about …..the drover's boy.

They couldn't make out why the drover and the boy
   always camped so far away,
For the tall white man and the slim black boy
   had never had much to say.
And the boy would be gone at the break of dawn; tail the horses, carry on                        
While the drover roused the sleeping men
Daylight - hit the road again,
And follow…..the drover's boy.

In the Camooweal pub they talked about
   the death of the drover's boy,
They drank their rum with the stranger who'd come
   from the Kimberley round Fitzroy.
And he told them of the massacre in the West; barest details, guess the rest
Shoot the bucks, grab a gin,
Cut her hair, break her in,
And call her a boy…..the drover's boy.

So when they build that stockman's hall of fame
    and they talk about the droving game,
Remember the girl who was bedmate and guide
Rode with the drover side by side
Watched the bullocks, flayed the hide
Faithful wife, but never a bride
Bred his sons for the cattle runs
Don't weep…..for the drover's boy,
Don't mourn….. for the drover's boy,
But don't for-get! The Drover's Boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ9a0qr7ORY

Great song; great story; great bloke. I'm sure it's been discussed on The Cat before.


Cheers, R-J