The late John Munro lived for a time here in Darwin towards the end of his life. He was a very fine musician and singer, but I must admit that not many of his original songs sparked my clod. However, I really loved this one.

SNOWDROP
(John Munro)

It’s minus six as Alex stands in line
The grim procession that’s motionless in time
He’ll wash and share some bread
But there’s no warmth, there’s no bed
At Sanitation Station Number 9
And he thinks about the harsh words with his son
But there’s no way back, the damage has been done
His thinking’s not so clear now
From the vodka and the beer now
And not a living soul goes where he’s gone

And when all the snows have melted
All the papers blown away
There you are, there you are
Just another snowdrop blooming in the spring
A silent voice without a song to sing
And this brave new world you fought for
Didn’t turn out like you thought
For all the lost and lonely snowdrops in the spring

Now Alex knows a place where he can go
A quiet stair-well where there’s shelter from the snow
And as he makes a bed, does he think what lies ahead
Or is lying down his head all that he knows
There’s money now but Alex wouldn’t know
But the news is good, the papers tell us so
But for all the lies he stood for, now all the news is good for
Is a blanket that won’t quite keep out the cold

And when all the snows have melted
All the papers blown away
There you are, there you are
Just another snowdrop blooming in the spring
A silent voice without a song to sing
And this brave new world you fought for
Didn’t turn out like you thought
For all the lost and lonely snowdrops in the spring

Alex sleeps and sleeps and never dreams
And passes out of life somewhere between
The darkness and the light, the daytime and the night
Unnoticed, unremarked, unloved, unseen

And when all the snows have melted
All the papers blown away
There you are, there you are
Just another snowdrop blooming in the spring
A silent voice without a song to sing
And this brave new world you fought for
Didn’t turn out like you thought
For all the lost and lonely snowdrops in the spring

I transcribed the lyrics from John's singing on Eric Bogle's 2009 album 'The Dreamer'. Corrections welcomed.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.