THE CUTTER'S DREAM
(Bob Rado)

He sits by the flickering firelight
His memory turns back the times
To the years that he spent and the timbers that went
For the bridges, railways and mines

In his mind he can see it all clearly
The bullocks, the whim and the dray
The bullocky swears as he hitches the pairs
At the start of another long day

As the sun filters down through the treetops
And the mist rises up from the stream
The crosscut and axe and the winding whim tracks
To him it was more than a dream

He remembers the camp by the river
He remembers how things used to be
Down many a track with his swag on his back
Life was so simple and free

But his mates are no longer around him
As he follows the path of his mind
The sound of machines has shattered his dreams
Now he's ready to leave it behind

And he sits by the flickering firelight
His memory turns back the times
To the years that he spent and the timbers that went
For the bridges, railways and mines

Bob Rummery's note:

Bob Rado's story of a sleeper cutter in Western Australia's southwest looking back over a working life where the only 'machine' was the bloke on the end of the axe, crosscut and broadaxe.

From Loaded Dog's 'Hair of the Dog' album.

Audio

--Stewie.