The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #168402 Message #4102080
Posted By: Sandra in Sydney
13-Apr-21 - 09:31 AM
Thread Name: Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
HENRY LAWSON'S PEN by Slim Dusty, From his album: "A Land He Calls His Own"
Sometimes kind people comment on the ballads I have wrote Even though sometimes I sing them on a dry and battered note And they always place importance on what's said not sung by men For quality's not in the voice but in paper and the pen
But this song is no great ballad with writing skill attached Oh it's just a simple story that I hope your ears will catch Of the backgrounds of my ballads and the hours that I spend In the bush or at the table with Henry Lawson's pen
One time when I was travelin' just kind of driftin' round I went through Lawson country, then on to Grenfell town The old mining town was quiet and their parklands thrived with grass And the place where this great man was born was marked by stone and brass
So slowly we walked over, then through the iron gate Oh we read the masters name plate, the old monument looked great Then my old mate showed me something, in the grass a fountain pen Then jokingly he said to me "Hey Henry's lost his pen?"
So I took some strangers' rusty pen Lord knows who dropped it there? But I smile and like to think that it was placed with so much care And that maybe Lawson left it 'cause he knew I'd be there then So I truly try to follow suit with Henry Lawson's pen
So I like to thank those people that enjoy my old bush songs And I'll try to keep them comin' if the good Lord keeps me strong So I'll go back to my table and give it a go again 'Cause I love to sing those ballads born from Henry Lawson's pen. Hey!
But this song is no great ballad with writing skill attached Oh it's just a simple story that I hope your ears will catch Of the backgrounds of my ballads and the hours that I spend ... (fade out)
the only video I could find was here https://greatsong.net/PAROLES-SLIM-DUSTY,HENRY-LAWSONS-PEN,102879435.html but "Playback had been disabled by the video owner"