WARNING: This song contains offensive elements.

This is from Stewart and Keesing's 'Old Bush Songs'. It was supplied by the late Bill Harney. Ron Edwards also collected it from Harney in 1957 and included it in his big book. It has been recorded by Ted Egan who also sang it in Keith McKendry's 'White on Black' themed concert that was mentioned in an earlier post. Bill Harney said that the song was composed by Jim Burgoin, a Territorian, in the 1930s. (The name is spelled 'Burgoyne' in S&K's book). As noted by Edwards, the final stanza refers to the an Aboriginal tree burial, a custom that persisted among some tribes until relatively recent times.

Ted Egan and Bill Harney's son, Bill Yidumduma Harney, will be sharing their stories and experiences at the 50th Top Half Folk Festival next month.

THE DALY RIVER-O!
(Jim Burgoin)

Now come all you sports that want a bit of fun.
Roll up your swags and pack up a gun,
Get a little bit of flour and sugar and tea,
And don’t forget a gallon of Gordon’s O.P.
And crank up your lizzie and come along with me,
And I’ll show you such sights that you never did see,
Down on the Daly River-O! .

There was Wallaby George, there was Charlie Dargie,
There was Old Skinny Davis, there was Jimmy Pan Kwee,
The Tipperary Pong and old Paree
And where’er you may roam you will find yourself at home,
For they are noted for their hospitality.
You are wakened in the morn, and your heart’s full of glee,
With a little dark maid and a pannikin of tea,
And she’ll give you such a welcome that you don’t want to go,
Away from the Daly River-O!

Now I saw a buffalo and a fat Chinee
Run a dead heat to the foot of a tree,
The chinaman flew, he didn’t feel the ruts,
Till the buffalo stopped with a bullet in the guts,
And the wild birds rose at the sound of the gun,
And the water dropped a foot in the silver billabong,
With ducks, geese and feathers, you couldn’t see the sun,
Down on the Daly River-O!

Well the buffalo kicked, we poured in the lead,
We killed him ten times to make sure he was dead,
Then we out with our knives and we all hopped in,
Two whites, a chow, five blacks and a gin,
We ripped him up the backbone, we slit him up the guts,
We took little fancy tit-bits, funny fancy cuts,
Then we cranked up the Lizzie and shouted “Right-oh !”
All aboard for the Daly River-O!

Now I saw a black man sitting in a tree,
The crows had picked his eyes out so he couldn’t see,
(And never and never a word spoke he,)
For he was as dead as dead could be.
He was just about ripe, the smell was high,
Like a billabong of fish when the water goes dry,
When Dargie threw a gibber that hit him in the mush,
And the native went “Phoosh” and we all went bush,
Down by the Daly River-O!

Ted has made some minor alterations in his rendition.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.