THE STATION COOK ~ trad Oz


The song I’m going to sing to you, will not detain you long
It’s all about a station cook we had at old Pinyong [Penong]
His pastry was so beautiful, his cooking was so fine
It gave us all a stomach ache, right through the shearing time.


Oh, you should see his plum-duffs, his doughboys and his pies
I swear by Long Moloney, they’d open a shearer’s eyes
He’d say “take your time good fellows” and he’d fix us with a glance
Saying “I’ll dish you up much better, if you’ll give me half a chance.”


Oh you should see his doughboys, his dumplings and his pies
The thought of such luxuries would open a shearer’s eyes
He gets up in the morning, gives us plenty of stewed tea
And don’t forget when shearing’s done, to sling the cook his fee.


But oh dear, I feel so queer, I don’t know what to do
The thought of leaving Fowler’s Bay just breaks me heart in two
But if ever I catch that slushy, I’ll make him rue the day
That he ruined me constitution while shearing at Fowler’s Bay.



The Station Cook could often be an old shearer who can no longer do his tally a day, bent over on the board -
much like The Old Woman was often an old cowboy who could no longer do long days in the saddle, keeping the cattle in check on the Trails.
Fowler's Bay is in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula/Nullarbor Plain region.

Here is Gary Shearston's version from 1965 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONE44capghQ


Cheers, R-J