THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND - [2nd version]

Hugh McDonald

The rivers are dry across the land
And the farmers’ fields have turned to sand
'Cause the rain hasn't come
For two years, almost three
The topsoil’s gone with the hot north wind
The crops won't grow and rust set in
And the cruel south wind of Winter brought no relief.


Ch.
And the old men in the public bar
Talk of floods and droughts before
The night goes on and the conversations die
But the battlers don't give up
It's written on their hands and in their eyes
And the spirit of the land survives.

On Saturday nights in the Royal Hotel
Hank the Dutchman plays guitar
He sings Country and Western favorites - and requests
It used to be his second job
A bit of a laugh for a couple of bob
Now it's all he's got 'cause his crops all died from thirst.

So he spent his savings on cattle and sheep
He got some credit, got in too deep
But stock won't graze on pastures turned to salt
He tried to get work as a travelling man
Selling Rawleighs products from the back of his van
But the cockies all shop in town where things are cheap.

chorus

The school’s all rundown
The roof’s rusted and the paint peeling
The playground’s just a dustbowl; not a spot of green
But kids still kick their footballs
Sending dustclouds to the sun
And it's good to know that drought can't spoil the fun.

And in the cricketers’ lounge late at night
Where the cockies talk and the shearers fight
And their wives drink shandies 'cause they'll be driving home
The talk centres around the price of wheat
The lack of rain and the lack of sheep
'Cause credit’s stretched - and it won't stretch any more.

Chorus


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFIgEIvnL-E    The late, renowned, Hugh McDonald, singing at Brisbane’s 1988 EXPO.

This song is from the REDGUM album "Spirit Of The Land". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_McDonald_(Australian_musician)



R-J