The Little Sparrow
Music: John Meredith, words: Launcelot Harrison

There was a little sparrow,
And he was out of work
So he put his bluey on his back
And he set out for Bourke.
He walked until he had bunions,
Then thought he would enquire,
But found that he had only got
As far as Nevertire.

He was hungry and so weary
He could hardly drag along
When suddenly along the track
He found an Emu egg.
He boiled it in his billy can,
And chuckled in his glee
While by his Waterbury watch
He counted minutes three.

And when the minutes three were gone
He thought it time to stop.
He took his little tomahawk
And he cut off the top.
'Twas a pity that he boiled it,
'Twould have been much better fried,
For as he stooped to sup it up,
He tumbled down inside.

And when he fell inside the egg,
He to his sorrow found
Three minutes wasn't long enough
And the poor little chap drowned.
The moral of this story is,
If Emu eggs you seek
For supper, you should take great care
To boil them for a week.

First published in Singabout, Journal of Australian Folksong, Volume 5(2), December 1964

No video, but dots are here