Joy Durst dots here

075 A THOUSAND MILES AWAY

1. Hurrah for the Roma railway, hurrah for Cobb & Co!
And oh! for a good fat horse or two to carry me westward-ho!
To carry me westward-ho, my boys, that's where the cattle stray,
On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo, a thousand miles away.

Chorus: Then give your horses rein across the open plain,
We'll ship our meat both sound and sweet, nor care what some folks say;
And frozen we'll send home the cattle that now roam
On the far Barcoo and the Flinders too, a thousand miles away.

2. Knee-deep in grass we've got to pass, and the truth I'm bound to tell,
That in three weeks those cattle get as fat as they can swell;
As fat as they can swell, my boys, and a thousand pounds they weigh,
On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo, a thousand miles away.

3. No Yankee hide e'er grew outside such beef as we can freeze,
No Yankee pastures grow such beef as we send overseas,
As we send overseas, my boys, in shipments every day,
On the far Barcoo, where they eat nardoo, a thousand miles away.

4. So put me up with a snaffle, and a four or five-inch spur,
And fourteen foot of greenhide whip to chop the flamin' fur;
We'll yard those snuffy cattle in a way that I will swear
Will knock those New South Welshmen back and make them tear their hair!

video Banjo Paterson included this in his Old Bush Songs. It is based on an earlier convict song called "Ten Thousand Miles Away", and uses the same tune, but with new lyrics about pastoral Australia. It has been attributed to C. A. Flower, who was the accountant for the company building the railway line between Mitchell and Roma in Queensland.

2 verses & chorus appeared in The Queenslander, Sat 13 Oct 1894. Page 692 - A THOUSAND MILES AWAY, Supplied by "SPECIALLY JIM," Tambo, AIR—" Ten Thousand Miles Away.".