Old Mate

I have this burning desire To find old mate I want to sit And chat with him Under a Gum and setting sun About what has come And what has passed Times of old Places we’ve been told Along the wallaby track Signs of danger Moments of charity In the clarity Of a sinking sun Places of sustenance And rest Oh, I would be blessed Where one can find work Earn a tin And the shanties Where they serve Gin I imagine I’ll catch up to him Along that dusty track With bed roll Across his back And a billy Hanging slack I’ll know its him With his holey boots and hat So when I can I’ll ask that stranger Have you seen old mate Arm held up As if to slay What old man you talka about I know nothing This man you call mate I know Giuseppe Phillipa And the Bishop Mr Johnson Down the store Be off with you Troublemaker Or I set the dogs on you They’ll rip your draws And crack your jaw Be gone with you I say With a lamenting sigh I carry on Dreaming of That reunion With old mate Maybe on the western plain Or somewhere near The Pilliga scrub I’ll catch up to old mate Behind that setting sun Happened this day Up Queensland way Came across a copper Out of curiosity I ask Did you see old mate Come pass this way Stop resusting He started yelling I look behind Surely can’t be me He’s yelling I look back to cop That jaw crack Stop resusting He kept yelling As I lay on the ground As if that’s all he could say With pleading Questioning eye’s I look at his partner For resolve But me eye’s Went blank When her boot Hit the memory bank Cowards Was me last Thought I remember Old mate His courage His morals Brave and true How he ran for miles To save that sick child Those people He swum too From the stormy Shipwreck How he took the blame For stealing Bread and plate The Japs They did cut His head off But even that Didn’t stop old mate A pillar Of manliness One could ever know I asked some kids With their heads In a screen Or was it a dream I will leave you To figure that out Have you seen old mate I asked In an eager earnest reply Do you know him Yeah of course I do I said We thought he got Deleted Or shadow banned Never to be heard of again As the screen doesn’t like the truth Or men that are men Can you introduce us Or send us a link Of course I will I just need to catch up to him Maybe he’s in the Kimberley On the Gibb Near Gekke gorge Coming down The old stock routes Looking for a lost mob Camping near the old tank Listening to the chorus nightly Where the stars Shine brightly I call out From a rippled ridge Old mate Old mate You their You their But no Coo-ee In reply An LNP bloke Was in a blue stall Well connected He’ll know For sure Have you seen old mate around Hmm Not old mate But old boys yeah His red face lit up Like he was Christmas clause Tell him to come and see me I have money for his draws Did he work for you I inquired Roustabouting Fencing Bore runner maybe Oh, no no I just need to justify me budget I’ll work the books But what about the poor I ask With a hearty laugh And soulless smile No closing the gap here me boy He whispered in my ear We need to keep those blacks Held back Know what I mean No, no sorry I don’t I couldn’t retreat fast enough From that evil scene So I hit the books I know for sure Bards of yester years Knew old mate And their he was In all his mythical glory Old Henry He knew me mate An old friend That has dropped Outta sight