Gumtrees By The Roadway

Tonight here by the roadside
After driving hard all day
Dreaming of the old folks
And a homestead o'er the way
In dreams I see the old place
I'll be there within a week
Where there's gum trees by the roadway
And willows by the creek

I see the homestead cattle
As round the place they roam
The old man with the horses
On the fields of gold alone
And mother in the doorway
Just to make this scene complete
With gum trees by the roadway
And willows by the creek

I'd like to tell my story
In a simple kind of way
It's happened to many hundreds
In this war-torn world today
I heard the call for duty
So I donned the khaki suit
And I marched 'way from the gumtrees
And the willows by the creek

Now when the war was over
And marched the victory mile
The ties with home were broken
And from there I stayed a while
I palled your with some fellas
Just to live on easy street
And forgot about the gumtrees
And the willows by the creek

But when you land in trouble
And you're placed behind those bars
That's when you start dreaming
Of the country moon and stars
And when at last they free you
And you step out on the street
Nothing then could hold you
From the homestead by the creek

That's why tonight I'm standing
By this cheery roadside fire
Taking in the country
Underneath the summer stars
From now on you will find me
Where the air is fresh and sweet
Where forever there'll be gum trees
And the willows by the creek