As The Bush Becomes The Town

(album: Country Way Of Life - 1995)

Old bloodwood tree at last you're free
From the change that's coming down
You were felled to the ground
By a mean chainsaw
Where you kept watch for a hundred years or more
In your silent stance while the river danced
Where the big floods used to rise
In your broken limbs the wounds are scarred
Cyclones tore this coast apart

But old tree there you're lying defeated by the change
And years pass more quickly as we reach a greater age
As your sap is slowly bleeding your life is winding down
And with strangers gone where we were born
As the bush becomes the town

Where farms that grew this country's food
And a drover walked his mob
Where lanterns glowed in old bush homes
And a welcome handshake always showed
Your rings of age will slowly fade
As the fire burns your grave
Your coals will blow in the hot north breeze
And the embers dance, their last reprieve

Yes old tree there you're lying defeated by the change
Years pass more quick, as we reach a greater age
As your sap is slowly bleeding your life is winding down
And with strangers gone where we were born
As the bush becomes the town