My Country…Oh my Country?

When the shearing sheds are silent and the stock camps fallen quiet,
When the gidgee coals no longer glow across the outback night,
And the bush is forced to hang a sign, ‘gone broke and won’t be back’
And spirits fear to find a way beyond the beaten track.

When harvesters stand derelict upon the wind swept plains,
And brave hearts pin their hopes no more on chance of loving rains,
When a hundred outback settlements are ghost towns overnight,
When we’ve lost the drive and heart we had to once more see us right.

When ‘Pioneer’ means a stereo and ‘Digger’ some backhoe,
And the ‘Outback’ is behind the house. there’s nowhere else to go,
And ‘Anzac’ is a biscuit brand and probably foreign owned,
And education really means brainwashed and neatly cloned.

When you have to bake a loaf of bread to make a decent crust,
And our heritage once enshrined in gold is crumbling to dust,
And old folk pay their camping fees on land for which they fought,
And fishing is a great escape; this is until you’re caught.

When you see our kids with Yankee caps and resentment in their eyes,
And the soaring crime and hopeless hearts is no longer a surprise,
When the name of RM Williams is a yuppie clothing brand,
Not a product of our heritage that grew off the land.

When offering a hand makes people think you’ll amputate,
And two dogs meeting in the street is what you call a ‘Mate’,
When ‘Political Correctness’ has replaced all common sense,
When you’re forced to see it their way, there’s no sitting on the fence.

Yes – one day you might find yourself an outcast in this land,
Perhaps your heart will tell you then, ‘I should have made a stand’,
Just go and ask the farmers that should remove all doubt,
Then join the swelling ranks who say, ‘don’t sell Australia out’.

Author unknown