Anthony W. Pahl

THE GREAT AUSSIE SALUTE

In the dead centre of Australia
There’s just gibbers and lots of sand
No folk around for hundreds of miles
And the silence is bloody grand

It’s a bloody long way from anywhere,
(Even the rain can’t reach that far)
Just the Mulga and the Spinifex
Greet the morning sun and evening star

Even kangaroos and bloody emus
Avoid the Back o’ Bourke
And even if a camel could be found
It’d refuse to bloody work

Out there, however far you look,
No matter the direction you face
The Gibson Desert ~ Central AustraliaNorth or South or East or West
Of mankind there is no trace.

Underneath the Southern Cross
And under the endless starry night
With the full moon shining bright and clear
There’s no inkling of man-made light

But light a fire to cook some grub
Or to boil the billy for tea at dawn
Then one or two bloody blowies appear
And you know that peace has gone

They call their mates to join the feast,
Where the hell they come from is unknown
All you know is that nowhere, no how,
Are they going to leave you on your own!

It’s because of these pesky bloody flies,
(Which, as if by magic, seem to swarm
To wherever a bloke happens to be)
That the great Aussie salute was born.