ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

The following poem has appeared under different names during the past twelve monhts - WAKE UP TIME - AUSTRALIA - and others, but always attributed to Anonymous.
The Author is a bloke named Chris Long who hails from the Gulf country or somewhere about there.
I'll be doing a bio on Chris in the October issue of the ABPA Magazine, hoping to help set the story straight for him.
Joe


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’.
 

THANKS FRANK THAT IS TO GOOD A POEM NOT TO HAVE A WRITERS NAME ON IT

BILL WILLIAMS THE OLD BATTLER

CAN YOU TURN THE VOLUME DOWN A BIT BILL, ME EARS ARE RINGIN'





That's pessimistic stuff Frank. The language and the rhythm suit the theme, but what a dismal theme.

OKAY OKAY NEVILLE at least it gets peoples attention mate but then again some people are daft OPP"S I mean deaf mate AND BY THE WAY NEVILLE DID YOUR MISSUS BOX YOUR EARS THIS MORNING AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE RINGING
Bill the old battler

Thanks Frank do you have a contact for Chris ?

Or if you like give him my e mail address

Bob