Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson)

Complete poem (the original first verse becomes the chorus) by Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922) This was written in 1891 during the Shearers’ Strike which divided the country. Here Lawson clearly shows where his sympathies lay, and finishes with the lines “They needn’t say the fault is ours / If blood should stain the wattle “ (The wattle being Australia’s national flower). Some feared civil war, and there were calls in the Queensland parliament for Lawson to be jailed. Strings by Lillian Penner For more songs, go to www.thequeenslandtiger.com