by John Williamson

Real country people in their prime,
Livin' in New South on Queensland time
He's a stockman, likes raisin' sheep,
Likes raisin' children, don't get much sleep
On the shady big verandah, with his hardworking wife,
Three young sidekicks,
It's a way of life.

Some years they make it, some years they don't
Sometimes the creek flows, sometimes it won't
Sometimes he's mean, he's got a gun
When the ewes are lambing he's got pigs on the run
Out in the lignum, on the water course
You could lose a pig dog, you could lose a horse.

Think you oughta know the channel's coming through
Wipin' out the bushland and the kangaroo
Greedy men with water rights to neutralise the land
When's it gonna stop I just don't understand.
With cotton in their ears and dollars in their eyes
Their banker grins and our country dies.

They love the bush, they grow the wool
They respect the land and it's beautiful
Blue Bonnets, Leatherheads and Red-Back Wrens
Bower Birds, Ring Necks and Water Hens
Red Wings and Red Tailed Black Cockatoos Think of all the rainbows we could lose

Real country people in their prime
Livin' in New South on Queensland time
He's a stockman likes raisin' sheep,
Likes raisin' children, don't get much sleep
On the shady big verandah with his hard workin' wife
Three young side kicks,
It's a way of life.

© 1987 Emusic Pty Ltd

Listen to a
RealAudio™ Sample of
IT'S A WAY OF LIFE

"My brother-in-law, Tony Price used to own a sheep property called Adavale (South of Boggabilla, North West NSW). This farm, although ringbarked about 100 years ago, still has a good balance of bush and grass country. It is also on the watercourse. It's where Croppa Creek comes to an end and spreads out into swamps. Tony, a good sheep farmer, was well aware of the beauty of the nature of his property. It is now surrounded by cotton farms and slowly becoming an island. Cotton farmers leave absolutely no bush, not even on fence lines. It makes me sick in the stomach to think we could lose such a piece of incredible diversity as this. Steve Irwin purchased similar country in Queensland to save it from destruction. It is also an island.."