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The Man from Snowy River

by Banjo Paterson

15 of 51 · Contents · Download EPUB

Been There Before

There came a stranger to Walgett town,
 To Walgett town when the sun was low,
And he carried a thirst that was worth a crown,
 Yet how to quench it he did not know;
But he thought he might take those yokels down,
The guileless yokels of Walgett town.

They made him a bet in a private bar,
 In a private bar when the talk was high,
And they bet him some pounds no matter how far
 He could pelt a stone, yet he could not shy
A stone right over the river so brown,
The Darling river at Walgett town.

He knew that the river from bank to bank
 Was fifty yards, and he smiled a smile
As he trundled down, but his hopes they sank
 For there wasn’t a stone within fifty mile;
For the saltbush plain and the open down
Produce no quarries in Walgett town.

The yokels laughed at his hopes o’erthrown,
 And he stood awhile like a man in a dream;
Then out of his pocket he fetched a stone,
 And pelted it over the silent stream —
He had been there before: he had wandered down
On a previous visit to Walgett town.

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