Little Girl From The Dryland - John Williamson

Perfectly pretty, perfectly shy

Little girl from the dryland, wonderin' why

There’s no trees on the south side

To stop that howlin' wind

Little girl from the dryland

Only the creaky weatherboards

Painted the milky green

Keepin' that scary world outside

It’s bangin' on the windows

Blowin' the washin' off the line

Callin' out for that little girl on the dryland

Two older brothers, y' sister and you

One little nipper, another one due

Hiding under the homestead

When strangers come along

Father out on the wheatfield

You hide the whisky, but then what for?

Your father is awake to you

But you are 'protector'

And your mother always knew

You wondered why you were born

Out on a wheatfield

You know there is much more to life

Than sky and endless plains

Your father told you stories of the war

Of Singapore and Paris, and how you long to go

But you are young, and stuck out on the dryland