© Charles Flowers circa 1880s, from the Penguin Australian
Songbook, compiled by John S Manifold [Penguin Books 1964]
Gordon – vocal & 12-string guitar
Will, Matt, Anne – vocals
I think I first heard this from Dave de Hugard, whom I’ve never met, but whose singing has taught
me a lot over the years. A sad
commentary, but one repeated over the years in many countries. The last double
verse was found a few years ago by Bill Scott of Warwick, who thought to look
in Charles Flowers’s journals, which his family had kept. It is not commonly sung.
Come, Stumpy, old man, we must shift while we can
All your mates in the paddock are dead
We must say our farewells to Glen Eva's sweet dells
And the hills where your lordship was bred
Together to roam from our drought-stricken home
Seems hard that such things have to be
And it's hard on a horse when he's naught for a boss
But a broken-down squatter like me
And the
banks are all broken, they say
And the
merchants are all up a tree
When the
bigwigs are brought to the bankruptcy court
What chance
for a squatter like me?
No more shall we muster the river for fats
Or spiel on the fifteen-mile plain
Or dash through the scrub by the light of the moon
Or see the old homestead again
Leave the slip-railings down, they don't matter much now
For there's none but the crow left to see
Perching gaunt on the pine as though longing to dine
On a broken-down squatter like me
And the banks…
When the country was cursed with the drought at its worst
And the cattle were dying in scores
Though down on me luck, I kept up me pluck
Thinking justice might soften the laws
But the farce had been played, and the government aid
Ain't extended to squatters, old
son
When me money was spent, they doubled the rent
And resumed the best part of the run
And the banks…
It’s a mighty hard ride till we reach the divide
With the plain stretching out like the sea
But the chances seem best in the faraway west
For a broken down squatter like me
Well, they left us our hides and little besides
You have all I possess on your back
But stumpy, old sport, when we boil our next quart
We’ll be out on the Wallaby Track
And the banks…
Broken Down Squatter is
recorded on the album Because You Asked
and is also found on the Folk-Legacy album Bay
of Fundy and is included in the songbook Time and the Flying Snow.