In Lonely Saltbush Country

In lonely saltbush country where so much saltbush grow
The only bird one hear and see is the dark pale eyed crow
Cawing mournfully on a dead gum tree beside the quiet roadway
His voice echoing in the silence of the dawning cool and gray.

The black tribes lived and hunted here long before white people came
And perhaps for the saltbush country they had some other name
In the quiet saltbush country back then there were more trees
In the shade out of the full sun they had their corroborees.

They were the first people to live in this great Southern Land
And the ways of the white pioneers how could they understand
To be the first Australians their great claim to renown
But it must have been heartbreaking for them to see their trees cut down.

Across the barren countryside the thirsty south winds blow
Where the saltbush fringe the huge saltpans the saltpans white as snow
Mostly saltbush and saltpans far as the eyes can see
Many acres of saltbush for every stunted tree.

In the vast salt ridden countryside the silence is profound
Where the mournful caw of the pale eyed crow is the only living sound
Where beneath the snow white saltpans the bones of the first Australians lay
From the nearest town or village a long journey away.