A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Alice
Alice Springs
anangu
Barrier Highway
Bathurst
Broken Hill
Broome
Bulukbara
Burke
Cable Beach
Cha Till Mi Tuille
Christmas Creek
Cobar
coolamon
the Cooper
Darwin
Darling River
Derby
Djulpan
Dubbo
Eddie Mabo
Elliott
Falcon
Fitzroy Crossing
Fitzroy River
Geelong
gibber plain
George Street
the gulf
Jabiru
Kalkadoons
Katherine
Katoomba
Kintore
("We must go west to Kintore koori
kurrunpatju yungu
Looma
MacDonnell Ranges
Mataranka
MCG
Melbourne
Menindee
mulga
murri
Myall Creek
Narromine
Nightcliffe
Noonkanbah
Nullarbor
Nyngan
Opera House
Orange
Papunya
Perth
Port Augusta
Queensland
Quilpie
Rabbit Flat
sitdown money
spinifex
Stuart Highway
Sydney
terra nullius
Ti-Tree
Timor Sea
Tjapwurrung
tjilpi
Tom Wills
Uey
Warumpinya
(It's our home, Papunya!) Wilcannia
Wright
Yolngu
"I was in Alice for a day, but I didn't ever wanna stay..."
Alice Springs, a town in the Northern Territory. See map.
"Alice Springs is up ahead, he knows it's not far now
And the stereo is wound right up - some old country tune...""I know what I am, I'm an anangu man..."
The Aboriginal people of Central Australia.
"He whips the ute through Horrocks Pass and onto the Barrier Highway
And guns it for the rabbits all the way through Broken Hill..."The Barrier Highway runs between Adelaide and Nyngan.
"From Bathurst to Katoomba, you know the Falcon's running well!"
A town in New South Wales. See map.
"It seems you haven't arrived and I'm travellin' still
How come we know Chicago before Broken Hill?"A town in New South Wales. See map.
Haven't you heard
There's good light in BroomeA town in the north-west of Australia. Originally a pearling town, it is now a major tourist destination. See map.
"There's a man who sets the stones, and eels that run with the moon
Swimming to the arms of a Bulukbara Man..."A tribe of the Tjapwurrung people of western Victoria.
"I'll give this much to Burke, he was a man of nerve
But he couldn't pick a bushman from a cove..."Robert O'Hara Burke was the leader of the expedition which was the first to cross Australia from south to north, in 1860-61.
See the history behind Menindee"Well when I get to Cable Beach
I'll fall right out of the truck and into the sea..."The main beach in Broome, and a major tourist attraction.
"As they left old Scotland's shores
They held each others hand
While their pipers played Cha Till Mi Tuille
We'll no return again"Gaelic - "I Shall Return No More". A Scottish pipe tune. If you know how to play bagpipes you can find what I presume to be the music here.
"They'll be in from Noonkanbah, Derby, Looma, Christmas Creek
And you can bet the beer is flowing in the bar..."A settlement in the north of Western Australia. See map.
"Dodgin' roos and sheep through Wilcannia onto Cobar
Pointin' east to Nyngan - where the farms and fences start..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
"And the moon hangs like a coolamon in the sky..."
A wooden bowl used by aboriginal women for carrying such things as seeds and babies.
About the writing of the song"After four months of toil and trouble
From the gulf to the Cooper we return..."Coopers Creek in South Australia, where Burke and Wills left their base camp. See map
"He'd seen enough of the Nightcliffe, he'd had enough of his friends
if he didn't get out of Darwin, the grog'd do him in..."The capital of the Northern Territory. See map.
"I'd much rather stay in the shade at Menindee
Where the old Darling River flows..."The Darling River flows through western New South Wales. See map.
"We left the continent over Derby
And my heart fell from the plane..."A town in the north of Western Australia. See map.
"Djulpangungu muduwitharana gawulunhara..."
The stellar constellation Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.
"In Narromine or Dubbo there's nowhere to toss a swag
So Mick plants it through to Orange and the miles they just fell..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
"Eddie Mabo, you're a hero..."
In June 1992 the High Court of Australia held, for the first time, that the common law of Australia recognised the prior land rights of Australian Aboriginal people. See here for more details.
"Shifting gears out of Elliott the country it peels back
Shedding trees all the way down south along the track..."A town in the Northern Territory. See map.
"He sees before him all neat and clean
An XB Falcon ute, V8 four speed..."A popular model of car made by Ford in Australia.
"Well I left my heart behind in Fitzroy Crossing
But I'll be going back again some day..."A town in the north of Western Australia. See map
"'cause I can see that Fitzroy River in my mind
And I'm thinking about all of those good times..."A river in the north of Western Australia. See map.
"When finally they landed in Geelong town
To the squatters they were bound..."A town in southern Victoria. See map.
"Way out here where the dead men lie and the gibber plains stretch ahead..."
An area of flat, dry, stony ground. Descriptive of much of the interior of Australia.
"Well he drove around for an hour or two and couldn’t find a park
So he hung a Uey in George Street and was back on the plains by dark..."
A main street in the centre of Sydney.
"After four months of toil and trouble
From the gulf to the Cooper we return..."The Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland, the goal of the Burke and Wills expedition. See map
"Might be Katherine, might be Broome
Might be Darwin, or Jabiru"A town located within the Kakadu National Park, east of Darwin. See map.
"Does it run in the heart of people for freedom
The same as it flowed in the Kalkadoons?"The Kalkadoons were an Aboriginal tribe in Queensland, near what is now Mt Isa. In 1884, the Kalkadoons were all but wiped out at Battle Mountain, after rising against the European settlers.
"A bogey in the Katherine river
a pie and sauce at Mataranka..."A town in the Northern Territory. See map.
"From Bathurst to Katoomba, you know the Falcon's running well!"
A town in New South Wales. See map.
"Arralaka wilurarra Kintorelakutu
Tjamuku ngurrangka palya nyintantjaku..."
We'll be right in our grandfather's country...")A tiny settlement near the WA/NT border. Many of the people now living at Papunya were brought in from Kintore. In recent years they have begun moving back to their traditional homelands. See map.
"I know what I am - I'm a koori man..."
An Australian Aboriginal. The term is used mainly in south-eastern Australia, but refers to all Aboriginal people.
"Kurrunpatju yungu
Spirit comes..."Luritja - to give your spirit.
"They'll be in from Noonkanbah, Derby, Looma, Christmas Creek
And you can bet the beer is flowing in the bar..."A settlement in the north of Western Australia. See map.
"The MacDonnell Ranges crack the sky same time the sun goes down..."
A mountain range in the Northern Territory. See map.
"A bogey in the Katherine river
a pie and sauce at Mataranka..."A town in the Northern Territory. See map.
"You can keep your Opera House, and your MCG
You can keep your company home, it don't mean nothin' to me..."
The Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Mecca of Australian sport (but don't tell any Victorians I said that!)."I'll have rain on my shoes, please
In Melbourne town..."The capital of Victoria. See map.
"I'd much rather stay in the shade at Menindee
Where the old Darling River flows..."A town in south western New South Wales. See map.
The history behind the song"So I'll see you out on the mulga and spinifex plain
Any time tjilpi I'll be coming back this way..."
Mulga is a low shrub of stunted acacia that grows in relatively infertile clay soils. Mulga is hardy: some species can live for up to 200 years. The plant regrows most effectively after the land has been burned. Burning of the land has been an important part of Aboriginal ecological management for thousands of years (see Waru)."I know what I am - I'm a murri man..."
A Queensland aboriginal.
"A descendant of the murderers, a descendent of the slain
Met at Myall Creek and sisters they became"On 10th June, 1838, a massacre of Indigenous Australians by European colonizers occurred at Myall Creek; sadly, one of very many. This massacre became more widely known because, uniquely, several of the murderers were caught, tried and hung. See map.
"In Narromine or Dubbo there's nowhere to toss a swag
So Mick plants it through to Orange and the miles they just fell..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
"He'd seen enough of the Nightcliffe, he'd had enough of his friends
if he didn't get out of Darwin, the grog'd do him in..."Nightcliffe is a suburb of Darwin, and I'd presume 'the Nightcliffe' to be referring to the Nightcliffe Hotel.
"They'll be in from Noonkanbah, Derby, Looma, Christmas Creek
And you can bet the beer is flowing in the bar..."A settlement in the north of Western Australia. See map.
"My eyes were on the road but my mind was somewhere else
When I pulled into a Nullarbor road house..."The Nullarbor Plain runs across the central southern coast of Australia. Despite it's aboriginal sound, the word Nullarbor in fact comes from the Latin null arbor, no trees.
"Dodgin' roos and sheep through Wilcannia onto Cobar
Pointin' east to Nyngan - where the farms and fences start..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
"You can keep your Opera House, and your MCG
You can keep your company home, it don't mean nothin' to me..."
Sydney Opera House, situated on Sydney Harbour."In Narromine or Dubbo there's nowhere to toss a swag
So Mick plants it through to Orange and the miles they just fell..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
See Warumpinya.
"I went trucking out of Melbourne
Back and forwards to Perth..."The capital of Western Australia. See map.
"Windy Mick came back to earth on the good side of Port Augusta
The Falcon hit the road again, on it's shock absorbers..."A town in South Australia. See map.
"I went out to western Queensland working in the sheds
Met a girl in Quilpie and we got wed..."A State of Australia, in the north-east of the country. See map.
"I went out to western Queensland working in the sheds
Met a girl in Quilpie and we got wed..."A town in western Queensland. See map.
"If you see me on the track, way out west of Rabbit Flat
You'll know which town in I'm a gonna stay..."A roadhouse in the Northern Territory desert. See map.
"It's not funny, living on sitdown money..."
Central Australian colloquialism for dole (unemployment) payments.
"I'll see you out on the mulga and spinifex plain
Any time tjilpi I'll be coming back this way..."
Spinifex is well evolved to survive in the harsh Australian climate. Its leaves are hard and sharp, folded into tight cylinders. Spinifex leaves start out flat, but if the plant is stressed the leaves fold and become almost cylindrical. This reduces the surface area, which slows down the rate of heating and water loss, and assists in sheltering some of the pores - thus reducing water loss still further. Spinifex roots also spread out deep and wide, to pick up both ground water and surface water. Around the base of the clump, there'll be hundreds of small seeds, waiting for the rain, and a chance to germinate."I caught the bus at 2.15, settled back with a magazine
As we rolled out on the Stuart Highway..."The Stuart Highway runs from Darwin to Port Augusta.
"Up and over the great divide and there at last it spreads below
The great old Sydney urban sprawl, snoozing in a smog of grey pink dawn..."
The capital of New South Wales. See map.
"He proved that terra nullius was a lie
Took 'em all on and he won..."Latin - unoccupied land. Australia was declared terra nullius during European settlement, which meant arriving colonies could take any land they wished without regard for the current occupiers (who oficially did not exist). The Mabo case successfully challenged this principle. See here for more details.
"He smelt a beer at Ti-Tree so he pulls in for a charge..."
A town in the Northern Territory. See map. The ti-tree is also a tree found in swampy wetland areas of Australia. Looking at the map, I wouldn't expect to find many ti-trees at Ti-Tree, but I guess there must be!
"He's sneaking outta town now
Away from the Timor Sea...""I sing for my home
In Tjapwurrung country..."An Aboriginal language region of western Victoria.
"I'll see you out on the mulga and spinifex plain
Any time tjilpi I'll be coming back this way..."Luritja - old man
"Who'd be our coach?
Tom Wills would..."Among mid-nineteenth century Australian sportsmen, a highly individual and even eccentric bunch, Tom Wills had the most influence in both cricket and Australian football. - More
"So he hung a Uey in George Street
And was back on the plains by dark..."To "hang a Uey" means to do a U-turn while driving.
"Nganampa ngurra Warumpinya!"
The luritjamap
.
"Dodgin' roos and sheep through Wilcannia onto Cobar
Pointin' east to Nyngan - where the farms and fences start..."A town in New South Wales. See map.
"To give spell-binder Wright a job just on sight
Was asking for trouble from the word go..."A member of the Burke and Wills expedition.
"Hey Yolngu boy, under the neon light
Come with me, see a brand new day..."The aboriginal people from Arnhem Land, in the north of the Northern Territory. See map.
