The Man from Snowy River

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.