The Woolloomoolloo Lair

Traditional



On the day that I was born, it was a cold & a frosty morn,
In the famous suburb known as Woolloomooloo.
It was down in Riley Street my folks first heard me bleat
'Cause at the time I'd nothing else to do.
Oh me mother died of fright when she saw me in the light
And my father thought he'd send me to the zoo,
But I owe a lot to him, 'cause he taught me how to swim,
When he heaved me off the pier at Woolloomooloo

CHORUS:
Oh my name it is McCarty & I'm a rorty party
I'm rough & tough as an old man kangaroo
Some people say I'm crazy, I don't work because I'm lazy
And I tag along in the boozing throng, the Push from Woolloomooloo.

And when I was just a lad I went straight'way to the bad
A larrikin so hard, you'd strike me blue
But the government was kind and they didn't seem to mind
And in Darlinghurst I spent a night or two.
Now the judge gave me a stare and he said, "You're a lair"
They heaved me into Darlinghurst gaol - you understand
They gave me clothes, they cut my hair, I didn't seem to care
And every night you'd find me in the van.

And I spent some years in gaol till I began to quail
I resolved to live upon a different lay
And enlisted in the ranks of the Salvation Army 'cranks'
You can bet I made the bloody business pay!
Well hallelujah! I'm a lout I knows me way about
I kids the mugs that I'm converted too
All the lassies there I mash and I'm never short of cash
'Cause I beats me drum all over Woolloomooloo.


A bush-band favourite. You will find a lengthy discussion of this and some related songs on Mudcat.

I busked with a group called Contraband in Brisbane in the 1980s and this was a must.