Oh, Give Me A Hut

Traditional



Oh give me a hut in my own native land,
Or a tent in Australia where the tall gum trees stand
I don't care how far in the bush it may be
If there's one faithful heart to share it with me.

Australia's the land of my childhood and birth
Oft-times I think of it's beauty and mirth,
With the scenes of my childhood contented I'd be
If there's one faithful heart to share it with me.

'Tis pleasant to rise at the break of the day
And chase the wild horse in the hills far away,
For he dances and prances and snorts in his glee
And is yarded at night by a native like me.

How I long to be where the emu does stray,
And the wild native dog calls aloud for his prey
And the kangaroo and the wallaby and the wombat so rare
Are found with the bandicoot and the wild native bear.

Oh give me a hut in my own native land,
Or a tent in Australia where the tall gum trees stand
I don't care how far in the bush it may be
If there's one faithful heart to share it with me.


Four versions of this somewhat twee number were collected by Ron Edwards. This version from the stockman, Mick Dolan. From Ron's Big Book of Australian Folk Songs (1976).

The illustration to this post is from the National Library of Australia's John Flynn Collection - Buchan Caves Area P456/64.