Words and Music: John Thompson
The Turrbal people saw her born
The banks of the Brisbane river
Their memories, they still live on
The banks of the Brisbane river
The dreaming days they may be gone
But long may the dreaming continue on
We live the dreams and sing the songs
On The banks of the Brisbane river
A storm blew Finnegan and Parsons North
To the banks of the Brisbane river
Mr Thompson never made it ashore
The banks of the Brisbane river
To the Illawarra they were bound
But on Moreton Island they ran aground
They laboured north until they found
The banks of the Brisbane river
Lord Brisbane sent John Oxley north
The banks of the Brisbane river
He anchored the Mermaid just offshore
The banks of the Brisbane river
Though they thought him long since dead
Finnegan met them at the heads
The natives had kept the convict fed
On the banks of the Brisbane river
Named for the governor of New South Wales
The banks of the Brisbane river
1823 saw white mans sails
By the banks of the Brisbane river
Thousands of settlers to her were bound
She soon became young Queensland’s town
Federation heard the cheers resound by
The banks of the Brisbane river
The bridges they stretch from side to side
The banks of the Brisbane river
The mighty Story bridge was Queensland's pride
On the banks of the Brisbane river
The shipyards they are long since gone
The iron wood wharves have been torn down
The banks have burst through the streets of the town
The banks of the Brisbane river
She saw our rise
She’ll see our fall
The banks of the Brisbane river
Her gentle waters will outlive is all
Long may her gentle waters run
Past the mangrove mud and past the town
That gave us our lives and gave her a name
The banks of the Brisbane river.
The mighty serpent flows to this day
The banks of the Brisbane river
Through a great glass town she winds her way
Past the banks I’d the Brisbane river
From Stanley’s heights in the great divide
Damned at Wivenhoe then onto the tide
When the city cats purr
She’s our joy and pride
The banks of the Brisbane river.
A new song. I've had the subject in mind for some time it only recently emerged. The Brisbane River is the defining feature of my home town. The "Mr Thompson" referred to was the third of the convicts who escaped from the New South Wales colony and became significantly lost on their way to landing about 800km (500 miles) North as the crow flies from their planned destination.
