A Letter From Arrabury - Slim Dusty

Ah you mention in your letter that there’s blue grass belly high

That there’s clover on the Cooper once again

And I read too that the brumbies are just like they used to be

When we mustered on the Arrabury plains

So you’re mustering down the river where the minaritchie grows

And the lignum almost barricades the sun

Where we used to strike the mickys full of cheek and quick to charge

Where we used to toss the brumbies just for fun

Oh your letter brings back memories of the good times that we shared

And your mention of Gillpippy makes me smile

For I think about the new chum and your story of the ghost

Which made that new chum touchy for a while

In my mind I see a dust cloud from 6000 marching feet

And the scent of Cooper clover comes to me

And the soft voice of a stockman as he lulls a mob to sleep

Oh how your letter takes me back to Arrabury

Oh I see the station homestead with its stately pepper trees

And the old stockyard built of timbers that will last

I can picture colts unbroken being drafted by the boys

Oh mate your letter stirs up memories of the past

And you say the sandhill flowers full of colour are ablaze

And the desert pea is blooming once again

Mate your letter paints a picture of the good times in our lives

When we mustered on the Arrabury plains

So in my home tonight in Brisbane I am answering your note

And do not smile mate if this paper’s showin' stains

For I’m havin' trouble seeing through a misty kind of haze

Like the dust out on the Arrabury plains