OUTBACK DREAMING contains five separate collections (Walkabout, Frangipani Days, Outback, Three Days East & Eight is Great), continuing my journey from the moment I left Bundy to just over seven months later when my visa ran out and I was forced to wave an emotional goodbye to the land of Oz.
Those months saw me travel thousands of kilometres and traverse some of the most beautiful - and desolate - landscapes in the World. From an East coast island to the red centre, deserts and Croc country, it was a journey I'll never forget.
Those months saw me travel thousands of kilometres and traverse some of the most beautiful - and desolate - landscapes in the World. From an East coast island to the red centre, deserts and Croc country, it was a journey I'll never forget.
THE RED CENTRE
The heart of the desert
The centre of the land
Holds a multitude of secrets
That most don't understand
The energies it generates
Swirl everyway unseen
But we can learn its messages
If we look inside our dreams
So as you close your eyes each night
Just think of Uluru
And thank Her for the answers
Which She has given you
The heart of the desert
The centre of the land
Holds a multitude of secrets
That most don't understand
The energies it generates
Swirl everyway unseen
But we can learn its messages
If we look inside our dreams
So as you close your eyes each night
Just think of Uluru
And thank Her for the answers
Which She has given you
MORE TO LIFE
It seems to me
As the Eagles soar
There's more to life
So much more
It seems to me
As the miles roll by
There's more to do
Than grow and die
I thought that I'd been left behind
Where Love's concerned
But now I find
That I'm no worse off than the rest
We all strive for what we think is best
But what does it take
To pass the test?
Just what does it take
To pass the test?
It seems to me
As the Eagles soar
There's more to life
So much more
It seems to me
As the miles roll by
There's more to do
Than grow and die
I thought that I'd been left behind
Where Love's concerned
But now I find
That I'm no worse off than the rest
We all strive for what we think is best
But what does it take
To pass the test?
Just what does it take
To pass the test?
CAMPING IN EUNGELLA
Walking in the Rainforest
Swimming in a pool
Naked in clear Mountain water
Isn't that just cool?
Hanging round the campfire
Playing with the dog
Sitting writing things like this
Balanced on a log
Sleeping in my sleeping bag
Sweating like a bitch
With clouds of insects in the air
Trying not to itch
Helping to cook dinner
Sticky rice is fine by me
'Cos while I'm in the City of Clowds
I'm as happy as can be
Walking in the Rainforest
Swimming in a pool
Naked in clear Mountain water
Isn't that just cool?
Hanging round the campfire
Playing with the dog
Sitting writing things like this
Balanced on a log
Sleeping in my sleeping bag
Sweating like a bitch
With clouds of insects in the air
Trying not to itch
Helping to cook dinner
Sticky rice is fine by me
'Cos while I'm in the City of Clowds
I'm as happy as can be
FRANGIPANI DREAMS - For Jaz
Frangipani dreams
Not all's as it seems
As we make our way across this desert terrain
There's certain unseen undertows
Memories in ebbs and flows
And nothing in my life is ever going to be the same…
Who is this girl who's next to me?
I've seen a certain history
We both went through together many centuries before
A chain of perfumed flowers
Adorns her dark brown skin
And I wonder where does that life end and where this one begins
The sweet scent of Frangipani
Has opened up a door
And while I can say I'm happy
I'm more confused than before
And I haven't got a clue of where I'm going any more…
Frangipani dreams
Not all's as it seems
As we make our way across this desert terrain
There's certain unseen undertows
Memories in ebbs and flows
And nothing in my life is ever going to be the same…
Who is this girl who's next to me?
I've seen a certain history
We both went through together many centuries before
A chain of perfumed flowers
Adorns her dark brown skin
And I wonder where does that life end and where this one begins
The sweet scent of Frangipani
Has opened up a door
And while I can say I'm happy
I'm more confused than before
And I haven't got a clue of where I'm going any more…
ANT & FLIES
Ant.
Why did you bite me?
You nasty little critter -
I wasn't doing anything,
Why are you so bitter?
And you little fly -
Why oh why?
Do you have to buzz around me
As I watch the World go by?
Don't you have a home to go to?
What if I wasn't here?
Why you guys are picking on me
Ain't exactly clear.
But I guess it's a reminder
Like the Roadkill that we counted
Life's a very precious thing
Which we shouldn't take for granted
Ant.
Why did you bite me?
You nasty little critter -
I wasn't doing anything,
Why are you so bitter?
And you little fly -
Why oh why?
Do you have to buzz around me
As I watch the World go by?
Don't you have a home to go to?
What if I wasn't here?
Why you guys are picking on me
Ain't exactly clear.
But I guess it's a reminder
Like the Roadkill that we counted
Life's a very precious thing
Which we shouldn't take for granted
LEAVING A LEGACY
I don't want to die unremembered
I must leave my mark
Before I'm swallowed by a 'Gator
Or munched upon by Sharks
Before I suffocate from smoke
Get strangulated, drowned or choked
Stung or bitten, diseased brain
Pulped and smeared by a Road Train
Fallen from the tallest cliff
Lungs burnt out by toxic whiff
Gassed like one of Saddam's Kurds
Or swooped on by a Swooping Bird
Shot or stabbed or Terminated
Gored or mauled, eviscerated
Infected after being jabbed
Poisoned, shot or stoned or stabbed
After lightning's fried my brain
Who will think of me again?
And recall happy, fondest memories
At the mention of my name…
I don't want to die unremembered
I must leave my mark
Before I'm swallowed by a 'Gator
Or munched upon by Sharks
Before I suffocate from smoke
Get strangulated, drowned or choked
Stung or bitten, diseased brain
Pulped and smeared by a Road Train
Fallen from the tallest cliff
Lungs burnt out by toxic whiff
Gassed like one of Saddam's Kurds
Or swooped on by a Swooping Bird
Shot or stabbed or Terminated
Gored or mauled, eviscerated
Infected after being jabbed
Poisoned, shot or stoned or stabbed
After lightning's fried my brain
Who will think of me again?
And recall happy, fondest memories
At the mention of my name…
SWANS ON A LAKE
Bags on the pool
Like Swans on a lake
How to discern
What's real and what's fake
I'm looking at art
From Arnhem Land
I'm looking for Love
But I don't understand
All that I want
Is to be free
To feel happiness
With just you and me
But now I feel you're out of reach
And there's nothing I can do
Just have to watch you slip away
When all I want is me and you
I guess I know I've got to grow
And have to do that on my own
But in you I found someone
With whom I felt at home
Now it's in the Lap of the Gods
Got to put my trust in fate
And if we have a future
I guess I'll have to wait
Bags on the pool
Like Swans on a lake
How to discern
What's real and what's fake
I'm looking at art
From Arnhem Land
I'm looking for Love
But I don't understand
All that I want
Is to be free
To feel happiness
With just you and me
But now I feel you're out of reach
And there's nothing I can do
Just have to watch you slip away
When all I want is me and you
I guess I know I've got to grow
And have to do that on my own
But in you I found someone
With whom I felt at home
Now it's in the Lap of the Gods
Got to put my trust in fate
And if we have a future
I guess I'll have to wait
QUARTER PAST TWO
I was walking
When to my right
I saw a figure
Glowing ghostly white
I wasn't frightened
Just aware
That this Spirit was
Suddenly there
The Moon was shining
Silvery eye
And jigsaw clouds
Covered the sky
We walked together
Spirit and I
And I could feel
Myself getting high
Now that we've parted
Sit and reflect
On just how can I
Reconnect?
I was walking
When to my right
I saw a figure
Glowing ghostly white
I wasn't frightened
Just aware
That this Spirit was
Suddenly there
The Moon was shining
Silvery eye
And jigsaw clouds
Covered the sky
We walked together
Spirit and I
And I could feel
Myself getting high
Now that we've parted
Sit and reflect
On just how can I
Reconnect?
COFFEE IN THE MORNING
Drinking coffee in the morning
Out here in Australia
Does the trick to stop me yawning
Rising as the day is dawning
Rich and sweet and wet and warming
Each time without failure
Back home I'd be drinking tea
But out here I don't want it
Because it always seems to me
It tastes as weak as weak can be
So I plump for fresh coffee
And a TimTam or a biscuit
I sit and stare at dots and lines
Symbols in Native Art
Describing past and present times
Myths and legends, deeds and crimes
And then I make up my own rhymes
Just need one line to start
Drinking coffee in the morning
Out here in Australia
Does the trick to stop me yawning
Rising as the day is dawning
Rich and sweet and wet and warming
Each time without failure
Back home I'd be drinking tea
But out here I don't want it
Because it always seems to me
It tastes as weak as weak can be
So I plump for fresh coffee
And a TimTam or a biscuit
I sit and stare at dots and lines
Symbols in Native Art
Describing past and present times
Myths and legends, deeds and crimes
And then I make up my own rhymes
Just need one line to start
ERRRM…
Running round the maypole
Running round the tree
Running round the maypole
You and me
Running round the maypole
La di-di dah
Ya Jagadah-da
Losing my mind
Running round the maypole
Running round the tree
Running round the maypole
You and me
Running round the maypole
La di-di dah
Ya Jagadah-da
Losing my mind
BIODIVERSITY
The leaves are dry, I wonder why
There's so much difference here on Earth?
Deserts, jungles, Bungle Bungles
Laying eggs and foetal birth
I saw a cow, I wonder how
All life forms were created?
Amoebas with one single cell
Octopuses - bloody hell!
Several basic patterns
Either changed or emulated
Penguins, rhinos, chimpanzees
Spiders, lizards, goats and fleas
Wading birds with backwards knees
How on Earth did all of these
Develop and evolve?
Avocados, wolves and bats
Carrots, cauliflowers and cats
Lava, oak trees, coconuts
And mangrove swamp mud flats
The Oceans, Rivers, Sun and Sky
Three fingered sloth and warble fly
Ebb and flow and grow and die
"Vive la difference!" Say I
The leaves are dry, I wonder why
There's so much difference here on Earth?
Deserts, jungles, Bungle Bungles
Laying eggs and foetal birth
I saw a cow, I wonder how
All life forms were created?
Amoebas with one single cell
Octopuses - bloody hell!
Several basic patterns
Either changed or emulated
Penguins, rhinos, chimpanzees
Spiders, lizards, goats and fleas
Wading birds with backwards knees
How on Earth did all of these
Develop and evolve?
Avocados, wolves and bats
Carrots, cauliflowers and cats
Lava, oak trees, coconuts
And mangrove swamp mud flats
The Oceans, Rivers, Sun and Sky
Three fingered sloth and warble fly
Ebb and flow and grow and die
"Vive la difference!" Say I
KILLING MOSQUITOES
The mozzies keep on coming
I kill them by the score
But for every one I polish off
Comes another three or four
As a Buddhist I'm ashamed
In the joyous satisfaction
Of splatting yet another one
Putting her out of action
But the cursed little blood-suckers
God-damned mother f*****s
Really really really really
Really piss me off!
You won't tell the Dalai Lama, will you?
The mozzies keep on coming
I kill them by the score
But for every one I polish off
Comes another three or four
As a Buddhist I'm ashamed
In the joyous satisfaction
Of splatting yet another one
Putting her out of action
But the cursed little blood-suckers
God-damned mother f*****s
Really really really really
Really piss me off!
You won't tell the Dalai Lama, will you?
FLIP-FLOPS IN THE NIGHT - For Snitter & the Plague Dogs
Shuffle-flop, shuffle-flop
Listen to the sound of feet
Flap-slap, shuffle-slap
Wake me up from restless sleep
Eyes are tired, feet perspired
Sleep desired, but quiet required
It's the birds I hear the most
A parrot whistling, eating toast
But no! It's the insects that I hear
Brewing up their Ginger Beer
Can't be cloudy, must be clear
Dreamlike state is oh-so near
A lone leaf falling on my tent
Distracts me from the place I'm bent
I'm tired, mind and body spent
Except they're not.
I'm hot
And I can smell robots
Cooking all their cleaning fluids
In ten flower pots
A scar across the head he said
Dripping blood so red, he's dead
When's the last time the Wolf fed?
It was long before the Icing Shark
But you mustn't just ignore the dark
That's when the shadows leave their mark
Without Moonlight, flame or spark
A person walking past
Along the gravelled path of the caravan park
Pick your feet up, double-d cup
I've no idea what size that is
And in a quiz I'd get it wrong
Lose out, like my lost sarong
My sleepy, dreamy thoughts are strong
But now I am awake
Shuffle-flop, shuffle-flop
Listen to the sound of feet
Flap-slap, shuffle-slap
Wake me up from restless sleep
Eyes are tired, feet perspired
Sleep desired, but quiet required
It's the birds I hear the most
A parrot whistling, eating toast
But no! It's the insects that I hear
Brewing up their Ginger Beer
Can't be cloudy, must be clear
Dreamlike state is oh-so near
A lone leaf falling on my tent
Distracts me from the place I'm bent
I'm tired, mind and body spent
Except they're not.
I'm hot
And I can smell robots
Cooking all their cleaning fluids
In ten flower pots
A scar across the head he said
Dripping blood so red, he's dead
When's the last time the Wolf fed?
It was long before the Icing Shark
But you mustn't just ignore the dark
That's when the shadows leave their mark
Without Moonlight, flame or spark
A person walking past
Along the gravelled path of the caravan park
Pick your feet up, double-d cup
I've no idea what size that is
And in a quiz I'd get it wrong
Lose out, like my lost sarong
My sleepy, dreamy thoughts are strong
But now I am awake
COLOUR: GOLD
Sitting, staring at a Lizard
Carved into the wood
Despite events of the last few days
I'm feeling rather good
The Whitsundays was not to be
Autobarn are paying me
Four hundred dollars of the fee
To fix beleaguered Maple
The fact that someone made a call
That I was driving dangerously
Stopped by the cops and that was all
It took to spoil my holiday
So now I'll not sail round the Isles
Not stand on deck in Sun and smiles
Instead I'll sit and wait a while
Until my car is fixed
I had a thought - offer a bribe
Of pumpkins - should I oughta?
But if they chose not to subscribe
They'd land me in hot water
"Colour: Gold" it says on the ticket
Come on guys, it's just not cricket!
I'm batting on a sticky wicket
But hey -
It's like the police said to me
It's my responsibility
I've always said that we're all free
To make decisions and it'd be
Nothing but hypocrisy
To go back on my philosophy
But there's one thing I disagree -
She's Copper, or Maple coloured.
Like the syrup
Sitting, staring at a Lizard
Carved into the wood
Despite events of the last few days
I'm feeling rather good
The Whitsundays was not to be
Autobarn are paying me
Four hundred dollars of the fee
To fix beleaguered Maple
The fact that someone made a call
That I was driving dangerously
Stopped by the cops and that was all
It took to spoil my holiday
So now I'll not sail round the Isles
Not stand on deck in Sun and smiles
Instead I'll sit and wait a while
Until my car is fixed
I had a thought - offer a bribe
Of pumpkins - should I oughta?
But if they chose not to subscribe
They'd land me in hot water
"Colour: Gold" it says on the ticket
Come on guys, it's just not cricket!
I'm batting on a sticky wicket
But hey -
It's like the police said to me
It's my responsibility
I've always said that we're all free
To make decisions and it'd be
Nothing but hypocrisy
To go back on my philosophy
But there's one thing I disagree -
She's Copper, or Maple coloured.
Like the syrup
CHICKPEAS - For Calliope
Sitting cross-legged in my tent
The night has fallen dark
The sounds of blasted country music
Drift across the park
(But there's only me a-grumbling
And a disgruntled doggie's bark)
I'm hungry, haven't bothered
To eat a single thing all day
Except for cereal this morning
And a pear along the way
(And several seaweed rice crackers
It's only fair to say)
But now I need my dinner
Something to keep me trucking
Peanut butter and sweet chilli?
Thank God that no one's looking
(To see me eating from a tin
'Cos I can't be bothered cooking)
Sitting cross-legged in my tent
The night has fallen dark
The sounds of blasted country music
Drift across the park
(But there's only me a-grumbling
And a disgruntled doggie's bark)
I'm hungry, haven't bothered
To eat a single thing all day
Except for cereal this morning
And a pear along the way
(And several seaweed rice crackers
It's only fair to say)
But now I need my dinner
Something to keep me trucking
Peanut butter and sweet chilli?
Thank God that no one's looking
(To see me eating from a tin
'Cos I can't be bothered cooking)
STORM DRAIN
Running river, running river
Just a trickle
Just a sliver
Memories flooding
More than the water
Flowing faces
That deliver
Washing emotions
Strong emotions
That rip right through me
Running River
Swirling, heaving
Constant motion
Love and fear
In one great Ocean
So important
Full of Power
I could sit
Hour after hour
Running river, running river
I'll always thank you
My Running River
Running river, running river
Just a trickle
Just a sliver
Memories flooding
More than the water
Flowing faces
That deliver
Washing emotions
Strong emotions
That rip right through me
Running River
Swirling, heaving
Constant motion
Love and fear
In one great Ocean
So important
Full of Power
I could sit
Hour after hour
Running river, running river
I'll always thank you
My Running River
LEOPARD SKIN SHEETS
The patterns of my sheets and pillow
Inside my little nest of Love
Exotic, tantalising, hidden
By sarongs hanging from the bed above
So tasteful, classy
Sophisticated
Orgasmic pleasure anticipated
By all who see
Who visit me
"Well good evening,
"Won't you step inside, my Love?"
The patterns of my sheets and pillow
Inside my little nest of Love
Exotic, tantalising, hidden
By sarongs hanging from the bed above
So tasteful, classy
Sophisticated
Orgasmic pleasure anticipated
By all who see
Who visit me
"Well good evening,
"Won't you step inside, my Love?"
