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The Real Story Of The Man From The Snowy River

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The cocky had hundreds of horses
But never had any full time men~
He'd only hire for the yearly muster
To bring all the horses in once agen~

The men he hired were all good riders
Some came from as close as next door~
They all knew this country back to front
Each and every one of them worth top score~

And this old cocky as well had himself a son
Who was home from school this fall~
This boy thought that he'd show his father
How well he too could ride to beat them all~

The old cocky told his son to stay at home
And get on with his daily chores~
It's a mans world out there boy he said
And you've got homework to do here indoors~

But when all the men got moving
The boy followed close behind~
These blokes are hired and I'm his son
He said ... I ll show them I'm not blind~

They mustered groups of horses
That had not been mustered some in ages-
The noise echoed through the hill sides
As the riders brought them down in stages-

Up the track one horse broke out from the mob
And appeared from the cover of all the dust~
I'll get this one the boy quietly thought
Or else I'll flaming bust~

The horse he chased went over a steep ridge
And the boy followed then not knowing~
Just what it was he was about to do
Or where it was he was going~

When he saw he was in the steepest decent
He panicked and dropped one rein~
The horse that he sat it made the ride
And it suffered all of the pain~

The horse he was chasing was winded broken
And so bruised it could no longer run~
Both the horses had then to be shot
After what it was that the boy had done~

The men later spread the story around
Of how the boy had almost died~
Of how his father delivered him a belting
And of how the boy had cried~

Then a journo' from the city
Heard this story in a mountain pub one day~
And added it to his bush poem collection
And wrote it all down in his own way~

He wrote the story and changed it some
Just a couple of words or two~
But it all turned out to be an Aussie lie
And far from the truth it grew~

Turned into a man instead of a boy
And as well into a truly historic ride~
But it should have read a bold young lad
That refused to stay at home and inside~

All the men up there were all top riders
They took great care of their horses as well~
For these animals were their very lively hood
Any of them if alive today would gladly tell~

You may choose not to believe this at all
But so help me it is the truth~
Every time those knowing hear this poets version
They'd kick the dust , cringe and whisper .... Struth~

Terrence Michael Sutton
copyright 1966.

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