Digital Tradition Mirror

In the Land of the Patagarang

In the Land of the Patagarang
(Gerry O'Beirne)

In the land of Patagarang the murkies are dreaming
In the land of Patagarang they don't know who we are
In the land of Patagarang the murkies are dreaming
In the land of Patagarang we'll sail into the bay

     I'm going with my peculiar
     To a place of infinite space
     With the mollies and punks and fluters
     Buzz gloaks and star glazers
     They'll turn you into a creature, if you're not strong
     A man with marsupial features, on the horizon
     For impersonating an Egyptian you go to the land
     Of the Patagarang Patagarang
     In the land of Patagarang the crow lies backwards
     In the land of Patagarang the stars are upside down

God botherers pray repentance
Political and yobs
Goodbye to indipendence
Welcome to the mobs

They'll turn you into a creature, if you're not strong
A man with marsupial features, on the horizon
For impersonating an Egyptian you go to the land
To the land of Patagarang Patagarang

In the land of Patagarang the murkies are dreaming
In the land of Patagarang the stars are upside down

copyright Gerry O'Beirne, 1986
Sung by Patrick Street on "Irish Times"
note: This song was inspired by "The Fatal Shore", Robert Hughes'
     history of the settlement in Australia with English and
     Irish convicts. You may notice some slang of the period here,
     for which we thank again to Mr. Hughes. A Patagarang is an
     aboriginal word for a kangaroo, and 'impersonating an Egyptian
     or posing as a gypsy, was a crime in the eighteen century,
     for which, at the whim of some bewigged Justice, you could
     find yourself sailing in chain for the land of Patagarang. WH

WH
OCT98

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!