Gum trees by the roadway

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1. Tonight here by the roadside after drivin' hard all day,

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dreamin' of the old folks and the homestead all the way.

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In dreams I see the old place, I'll be there within a week,

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where there's gum trees by the roadway, and the willows by the creek.

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2. I see the homestead cattle as round the place they roam,

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the old man with the horses nn the fields of gold alone.

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And mother in the doorway, just to make this scene complete,

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with gum trees by the roadway, and the willows by the creek.

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3. I'd like to tell my story in a simple kind of way,

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it happened to many hundreds in this war-torn world today.

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I heard the call for duty, so I donned the khaki suit,

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and I marched 'way from the gumtrees and the willows by the creek.

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4. Now when the war was over and we’d marched the victory mile,

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the ties with home were broken, and from there I stayed a while.

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I paled up with some fellers, just to live on easy streets,

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and forgot about the gumtrees and the willows by creek.

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5. But when you land in trouble and you're placed behind those bars,

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that's when you start dreaming of the country moon and stars.

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And when at last they free you and you step out on the street,

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nothing then could hold you from the homestead by the creek.

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6. That's why tonight I'm standin’ by this cheery roadside fire,

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takin' in the country underneath the summer stars.

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From now on you will find me where the air is fresh and sweet,

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where forever there'll be gum trees and the willows by the creek.

(Slim Dusty)