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Big Bill Smith was rough and tough as a mining man could be
And he said Iâll blaze a trail right down those ranges to the sea
And Big Bill Smith he did just that, when he found the Barron River
Where the Myall blacks and crocodiles, would set your bones a shiver
Then he said Iâve dug too long for gold Iâll find it the easy way
And he built a pub there in the scrub where Smithfield is today
The Thornborough miners dug their gold and the packers brought it down
And they quenched their thirst in Big Billâs bar right there in Big Billâs town
Well the traders came and built a town and they named it after Bill
Then the gamblers and the women came their pockets for to fill
The gold came down and Smithfield boomed and a roaring town it was
And itâs even said that Big Billâs horse, with golden shoes were shod
Big Bill was king of Smithfield town and Palmer Kate was queen
And the only god they knew came down the range in a golden stream
The wickedest town in Australia was its dubious claim to fame
And the things they did for a bag of gold, would put the devil himself to shame
And the myall blacks looked on with awe as the white men died in fights
For a bag of gold or the favours of a woman for the night
And Big Bill met his death that way out in that muddy street
He traded lead for a bag of gold, and Big Bill Smith was beat
Oh they buried Bill there in the scrub and they drank his hotel dry
Was the grandest wake they'd ever had the day that Big Bill died
Yes Big Bill died and his town did too in the face of old man flood
For the Barron river it took the lot, and buried it deep in mud
Oh thereâs nought to see of the old town now for they never rebuilt it there
And Iâll bet the ghost of Big Bill Smith is still around somewhere
And if you see that sign on that northern road and youâre thinking about this tale
Well spare a thought for Big Bill Smith, and the men who blazed the trail
Guitar Solo
- Album:
- Columbia Lane - The Last Sessions
- Where Country Is
- Tall Stories And Sad Songs
- Looking Forward Looking Back
- Lights On The Hill
- Rodeo Riders
- Trucks On The Track
- Ringer From The Top End
- The Man Who Steadies The Lead
- Cattle Camp Crooner
- The Slim Dusty Family Live Across Australia
- The Slim Dusty Family Album
- Slim Dusty Live
- The Son of Noisy Dan
- Dinki-Di Aussies
- To Whom It May Concern
- Slim Dusty Sings Joy McKean
- Slim Dusty Sings Stan Coster
- Songs From Down Under
- Way Out There