Union Songs
rebel song
A song by Shane Howard©Shane Howard 1978
- [play]
daniel came from a distant land
driven from his native home
came to the lucky country's shores
he was eighteen years old
haunted by famine and poverty
and the stories he'd been told
he headed north from melbourne town
in search of ballaarat goldwithin the week he laid his claim
on a worthless plot of ground
he worked the land with his two bare hands
but barely anything he found
until the licence fees became too great
for honest men to pay
the rich may have their table set
but the poor will have their daywe'll sing a rebel song
as others did before as
and we'll raise a rebel flag
join in rebel chorusthe work was hard
the rewards were small
on the fields at ballaarat
the licence hunts got worse and worse
the government saw to that
one day the cry went up
that the traps were out
and they were hunting anyone
hunting free men like criminals
at the point of a gunthe men who sat in the seats of judgement
delirious with power
were blind to the wrongs of ballaarat
from behind their ivory towers
until at bakery hill
when she world stood still
and lalor rallied the men to be free
and they raised a cry under a southern cross
"we'll die for liberty"what drives a man to take up arms
and risk both life and limb
what rallies men together
to fight and not give in
we suffered in the old world
the injustice and the greed
"no more", cried the eureka men
"demand equality"
Notes
Many thanks to Shane Howard for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection.
Rebel Song was recorded on Shane's 1996 album Clan
Visit Shane's website at http://shanehoward.com.au/
union songs..........a selection by mark gregory