Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod
A song by Shane Howard©2010 Shane Howard- [play]
Come and listen to my story,
It's a mighty tale indeed
Of bravery and decency
against self interest and greed
North West Australia, the mighty Pilbara
Meekatharra, Nullagine,
DeGray and Marble Bar
The squatters ruled that country
and they ruled supreme
Livin' there like feudal lords
with native slavery
You were livin' by the river,
no wages for your work
'Where's the future for our children
It's their country after all'
The sound of freedom
It was comin' on the wind
The song was freedom,
In the way the old one's sing
Remember
At the place they call Skull Springs,
the desert lawmen came
They travelled in from far and wide,
some a thousand miles away
There they sat in council,
there they spoke the law
They named McLeod a spokesman
for the future they foresaw
Then they parted. Fadin' in the heat.
They were travellin' into history.
Remember
You can't deny a man
when the truth is where he stands.
But don't put flowers on his grave
Help him now.
If you're goin' to start a job,
Better be prepared to follow through,
Said Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod
Word spread to Marble bar,
Meekatharra too,
Nullagine, De Grey and then clear down the Fortescue.
May 1 was the day, Nineteen Forty Six,
800 native workers walked away from the squatters tricks.
The sound of freedom
Carried on the wind
The sound of freedom,
In the way the people sing
Remember
Station after station
Dooley spread the word
By foot and bike he spread the strike
While Clancy battled on.
McLeod worked on the wharves
Savin' wages he didn't need,
To send supplies to the strikers,
Things like flour and sugar and tea
The sound of freedom
It was ringin' in the wind
The sound was freedom,
In the way the people sing.
Remember.
You can't deny a man
when the truth is where he stands.
But don't put flowers on his grave
Help him now.
If you're goin' to start a job,
Better be prepared to follow through,
Said Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod
Injustice upon injustice,
Things got really tough.
But everyone still stuck together
When the going got too rough.
The police did the squatters squabbling
Standin' over peoples rights
"The blacks'll never stick it out
It's just a war of words"
But Clancey and Dooley were hard,
They knew they had to be.
There were hundreds of people
For whom they had responsibility.
The unions got involved, the Maritime Union crew,
"We defend the right of our native brothers to equal wages too".
The sound of freedom,
It was ringin' in the wind.
The song was freedom,
In the songs the people sing.
Remember.
You can't deny a man
when the truth is where he stands.
But don't put flowers on his grave
Help him now.
If you're goin' to start a job,
Better be prepared to follow through,
Just like Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod
They had to stick it out,
They had to find a way.
Somethin' better for their people
Than to live their lives as slaves.
They threatened Don McLeod
And he took them on.
The 'Workers Star' reported all the seedy goings on.
The years they came and went,
The people toughed it out.
'We'd rather hunt and yandy
Than be slaves to live in doubt'
Out of sight and out of mind,
No happy ending here.
Betrayal after betrayal,
Slowly wearied by the years.
I was thinkin' of Noonkanbah,
Thinkin' about Wave Hill,
Thinkin' of all the people
Who are strugglin' out there still.
Let the sound of freedom
Keep ringin' in the wind.
The sound of freedom,
In the way the old ones sing.
Remember.
You can't deny a man
when the truth is where he stands
But don't put flowers on his grave
Help him now
If you're goin' to start a job
Better be prepared to follow through
Said Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod.
Just like Clancey and Dooley and Don McLeod.