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Featherston's Finest
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The Ballad of Swagman Magee
When I was a young lad my Da said to me If I behave badly then Swagman Magee Will come round tonight for a word in my ear And Swagger Magee had been dead for a year
He carried his whole world, stacked high on his back As he wandered each highway, each low way, each track But our County would hear no more of his gay song The day when two lads pulled a prank that went wrong
His days on the road, were hard yet simple His nights on the road, were often lonely Yet that was his life, he'd have no other Oh swagging's the life for the Swagman Magee
Returned from the Great War in 1918, Though he'd never tell tales of that which he'd seen Instead, for a pint he would give you a tune Of elves in the woods, or the man in the moon
To Featherston Town he'd come up for supplies To stock up on grog, scoff down a few pies With a feed in his belly he'd leave a fair tip Then head for the river to have a wee kip
His days on the road, it made him happy His nights on the road, it made him feel free The road was his life, he'd have no other Oh swagging's the life for the Swagman Magee
Down by the banks of the Tau-her'-ni-kau He would pull at his pipe and watch the stream flow Lean back on his pack, he'd swig his whiskey And drift off to sleep beneath the Kauri
Along came the rascals from Underhill Way, 'Let's give the old scruff a cold bath' one would say And the other agreed and so down the pair crept Find more lyrics at ※ Mojim.com Unheard and unseen down to where Magee slept
His days on the road, were often dangerous His nights on the road, were downright risky But that was his life, he'd have no other Oh swagging's the life for the Swagman Magee
Then out from the bush, they approached from above With a 1 2 3 4 and an almighty shove The old boy went rolling down clean off the Bank His swag became ballast, and down Magee sank
His corpse eddied up down by Madison's place Such a hideous corpse, for the eels chewed his face The townsfolk assumed, twas some drunken mishap But the boys from the town knew it wasn't like that
A noise in the dark, it made them anxious A splash in the stream, a guilty mem'ry Their jape cost his life, he'd have no other Just haunting and taunting for Ghostie Magee
The first lad went down to the priest to confess, But the revenant haunted, him more and not less, When he went missing, they searched for a week They found the young scamp face down in a creek
The next lad had tried to escape his tormenter Who chased the lad screaming right through the town centre Just when he re'lised his flight was in vain The fleer was crushed by the 5: 40 train
So listen my boy, don't play the joker Treat all with respect, and dignity too Or one of these nights a face half-eaten With swag on its back will come hunting for you
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