Dust : Lyrics
All songs written by Neil Murray © 1996
Published by Universal Music Publishing

_________________________________________________

1. SPIRIT
(Neil Murray/Sammy Butcher)

So, very precious
And it’s livin’ deep within the land
It’s a secret, a secret hidden
And it’ sleepin’ deep within the earth
It’s so, very precious
And we say
Kurrunpatju yungu
Kurrunpatju yungu
Spirit comes
Spirit comes

And many hands have held it together
Reachin’ back and forwards across time
And I speak to you from the future
And I speak to you from the past
And we say
Kurrunpatju yungu
Kurrunpatju yungu
Kurrunpatju yungu
Spirit comes
Spirit comes

So, very precious
Can you get the feeling of what I’m sayin’
Many hands, touching over many generations
Holding, holding so dearly
And we say
Kurrunpatju yungu
Spirit comes

________________________________________________

2. BULUKBARA MAN
(Neil Murray)

Far away from here, out on a great volcanic plain
In the land I was born, a hundred years before I came
There’s a lake on a dreaming line
Where there’s good fishin’ all the time
There’s a man who sets the stones
And eels that run with the moon
Swimming to the arms of a Bulukbara Man
A Bulukbara Man

Ghost riders came and with the power of a gun they took his world
People had to run they tried to fight this brutal scourge
So many fell, just a few remained
Rounded up in mission shame
Gathered up their tears and gone
Leavin’ their sweet water holes
Full of the dreams of a Bulukbara Man
Full of the dreams of a Bulukbara Man

Moon over fresh water
And the frogs are calling

As a child I played and the seasons blew right across my face
I ran where feet had trod, I swam in water that had been loved
Stone tools upon the ground, I picked them up and I couldn’t put ‘em down
So many questions on my mind, I wish I could go back in time
And see for myself a Bulukbara Man
See for myself a Bulukbara Man
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

In the shadows of my days, I feel a company in a strange way
And I wonder, could it be a Bulukbara Man
Could it be a Bulukbara Man?
Could there still be a Bulukbara Man?
Well is that me, is that what I am?
A Bulukbara Man, a Bulukbara Man
Well that’s me, a Bulukbara Man

________________________________________________

3. GIVE THIS DAY
(Neil Murray)

It was a slow afternoon when a shadow crossed my room
You were standing at the door
And your tears were on the floor
Sad eyes, sad eyes

I say, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong with you baby
Have I caused you some great pain
Is there something I can change”
Sad eyes, sad eyes
You say, “You don’t love, you don’t love, you don’t love me like I do
You don’t feel about me, the way I do for you, sad eyes”

Oh, my friend
Don’t make this be the end
Let the stars sweep your soul
Be a new light in the morning
If you give this day a rest
(Sad eyes, sad eyes)
You must give this day a rest
(Sad eyes, sad eyes)

You look at me and you say, “Why, why should we go on trying
It is pointless to continue, when you don’t have it in you”
Sad eyes, sad eyes

Show me, show me one, show me one good thing that’s come
Give me something that won’t fail
Give me something that will prevail
Sad eyes, sad eyes

Chorus

________________________________________________

4. TJAPWURRUNG COUNTRY
(Neil Murray)

I’ve been around a lot of places
But now I’m back where I started from
Back to a lake in Tjapwurrung Country
Where the sunlight shines on fresh water
And green rollin’ plains meet the mountains
Make you catch your breath any time of year
But why does this place seem so empty?
Home of my spirit, but pain in my heart
Pain in my heart
I wanna tell ya one thing

I sing for my home in Tjapwurrung Country
(Sing for my home)

I sing for the people to come back there
(People gonna come back there)
I sing to be healed in Tjapwurrung Country
(Sing to be healed)
I’ll keep on singin’ til my people come

I see a lot of farms and houses
And I see a lot of damage on that land
And there’s not many know what I sing for
They must be livin’ some place else
Some place else
Somewhere different to me

The light still shines on that water
Movin’ through green country out there
And there in the west, those same old mountains
They keep on pullin’ me back here
Pullin’ me back here
To where I always wanna be

I sing for my home in Tjapwurrung Country
(Sing for my home)
I sing for the people to come back there
(People gonna come back there)
I sing to be healed in Tjapwurrung Country
(Sing to be healed)
I’ll keep on singin’ til the people come
(Sing for my home)
Keep on singin’ til my people come
(Sing to be healed)
In Tjapwurrung County,
I sing to be healed, I sing to be made whole again
(‘Til the people come)
In Tjapwurrung Country
Keep on singin’ til my people come
(Sing for my home)
I sing for my home
Keep on singin’ til my people come
In Tjapwurrung Country

________________________________________________

5. THIS BLISS

(Neil Murray)

You’re gonna meet a lady sometime soon
You won’t have to do too much
You’ll have slow conversation
Or you might not speak at all
When she comes, she’ll come so softly
You might not notice her at first
But when she turns out the light
And takes you by your hand
You know everything that follows, follows to a plan
One more time, in your life
This bliss

And you’re so, you’re so grateful she came to the rescue
And she’ll hold you so dearly you hardly breathe at all
Lest you blow her away, but come the break of day
You’ll be so amazed to find she’s sleepin’ at your side
One more time in your life
This bliss
One more time in your life
This bliss

You’re so glad that you’re still alive
To feel like this, one last time
Yes one more time in your life
This bliss
One more time, in your life
This bliss

________________________________________________

6. COOLAMON MOON
(Neil Murray/Andrew McMillan)

I caught the bus at two-fifteen, settled back with a magazine
As we rolled on out the Stuart Highway
I’d done this ride so many times I never even raised my eyes
When a man in dusty clothes sat next to me
Five hundred miles ahead of me, I hoped I would be able to sleep
And not wake up ‘til she was standing there
And the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky

Daylight swiftly fell away headlights cut the night like a blade
And the man in dusty clothes hadn’t moved
I thought of her so snug and warm, when the dusty man began to snore
And wondered if she was thinking of me
We’d met by chance six months ago and though it’s hard I couldn’t say no
So every month I ride this bus to meet her
And the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky
And my love is far away from me tonight

All night long we let them off, stopping at little lonely spots
‘Til it was just the dusty man and me
3am we’re an hour from town, the dusty man he’d made no sound
Soon I would be holding her in my arms
And the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky
And my love is far away from me tonight
And the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky

The dusty man he leant on me, I tried to straighten him in his seat
Then his hand fell cold in mine
There was no breath upon his face and no pulse that I could trace
So we rode like that mile after mile
And when the lights of her town appeared
I knew that she’d be waiting there and I knew the dusty man was at my side
And the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky
And my love is far away from me tonight
And the dusty man, he stays by my side
While the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky
Yes, the moon hangs like a Coolamon in the sky

________________________________________________

7. MELBOURNE TOWN

(Neil Murray)

I see the sky is turning grey this afternoon
The local football crowd has gone home defeated once again
It’s a good job I don’t hitch my dreams to fine weather
For it’ll be rainin’, it’ll be rainin’ here soon
Win or lose, I’ll have rain on my shoes

This wind that blows knows me now, too damn well
I must have been blown to a hundred different places, who can tell
If I just keep on walkin’ under this faithful sky there’ll be a place for me sometime
It might be tonight, could be right here tonight
I could hang up my wings, do a good thing
In Melbourne Town

I hear the late night taxicabs whistlin’ by
I hear the bell of the last tram headin’ home
And I’m walkin’ along with my two best feet ahead of me
And I’d like to think there’s always something we can do to change direction in our lives
Something we can do even in the next half hour
We might do it in Melbourne Town
We could do it in Melbourne Town
Admit no defeat, we can land on our feet
In Melbourne Town

I know there’s other places of sand and surf and sunny skies
I know there’s a million destinations that money can sell or buy
And I might be swimming against the overwhelming tide of northern migration
But I’ll have rain, I’ll have rain on my shoes please
Win or lose, rain on my shoes
In Melbourne Town, right here in Melbourne Town
Good old Melbourne Town

________________________________________________

8. MENINDEE
(Neil Murray)

Last drinks boys at Menindee
In the year of 1860
After eleven drunken weeks
It’s time to take your leave
And be first across the country to the Gulf
So drink your drinks and drink ‘em slow
‘Cause soon you’ll all be gone
As part of a team of a great explorin’ dream
Let’s hope your leaders will know where to go

Oh, Mr Burke do I really have to go?
You see I’ve got this awful feelin’ in my bones
I’m afraid that I won’t see my home again
And I dreamt the dingoes were tearing off my clothes

Oh Yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry me
I’d much rather stay in the shade at Menindee
Where the old Darlin’ River flows

I’ll give this much to Burke
He was a man of nerve
But he couldn’t pick a bushman from a cove
To give spell binder Wright
A job just on sight
Was askin’ for trouble from the word go
So it’s away, away we go
Away up north out in the great unknown
Well who’s idea was it, to walk across the country
I say leave the bloody country to the crows

Oh Yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry me
I’d much rather stay in the shade at Menindee
Where the old Darlin’ River flows
Oh, in the shade of the pub at Menindee
Where the beer is cold, cold, cold

After four months of toil and trouble
From the Gulf to the Cooper we return
Only to find they’d left nine hours befor
And not a soul to help us in our bind

Oh, Mr Burke where did all the black fellas go?
Mr Burke how we gonna make it on our own?
I’d give everything on this day to be four hundred miles away
With a cold beer sloshin’ in my mouth

Oh Yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi, yakayi
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry, me
I’d much rather stay in the shade at Menindee
Where the old Darlin’ River flows
Oh, in the shade of the pub at Menindee
Where the beer is cold, cold, cold
Oh, in the shade of the pub at Menindee
Where the old Darlin’ River flows

________________________________________________

9. FIRE OF LOVE
(Neil Murray/Bill Jacobi)

To say I had all I needed would not be exact
To say that I was pleased to be on my own
Well, who’d believe that
To say I might have room for someone
Would be no idle admission
To say I was missing someone special would be more like it
So if there’s any way for us to meet, I’ll be right here
And if the two of us could come to grips
We’ll warm our hands
On a fire of love, fire of love
Got it still burning here
Fire of love

I remember a frosty night all those years ago
You were the one to light me up
Stars were spinning out of control and we were laughing all at once
Someone told me where you lived, said you’re married now
Well there’s just no way we could meet
For we both know
‘Bout a fire of love, fire of love
Got it still burning here, fire of love
Got a fire of love my darling, it’s the kind that never goes out
Oh yeah, fire of love

Come on all you sea sick sailors, homeless drifters and hard luck girls
Come on all you shabby crusaders
You don't fool me with your words
There’s room here for you all, I got a fire lit
Now is there no way we could meet and warm our hands
Well is there no way we could meet, ‘round a fire, ‘round a fire
A fire of love, fire of love
We got a fire of love my darling, it don’t ever go out
We got a fire, oh we got a fire, got a fire of love burning here
So come on all you sad hearted people
What are you crying about
You can warm your hands, warm your heart
Warm your hands, warm your heart
On a fire of love, fire of love
Got a fire of love my darling

________________________________________________

10. PEACE OF MIND
(Neil Murray)

You been workin’, workin’ hard tryin’ to make the damn ends meet
You been workin’ workin’ hard tryin’ to just stay on your feet
You wanna move to some Queensland dirt
You wanna change, go and change your shirt
‘Cause peace of mind is just a moment away

You be down, you be broke
You be sittin’ in a deep, dark hole
You be down, you be broke
You be carryin’ a very heavy load

No matter how bad, no matter how crook
No matter how sad, no matter how it looks
We’re not defeated, we’re not in shit street yet

You can find peace of mind, if you try
Bring it to your life
You can find if you try
Peace of mind, bring it to your life today
Peace of mind

You be low, you be slack
You be thinkin’ that you can’t come back
You be low, you be slack
You be sufferin’ from a heavy heart crack

No matter how bad, no matter how crook
No matter how sad, no matter how it looks
We’re not defeated, we’re not in shit street yet

Chorus

You can find if you try
Peace of mind, bring it to your life today
(Peace of mind)
Peace of mind
You’ll be lucky, you’ll be lucky one day

________________________________________________

11. THIS GOOD EARTH
(Neil Murray)

My brothers and I we share the work
And our sweat falls to the ground
And at night when we return home our children gather ‘round
Let our labours now be not in vain
May our values be of worth
So our sons and daughters shall in turn
Inherit this good earth

By these hands we harvest the native fruits and fish from the sea
The land is our only bed and the sky our canopy
For we do not seek destruction and we do not covet greed
We take only what the earth can give and only what we need

Away-o, away-o . . . .

Understand this message from the people of the earth
So you may take your place in this old world from the moment of your birth
See how the world spreads from your feet to touch every living thing
So in turn may you live with grace, upon this good earth

May your step always be firm and true and your heart never be afraid

Of those who seek to ridicule and those who’s faith has failed

But if someone should help you then you must help ten more in return

For this is the way peace will spread upon this good earth

Yes, this is the way peace will spread upon this good earth

Away-o, away-o

________________________________________________

12. IN MY HEART
(Neil Murray)

You came to me when I wasn’t ready
And you gave to me when I wanted nothing
And you filled my house with bloomin’ flowers
In my heart I ought to know
In my soul I wonder why
When a bird flies across the sky
In my mind I see you smile

For you showed me what I couldn’t see
And you stayed with me when I wanted no one
And you left me broken
In my heart I ought to know
In my soul I wonder why
You turned my life upside down
You planted something in the garden
And it’s grown large since you have gone
Yes, it’s grown large since you’ve gone

In my heart I ought to know
In my soul I wonder why
In my nights you will return
In my days I will try to forget
That you came to me when I had nothing
And you stayed with me when I had no one
And you filled my house with flowers
Yes, you filled my house with flowers

________________________________________________

13. NATIVE BORN
(Neil Murray)

Australia, where are your caretakers gone?
I am just one who has been battered
By the damage within your shores
Australia, I would not sell you for a price
I would not strip you of your forests

Or pollute your clear, blue skies

I would not desecrate your sacred lands
I would not plunder on your shores
I would not foul your precious waters
For I am your native born

Australia, where are your caretakers gone?
Are they waiting on the coast
For news to come from abroad?
Or are they sleeping in the desert tonight
With dreams of ancient songs?
Or are they driftin’ in your cities
Hungry and cold in the dawn?

Australia, who will hear this call?
Who is there among us who can heal
And keep you safe for us all?

I would not desecrate your sacred lands
I would not plunder upon your shores
I would not foul your precious waters
For I am your native born
For I am your native born

________________________________________________