It was somewhere
in September
And the sun was
goin' down
When I came
in search of copy
To a Darling River town
Come-And-Have-A-Drink
We'll call it
'Tis a fitting name I think
And 'twas raining
for a wonder
Up at
Come-And-Have-A-Drink
Underneath the
pub verandah
I was resting on a bunk
When a stranger
rose before me
And he said that
he was drunk
He apologised for speaking
There was no offence
he swore
But he somehow
seemed to fancy
That he'd seen
my face before
He agreed
you can't remember
All the chaps you
chance to meet
And he said his name
was Sweeney
People lived in
Sussex Street
He was camping
in a stable
That he swore that
he was right
Only for the blanky horses
Walkin' over him all night
He'd apparently
been fighting
For his face was
black and blue
And it looked as though
the horses had been
treading on him too
But an honest
genial twinkle
In the eye that wasn't hurt
Seemed to hint of
something better
Spite of drink
and rags and dirt
He was born in Parramatta
And he said
with humour grim
That he'd like to
see the city
'ere the liquor finished him
But he couldn't
raise the money
He was damed
if he could think
What the Government
was doing here
He offered me a drink
I declined, 'twas self-denial
And I lectured him
on booze
Using all the
hackneyed arguments
That preachers mostly use
Things I'd heard
In temperance lectures
I was young and
rather green
And I ended by referring
To the man
he might have been
But he couldn't
stay to argue
For his beer was
nearly gone
He was glad
he said, to meet me
And he'd see me later on
But he guessed
he'd have to go
And get his bottle
filled again
And he gave a lurch
and vanished
In the darkness
and the rain
Now of afternoons in cities
When the rain is
on the land
Visions come to me
of Sweeney
With his bottle in his hand