~~ 430 ~~

~~~ Fire ~~

The days were hot and sultry
And the wind had ceased to be,
Not a blade of grass bent in the day
Nor a leaf upon a tree.

Then the smell of smoke it filled the air
As it blackened out the sun,
And the kangaroo and emu came
With panic in their run.

Our hearts began to ache with fear,
As the heat of fire came-
To burn the bush that's tinder-dry,
Because of lack of rain.

Those flames they seemed so far away
As we climbed our ancient truck,
And we hope to save our little town
With a lot of prayer and luck.

Then around our town that fire raced
At a speed you'd not believe,
And we thanked the Lord and that bit of luck
We had no, widows here to grieve.

Bunyip Flats was spared that day
Our prayers had saved our town,
But our hearts go out to those who lost,
As we, survey that blackened ground.

January 16, 2001

~~ 431 ~~

~~~ The Black Car ~~~

A black car came to Bunyip Flats
To pick his body up,
And all our hearts had broke that day,
The day before our cup.

He'd been sittin' in the startin' stalls
A thing that most blokes do,
And was waitin' for an inside tip,
And to see what others knew.

Then the whisper came from Sneaky Sam
About that gelding mare,
He said, the cup belonged to that fine horse,
And the price was pretty fair.

The bookies had the prices set
For the cup at Bunyip Flats,
And they had it backed to ten to one,
So, some had even bet their hats.

But that little bloke inside that box
Just never had a hope,
'Cos when he smoked that final smoke,
That smoke he smoked was dope.

And as we watched that old black hearse
Driving off that course,
We wondered who the hell was now,
Gunna' ride that horse.

January 17, 2001

~~ 432 ~~

~~~ Earth Tremors in Bunyip Flats ~~~

Bunyip Flats had gone to sleep
It was past, its bedtime,
When the Town Hall shook like crazy
And its bells began to chime.

The new black road it buckled
As the ground began to shake,
And all the kegs inside the pub
Began to froth and break.

The bank vault sank into the ground
Near on twenty feet,
As all us folks came rushing out
Into the open street.

Then panic gripped the strong and weak,
And the women folk as well,
As we wondered why we must go through
This night of living hell.

Then lightning flashed, and thunder roared
The gates of heaven were shaken
And the little pigs of Bunyip Flats
All ran to save their bacon.

Then all at once the shaking stopped, as did-
The ringing in our heads,
So all us folks of Bunyip Flats
Went right back to bed.

January 17, 2001