My brother and me started work back in 1968 Asbestos was our trade making pipes and walls and brakes To the factory every morning getting home well after dusk Covered in the dust The Snowmen they called us And we used to wonder sometimes if the dust it could harm us But the boss man he said 'nut' and the pay it was good enough So for years we kept on working always breathing in the stuff Wash it down at the pub The Snowmen they called us Of the blokes who started work here there's only seven of us left And my brothers amongst the dead and with this cough I will be next When I die before you lay my bones down in that mud Sprinkle them with dust The Snowmen they called us And we'll sing to our last breath James Hardie caused our deaths, oh James Hardie caused our deaths.

Mama feared I'd end up in trouble I was six foot five and all muscle She said son use those big old hands for good and I meant it when I said I would But I got me into a bar room fight he threw two lefts I threw one right His head hit the bar started pissin blood my hands were shakin when the cops showed up But tell my Mama not to worry just tell her I've gone fishing with Arthur Gorrie Recession came and the work dried up I still owed money on the truck All I could do was drive much longer hours I barely saw my wife and daughters I was near the end of a 14 hours stretch only had a few hours left I took some pills just to see me home and how the crash happened I still don't know But tell my children not to worry just tell em Dad's off working for Arthur Gorrie My parents split when I was a baby my aunty and uncle raised me Lord how they tried but it weren't no use and I took to drinking booze I was drinking on the street one morning up jumps a copper without warning He says If you've seen one you've seen em all so I broke my bottle across his jaw Tell my uncle tell my aunty tell em both that I'm really sorry Tell em there ain't no need to worry just tell em I'm off drinking with Arthur Gorrie

Way back when in the days of Old The was a young man with a fiddle in his hand and he lived out on the road Ain't no girl had ever held him down He had his fiddle named Judy and he'd scratch on her till Tuesday and they always kept roamin around Then at a dance in some back wood town In walked a girl with brown skin and blue eyes he fell in love and put Judy down And as he watched he watched her twirl He fell under her spell and he got down on his knee and he said won't you marry me girl Well she said hell I know your type And as long as you have Judy you will never be true to me and I never will be your wife So they went down to the river bank That's where he said good riddance to her and he pushed her in the river and he ain't ever ever looked back

Christmas Eve at The Railway Hotel but there wasn't any cheer Just a few old men and the smell of smoke and beer Nobody had mentioned Jesus but to take his name in vain The bells heard in the distance was just the passin trains The barmaid Jules was callin last drinks eager to get home to her kids The old men were getting restless shufflin in their seats Cause outside it was raining and inside it was dry But there ain't no room at the inn tonight The last round of the night it was ordered and Jules charged it to the house She wished them merry Christmas as she gently shooed them out Some headed for the carriage works some for Cleveland Road To sleep and dream of myhre frankincense and gold As Christmas morning it was breaking across the railway lines The bells of Saint Andrews could be heard to chime Church choirs were singin about the birth of a King But for the old men of The Railway Hotel it didn't mean a thing

When I was but a boy living by the sea a ship came and took me And to Bundaberg we came to cut and haul the cane I'd never see my Mother again. Ow - we set this blackbird free set this blackbird free We'd toil six days a week in the rain and in the heat oh but no wages did they pay me Just sugar flour and tea and the odd tobacco leaf and a place for me to sleep Ow - we set this blackbird free set this blackbird free And sometimes when I dream I'm back home by the sea and my Mother she's there with me But I wake up and I'm still a slave oh but I'll be free I'll be free some day singing loud Tulai-e Ow - we set this blackbird free set this blackbird free

Adopted for the first time at the age of eleven Nobody wanted Dan O’Halloran He got himself into mischief, gangs and fights In juvenile detention he spent most of his time At the age of 19 he held up a servo They sentenced him to 14 years up at Lithgow He was 30 when I met him out 2 years on parole Renting a flat in Redfern collecting the dole Dan he was my neighbour and oft times I’d drink with him You’d never know the man had turned 21 in prison To spite his history and the wild look in his eye Dan was the sort of bloke you'd trust with your life Nobody knows what happened to Dan O’Halloran except me And it makes me shiver But his ghost can be heard a screaming along the banks of the Daintree River. Many a time we wasted at the Raglan happy hour Till one day he dragged me down to the bar at the Cauliflower Put 100 on the counter Said Paddy drink it down cause come next Friday I’ll be skippin town I pressed him for details but he never told me why We just toasted our friendship and said our goodbyes 1 week later this bikie comes around Bashin on doors wonderin where Dan can be found I’d been seen drinking with him so he gets all up in my face I tell him Dan was just my neighbour and I aint seen him round the place He told me Dan had pulled a knife ripped the wrong people off and if I see the mongrel bastard tell him he’ll be lucky if he gets shot 1 year later I got a letter Postmarked from QLD Dan had never been better He’d been 9 months out at sea on a Cape York fishing boat He’d saved up lots of money and was headed for the coast He’d had enough of running so he set up in Port Douglas Life was beer and sun and women and selling pills to the tourists Happy hour at the Raglan back in Redfern drinking I overheard a voice say “you remember that dog O’Halloran?” We found the bastard livin it up North in Port Douglas My ears pricked up and I swiveled round to face these two bikers They both of them chuckled and one said through a smile We tied him up and left him by the river to the saltwater crocodiles Nobody knows what happened to Dan O’Halloran except me And it makes me shiver He was beaten and left to be eaten by the crocs on the banks of the Daintree River He was tied up and left to be eaten by the crocs on the banks of the Daintree River He was beaten and left to be eaten by the crocs on the banks of the Daintree River

Well I'm not a gamblin' man Oh but nevertheless I tried my hand So sick and tied of being poor I bought a ticket in the Wednesday lottery draw And that night while on the sup I swear to God my numbers come up I finished my bottle and then three more I danced until my feet were sore Ooow what's a poor man to do? The first thing that I done Is I got on the blower and called my Mum Told her that her cares were through I'd buy the house and a holiday too Next I called my boss in no uncertain terms I quit my job he could shove his pay and his overtime too This mans workin days are through Next I called my girl I told her I loved her and promised the world Wedding bells and a chapel too and a honeymoon in Vanuatu Ooow what's a poor man to do? Well I went to claim my prize But it crumbled before my bloodshot eyes With wishful thinking and getting drunk I'd gone and got the numbers all stuffed up Now whats a man to do Stoney broke hungover too Waitin' at the back of a Centrelink queue I've let down Mum and there's a wedding soon Ooow what's a poor man to do?

I’m sorry that I went to town I’m sorry that I messed around But I know that you’ll forgive me And things will be alright you’ll see Go on pack your things and leave And get your God damn hands off me You’ve let me down too many times I’m sick of all your shit and lies Now baby just settle down No need to throw your weight around I can’t help who I am After all hell I’m just a man Well if that’s a man well I don’t need No God Damn man anywhere near me I’m gunna take our daughter too She’s learned all she's gunna learn from you I’ve seen rain lash the mountain and the mountain stand tall But rain will lash the mountain till there’s no mountain at all I aint gunna let you destroy me Don’t leave me darling I’m begging you please

I hope it rains tonight The air is thick with the heat I bum a smoke and I shuffle down Brunswick Street Fights spill from the bars The taste of rum is sweet The bouncers will hurt you Brunswick Street Pretty girls with bare legs Kick the heels from their feet Spew their guts in the doorways Brunswick Street I hope the Broncos lose Or I won't get much sleep I bum a light and I shuffle down Brunswick Street The buskers may as well beg Piss stained concrete Everybody looks the same Brunswick Street If I had the money I'd leave for Bowen this week Still waitin on that God damned rain Brunswick Street