Tonight here by the roadside

I've been drivin' hard all day

Dreamin' of the old folks

And a homestead o'er the way



In dreams I see the old place

I'll be there within a week

Where there's gum trees by the roadway

And the willows by the creek



I see the homestead cattle

As around the place they roam

The old man with the horses

On the fields of gold alone



And mother in the doorway

Just to make this scene complete

With gum trees by the roadway

And the willows by the creek



Oh I'd like to tell my story

In a simple kind of way

It happened to many hundreds

In this war-torn world today



I heard the call for duty

So I donned the khaki suit

And I marched 'way from the gumtrees

And the willows by the creek



But when you land in trouble

And you're placed behind those bars

That's when you start thinking

Of the country moon and stars



And when at last they free you

And you step out on the street

Nothing then could hold you

From the homestead by the creek



That's why tonight I'm standing

By this cheery roadside fire

Takin' in the country

Underneath the summer stars



And from now on you will find me

Where the air is fresh and sweet

Where forever there'll be gum trees

And the willows by the creek