# The Ballad of the Drover

Across the stony ridges,  Across the rolling plain, Young Harry Dale, the drover,  Comes riding home again. And well his stock-horse bears him,  And light of heart is he, And stoutly his old pack-horse  Is trotting by his knee.
Up Queensland way with cattle  He travelled regions vast; And many months have vanished  Since home-folk saw him last. He hums a song of someone  He hopes to marry soon; And hobble-chains and camp-ware  Keep jingling to the tune.
Beyond the hazy dado  Against the lower skies And yon blue line of ranges  The homestead station lies. And thitherward the drover  Jogs through the lazy noon, While hobble-chains and camp-ware  Are jingling to a tune.
An hour has filled the heavens  With storm-clouds inky black; At times the lightning trickles  Around the drover's track; But Harry pushes onward,  His horses' strength he tries, In hope to reach the river  Before the flood shall rise.
The thunder from above him  Goes rolling o'er the plain; And down on thirsty pastures  In torrents falls the rain. And every creek and gully  Sends forth its little flood, Till the river runs a banker,  All stained with yellow mud.
Now Harry speaks to Rover,  The best dog on the plains, And to his hardy horses,  And strokes their shaggy manes; "We've breasted bigger rivers  When floods were at their height Nor shall this gutter stop us  From getting home to-night!"
The thunder growls a warning,  The ghastly lightnings gleam, As the drover turns his horses  To swim the fatal stream. But, oh! the flood runs stronger  Than e'er it ran before; The saddle-horse is failing,  And only half-way o'er!
When flashes next the lightning,  The flood's grey breast is blank, And a cattle dog and pack-horse  Are struggling up the bank. But in the lonely homestead  The girl will wait in vain — He'll never pass the stations  In charge of stock again.
The faithful dog a moment  Sits panting on the bank, And then swims through the current  To where his master sank. And round and round in circles  He fights with failing strength, Till, borne down by the waters,  The old dog sinks at length.
Across the flooded lowlands  And slopes of sodden loam The pack-horse struggles onward,  To take dumb tidings home. And mud-stained, wet, and weary,  Through ranges dark goes he; While hobble-chains and tinware  Are sounding eerily.
The floods are in the ocean,  The stream is clear again, And now a verdant carpet  Is stretched across the plain. But someone's eyes are saddened,  And someone's heart still bleeds In sorrow for the drover  Who sleeps among the reeds.
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
* published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
* anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
* government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse