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Small Fred Everything Possible Guinevere And The Fire My grandmother was born in 1900 On a farm in New South Wales She wed a dairyman Who liked to raise a pint of ale The first child came when she was twenty Five more babes in seven years That first daughter was my mother They called her Guinevere Little Gwen would play beneath the willow "Yes the Queen would love some tea" Helped with chores that never ended Tried to mind tried to please Sometimes she heard the music Wild and strange in the summer night "They're dirty people" warned her mother "Never go near their campfire light" CHORUS: "Stay away from the camp of the blackfellas Little white girls have disappeared They drink and dance when the moon is red Better never let 'em see your golden hair" Came the winter of '27 So cold the milk froze in the pail Her mum hung the nappies by the hearth Her dad in town for a round of ale A spark leapt from the fire that night Wrapped her mother in a gown of flame Flailing dancing in a frenzy Falling down in voiceless pain Stillness and the stench of burning Then so soft 'twas like a ghost "Fetch the Cunninghams" she whispered "Bring me aid or I am lost" The Cunningham house was not two miles away And they the nearest whites Past the camp of the Aboriginals Past the demons of the night CHORUS "I will run to save my mother I must go now I must fly" Still she heard her mother's tales Of the Devil's drums and the evil eye Her mother's breathing ever fainter Gwen frozen in her fright Seven hours till dawn she waited For the safety of the light Now she runs till her feet are bleeding To the house upon the hill Now comes the doctor's wagon speeding To her mother cold and still They laid her down in the Nowra graveyard From the Bible read a verse Children sent to aunts and uncles Some to Melbourne some to Perth Gwen packed her canvas satchel Could not hold the salt tears back Turned to leave her home forever Faced a woman gnarled and black "Child our hearts are heavy Grieving for your loss We live so close by you Why did you not come to us? We hve salves to heal the burning We hve herbs to stop the pain We could have helped had we but known To make your mother whole again" CHORUS |
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