Bruce Woodleyreturn to 'Made by the Seekers'
Bruce Woodley
I am Australian
(For me this song is his masterpiece. The best song he has ever written)
For the guitar players I have included the chords in the text
Droning C bass tone (alt. already now chords)
C
I came from the dream-time,
F
C
from the dusty, red-soil plains;
Am
I am the ancient heart,
F G
C
the keeper of the flame.
C
I stood upon the rocky shores,
F
G Am
F
I watched the tall ships come;
C
Dm
For forty thousand years I've been
F
G C
the first Australian.
Still droning C bass tone but chords slowly start now
C
I came upon the prison ship,
F C
bowed down by iron chains;
Am
I fought the land, endured the lash
F G C
and waited for the rains.
C
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife,
F G Am F
on a dry and barren run;
C Dm
A convict, then a free man,
F G C
I became Australian.
C
I'm the daughter of a digger,
F C
who sought the mother load;
Am
The girl became a woman
F G C
on the long and dusty road.
C
I'm a child of the depression,
F G Am F
I saw the good times come;
C Dm
I'm a Bushy, I'm a battler,
F G C
I am Australian.
Chorus:
C
F C
We are one, but we are many;
Am
G
C
And from all the lands on earth we come.
C
F C
We'll share a dream, and sing with one voice,
F G Am G F
G C
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I'm a teller of stories,
I'm a singer of songs;
I am Albert Namatjira
and I paint the ghostly gums.
I'm Clancy on his horse,
I'm Ned Kelly on the run;
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda,
I am Australian.
I'm the hot wind from the desert,
I'm the black soil of the plains;
I'm the mountains and the valleys,
I'm the drought and flooding rains.
I am the rock, I am the sky,
the rivers when they run;
The spirit of this great land,
I am Australian.
(Chorus twice)
We are one, but we are many;
And from all the lands on earth we come.
We'll share a dream, and sing with one voice,
I am, you are, we are Australian.
I am, you are, we are Australian.
A special thank you to my son Lars for helping me tremendously in working out the chords