Joy McKean - Indian Pacific

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Slim Dusty – Chronicler of the Bush

Hands on songwriters

Indian Pacific
Written by Joy McKean, recorded by Slim Dusty

From coast to coast by night and day
Hear the clicking of the wheels,
The humming of the diesel
On her ribbons of steel.
Carrying the memories
Of a nation built by hand,
See the Indian Pacific span the land

She’s the pride of all the railway men
‘Cross country where she flies,
From the blue Pacific waters
To where the mountains rise.
By lakes and wide brown rivers
Through desert country dry,
See the Indian Pacific passing by

Chorus
Oh the Indian Pacific
She goes rollin’ down the track,
Five thousand miles to travel,
Before she’s there and back.

Beside the line a drover waves
His battered old grey hat.
The kids are catching yabbies
Down by the river flat,
And a woman hangs her washing
In a backyard near the line,
As the Indian Pacific's rolling fine.

Hear the whistle blowin' lonely
'Neath Nullarbor starlight,
Saluting those who walked across
The track she rides tonight,
Calling to the railway camps
And fettlers on the line,
I'm The Indian Pacific, right on time

From the silver of the Broken Hill
To old Kalgoorli gold,
She mirrors all the colours
Of a land so hard and old,
Then the western flowers are blooming
And the air is just like wine,
And the Indian Pacific’s makin’ time

Chorus
Oh the Indian Pacific
She goes rollin’ down the track,
Five thousand miles to travel,
Before she’s there and back.
From the waters of the western sea
To the eastern ocean sand,
The Indian Pacific spans the land
Oh, the Indian Pacific spans the land.

© 1977 Slim Dusty Enterprises Pty Ltd.
International copyright secured.
All rights reserved. Used by permission

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