5231. The New England Cocky (Traditional Australian) Stonnington U3A

A song from my prersentation at Stonnington U3A - Australian History in Song Part 5: Squatters and Cockies. This humorous song about a dying farmer was published in Banjo Patterson's "Old Bush Songs" (1924). Probably the best-known version is "The Inglewood Cocky", collected by John Manifold. "New England" refers to the part of New South Wales around Armidale and Tamworth. Lyrics and chords: G ................................... D7 ........ C ................... G 'Twas a New England Cocky, as late I've been told, ............................. D7 ............. G .............. D7 Who died, so 'tis said, on account of the cold. ........... G ........... D7 ................ C ..................... G When dying he called to his children "Come here! ............. C ......... G .............. D7 ............... G "As I'm dying, I want all my fortune to share. "Dear children, you know I've toiled early and late. I've struggled with Nature, and wrestled with Fate. Then all do your best to my fortune repair; And to my son John I leave our pet native bear. "To Mary I give her my pet kangaroo. May it prove to turn out a great blessing, too; To Michael I'm leaving the old cockatoo, And to Bridget I'll give her the piebald emu. "To the others whatever is left I will leave. Don't quarrel, or else my poor spirit will grieve; There's the fish in the stream, and the fowl on the lake. Let each have as much as he's able to take. "My fortune I've fairly divided with you, And that is the best your poor father can do." And these were the last words his children did hear: "Don't forget that I reared you on pumpkin and beer." You can see a playlist of my Australian songs here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list... I am now posting lyrics to the information panels on all my videos. Any that are too long to post in full will be found on my website: https://raymondsfolkpage.wordpress.com