Page Text: There was a big sky rocket at the Lion’s park
I could see the whole town through the bars at the top
And I counted from 10 to “blast-off”
But I knew that we’d never leave the tan bark
We didn’t have holidays growing up
We were always milking and always broke
And all mum wanted was a suntan
She talked dad into driving up to Queensland
I met my country from the back of a car
Outside of Stawell saw a big koala
Flying up the Newell to the big guitar
I come from a little place but I’ve seen a lot of big things
If you want a family fight here’s a recipe:
Pack three of us boys in a cramped back seat
And drive for a day to Sydney
Get mum to read a map. Get dad to tow a van through the city
Every road leads to the Harbour bridge
Every bugger’s in the lane you want to merge in
So many one way streets in this damn town
And you can’t hang a U-ie with a caravan
I met my country in the back of a car
Saw a big pineapple, a big banana
So much fruit made of fibreglass
I come from a little place but I’ve seen a lot of big things
We filled a camera roll at the picnic spots up and down the coast
So many family pics standing awkwardly posed
In front of big things
When we get back home the cows are waiting for dad
Mum’s sunburn faded and she never tanned
I went back to the rocket park
And I took another look at my town from the top
I saw dad’s overalls on the laundry floor
Blackened and singed from an SES call
I saw mum in her gumboots in the living room
Trying to sweep out the river with a K-mart broom
I’ve seen a kitchen bench full of casserole dishes
That the neighbours brought when my mum got sick
And I’ve seen a big fire, I’ve seen a big flood I’ve seen a little town with a great big heart
And I know that this rocket won’t ever launch
But there are big things here without flying up North
I come from a little place but I’ve seen a lot of big things
I come from a little place but I’ve seen a lot of big things From a big sky rocket at the Lion’s park
3. This Song Reminds Me
Written by Michael Waugh
This song reminds me of being young and partying
Fitting in stretch denim jeans
Feeling like I could say almost anything to you
This song reminds me of sleeping bags in living rooms
Whispers after ‘lights out boys’
Trying not to laugh too loud or make your folks annoyed
I couldn’t sing you all the words
Or name the band who sang that tune
These are things that you forget
But this song remembers
This song was playing when you and I got really pissed
Took my dad’s quad bike out
Crashed it in an irrigation ditch
We were singing this song camping on Macalister’s banks
Drunk again and trying to pitch a tent
Daring you to pee on that electric fence
I couldn’t sing you all the words
Or name the band who sang that tune
These are things that you forget
But this song remembers
Paul Kelly, Daddy Cool, Midnight Oil, Aussie Crawl, Weddings and Parties
Baby Animals, Hoodoo Gurus, Nick Cave & The Birthday Party
Barnsey and Diesel, Accadacca, Chisel, Braithwaite, Farnham – These songs know
This came on the radio
I was driving home from work
Sang all the lyrics wrong
Didn’t we used to know that song?
In between the traffic jams and the life I’ve planned
I haven’t thought of you in a while
This is the soundtrack to where I’ve been
I turn it up and I tune back in
To Paul Kelly, Daddy Cool, Midnight Oil, Aussie Crawl, Weddings and Parties
Baby Animals, Hoodoo Gurus, Nick Cave & The Birthday Party
Barnsey and Diesel, Accadacca, Chisel, Braithwaite, Farnham, Mental as Anything
The Saints and The Church and Goanna and Redgum,
Hunters and Collectors and (these songs know)
Spiderbait, Magic Dirt (these songs know)
Powderfinger, Men at Work (these songs know)
Divinyls, Angels, INXS, You Am I, Screaming Jets, Deborah Conway, Yothu Yindhi
These songs remind me of being young and partying.