Perfectly pretty, perfectly shy Little girl from the dryland, wonderin' why There's no trees on the south side To stop that howlin' wind Little girl from the dryland Only the creaky weatherboards Painted the milky green Keepin' that scary world outside It's bangin' on the windows Blowin' the washin' off the line Callin' out for that little girl on the dryland Two older brothers, y' sister and you One little nipper, another one due Hiding under the homestead
When strangers come along Father out on the wheatfield You hide the whisky, but then what for? Your father is awake to you But you are 'protector' And your mother always knew You wondered why you were born Out on a wheatfield You know there is much more to life Than sky and endless plains Your father told you stories of the war Of Singapore and Paris, and how you long to go But you are young, and stuck out on the dryland