The Drovers Boy chords by Amanda Palmer

G
They couldn't understand why the drover cried
              D
As they buried the drover's boy
  G
The Drover had always seemed so hard



          D
To the men in his employ
 Am         G
A bolting horse, the stirrup lost
             D
And the drover's boy was dead
  Em    D    Em   D
The shovelled dirt, a mumbled word
     Em        Am
And it's back to the road ahead
    C       D    Em
And forget about the drover's boy

Forget about the drover's boy


     G
And they couldn't understand why the drover cut
             D
A lock of the dead boy's hair
  G
And put it in the band of his battered old hat
               D
As they watched him standing there
    Am          G
And he told them to take the cattle on
            D
I'll sit with the boy a while
 Em   D     Em   D
A silent thought, a pipe to smoke
     Em      Am
And it's ride another mile
  C        D    Em
And forget about the drover's boy

Forget about the drover's boy


     G
And they couldn't make out why the drover and the boy
           D
Always camped so far away
    G
For the tall white man and the slim black boy
         D
Never had much to say
    Am            G
And the boy would be gone at the break of dawn
         D
Tail the horses, carry on
     Em   D     Em    D
While the drover roused the sleeping men
Emn        Am
Daylight – hit the road again
  C     D    Em
And follow the drover's boy

Follow the drover's boy


In the Camooweal Pub they talked about

The death of the drover's boy

They drank their rum with the stranger who'd come

From the Kimberley run
Fitzroy

And he told of the massacre in the west

Barest details – guess the rest

Shoot the bucks, grab a gin

Cut her hair, break her in

And call her a boy – the drover's boy
Em
Call her a boy – the drover's boy


       Am          G
So when they build that stockman's hall of fame
            D
And they talk about the droving game
 Em     D      Em     D
Remember the girl who was bedmate and guide
Em      D   Em   D
Rode with the drover side by side
Em     D     Em     D
Watched the bullocks, flayed the hide
Em    D    Em  D
Faithful wife but never bride
Em    D      Em   D
Bred his sons for the cattle run
     Em
But don't weep for the drover's boy
   Em
Don't mourn for the drover's boy

But don't forget the drover's boy