The Man From Snowy River chords by Slim Dusty

• Difficulty: Beginner

Key: G

Verse 1:
D             D7        G        D
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
     G      Em         A
That the colt from old Regret had got away
D          D7       G        D
And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound




G         A        D
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
    G                D
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
                 A
Had mustered at the homestead overnight
D       D7        G        D
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are
G         A      D
And the stockhorse snuffs the battle with delight.

Verse 2:
D             D7        G        D
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup
G        Em         A
The old man with his hair as white as snow;
    D       D7        G        D
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up -
     G      A          D
He would go wherever horse and man could go.
  G              D
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand
A
No better horseman ever held the reins;
  D         D7         G         D
For never horse could throw him while the saddle girths would stand
G          A       D
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.

Verse 3:
D          D7       G        D
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast
G        Em         A
He was something like a racehorse undersized
D       D7         G        D
With a touch of Timor pony - three parts thoroughbred at least -
     G      A          D
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
    G                 D
He was hard and tough and wiry - just the sort that won't say die -
                 A
There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
    D         D7       G        D
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye
G        A        D
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.

Verse 4:
D            D7        G         D
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay
G          Em        A
And the old man said, "That horse will never do
    D       D7         G        D
For a long and tiring gallop - lad, you'd better stop away
G         A         D
Those hills are far too rough for such as you."
    G              D
So he waited sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend -
                    A
"I think we ought to let him come," he said;
  D         D7        G       D
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end
G       A        D
For both his horse and he are mountain bred.

Verse 5:
  D        D7      G      D
"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side
G         Em         A
Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough
D           D7         G         D
Where a horse's hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride
G         A      D
The man that holds his own is good enough.
    G             D
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home
A
Where the river runs those giant hills between;
    D       D7        G         D
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam
G    A        D
But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen."

Verse 6:
   D           D7      G      D
So he went - they found the horses by the big mimosa clump -
   G      Em          A
They raced away towards the mountain's brow
D        D7        G        D
And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump
G       A      D
No use to try for fancy riding now.
   G           D
And
Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
                   A
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills
D       D7        G        D
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight
G         A        D
If once they gain the shelter of those hills."

Verse 7:
  D       D7         G       D
So Clancy rode to wheel them - he was racing on the wing
     G        Em        A
Where the best and boldest riders take their place
D          D7        G        D
And he raced his stockhorse past them, and he made the ranges ring
     G        A        D
With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
     G      D
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash
A
But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view
D          D7        G        D
And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash
G      A          D
And off into the mountain scrub they flew.

Verse 8:
   D         D7         G        D
Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black
  G       Em        A
Resounded to the thunder of their tread
D          D7        G         D
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
   G           A      D
From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
  G      D
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way
A
Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
     D        D7        G        D
And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day
G         A       D
No man can hold them down the other side."

Verse 9:
     D           D7      G       D
When they reached the mountain's summit, even Clancy took a pull
G          Em         A
It well might make the boldest hold their breath
D          D7        G         D
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
  G           A    D
Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
    G       D
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head
A
And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer
D         D7       G        D
And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed
G        A        D
While the others stood and watched in very fear.




Verse 10:
      D      D7       G       D
He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet
G         Em       A
He cleared the fallen timber in his stride
D       D7     G       D
And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat -
    G         A         D
It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
      G        D
Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground
A
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
    D       D7       G        D
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
G       A      D
At the bottom of that terrible descent.



Verse 11:
    D        D7       G          D
He was right among the horses as they climbed the further hill
G        Em        A
And the watchers on the mountain standing mute
D         D7        G        D
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still
G        A       D
As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
     G       D
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
                   A
In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals
   D        D7        G       D
On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet
G       A       D
With the man from Snowy River at their heels.



Verse 12:
    D        D7        G           D
And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
  G        Em         A
He followed like a bloodhound on their track
D        D7       G           D
Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home
G       A          D
And alone and unassisted brought them back.
    G       D
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot
A
He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
    D        D7         G       D
But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot
G       A        D
For never yet was mountain horse a cur.



Verse 13:
  D       D7       G        D
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
   G        Em       A
Their torn and rugged battlements on high
D        D7        G         D
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
  G        A        D
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky
G        D
And where around The Overflow the reed beds sweep and sway
                      A
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide
D        D7    G       D
The man from Snowy River is a household word today
Outro:
    G         A      D
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
    G         A      D
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
    G         A      D
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
    G         A      D
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.