Bill

He shall live to the end of this mad old world
As he lived since the world began
He never has done any good for himself
But been good to every man
He never has done any good for himself
And I'm sure that he never will
He drinks an' he swears an' he fights at times
And his name is mostly Bill
He carried a freezing mate to his cave
And nursed him for all I know
When Europe was mainly a sheet of ice
Thousands of years ago
He has stuck for many a mate since then
He is with us everywhere still
He loves and gambles when he is young
And the girls all stick up for Bill
He has thirsted on deserts that others might drink
He has given, lest others should lack
He has staggered, half blinded through fire or drought
With a sick man on his back
He is first to the rescue in tunnel or shaft
From Bulli to Broken Hill
When the water breaks in or the fire breaks out
A Leader of men is Bill
He is good for the noblest sacrifice

He can do what few men can
He will break his heart that the girl he loves
May marry a better man
And there's many a mother an' wife tonight
Whose heart an' eyes will fill
When she thinks of the days of long ago
When she well might have stuck to Bill
Maybe he's in trouble or hard up now
Travelling far for work
Or fighting a dead past down tonight
In a lone camp west of Burke
When he's happy an' flush take your sorrows to him
And borrow as much as you will
But when he's in trouble or stoney broke
Why, you never will hear from Bill
And when because of it's million sins
This earth is cracked like a shell
He would stand by a mate at the judgement gate
And comfort him down in hell
I haven't much sentiment left to waste
But let cynics sneer if they will
Perhaps God will fix up the world again
For the sake of the likes of Bill