The Great Divide - John Williamson

It’s funny how you wanna go

When they say you’re gonna stay at home

We’re a land of nomads

Born free to roam

I thought we were a country

But it seems we’re three or four

Can’t go back to my home town

'Cause it’s against the law

Yeah, it’s funny how you wanna go

More than you did before

But I wanna out west

I don’t wanna leave the shore

I just wanna be Australian

There’s so much to explore

Wouldn’t mind seeing my children

But that’s against the law

You can call it the great divide

Not talking about a range

Never in our nation’s history

Has living been so strange

Suddenly, I wanna leave

When I’m told I’ve gotta stay

Many people so close to me

Are now so far away

They’re all south of the border

I’m not talking about Mexico

I’m talking about Australia

Where inland rivers flow

You can call it the great divide

Not talking about a range

Never in our nation’s history

Has living been so strange

Will it be all over

In 2021

A good number for a birthday

A year for everyone?

To celebrate the freedom

Of a land of sweeping plains

Of rugged mountain ranges

Of droughts and flooding rains

Of wallflowers in the springtime

Koalas in the trees

And brolgas flying southward

With the warming summer breeze

It’s just a line on our back

Or a river running through

We should be just as free

As the big red kangaroo

You can call it the great divide

Not talking about a range

Never in our nation’s history

Has living been so strange