Swingin' Douglas[1]
THERE'S a breeze about the mountain, it is singin' in the trees
A song to mock the little men who choose to live at ease,
Or play at toil or pleasure where their fellows crowd and push;
But put my good axe in my hand and leave me in the bush—
And it's: Hey, boy!
Hi, boy!
Heave it in the wood!
Oh, the green bush is around us, and the smell of it is good.
The great bush is before us, and a giant's task to do.
And hearty men and hefty men alone may see it thro'.
So it's: Ho, boys!
Hey, boys !
Swing it with a will!
For the saws are howlin' hungry for logs, down at the mill.
The hope for man is honest work, an' out-o'-doors his place,
The good brown earth beneath him an' the clean breeze in his face;
The work for man is with his hands, his muscles strong as steel,
When health an' strength within him make him feel as he should
feel.
- ↑ Douglas— the Bushman's axe, so called after a famous maker.
