by Cary Kembla
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THE BALLAD OF THE KELLY GANG
Ned was born on a poor selection
Dan Kelly, a few years behind
When their daddy died in prison for horse theft
It put his boys on the poverty line
So they headed bush to make a living
Rustling cattle across the border land
When mates Joe Byrne and Steve Hart joined them
They created an outlaw band
Back in town Ned brawled with Sergeant Lonigan
For riding drunk off the road, Ned cursed
I've never killed a man, but if I do
By god you'll be the first!
Unrelated to the preacher
Unrelated to the law
On the bust and broken byways
Is where you find your own
When the farm is full of horsemen
When the town's been bought and sold
Out on the hot and haunted highways
Is where you find your own
For two years the gang roamed Victoria
Heisting banks, stealing horses and arms
But during the course of their exploits
Not an innocent man was harmed
Cops Lonigan, Scanlan and Kennedy
Were tipped off where they could be found
But in a clearing in the scrub at Stringy Bark Creek
The gang laid them all to the ground
Then Joe Byrne tracked down the informer
There's a price for those who sing
Then through the frost under the Southern Cross
A single shot did ring
Unrelated to the preacher
Unrelated to the law
On the bust and broken byways
Is where you find your own
When the farm is full of horsemen
When the town's been bought and sold
Out on the hot and haunted highways
Is where you find your own
They were wanted by the bankers
They were wanted by the law
They were wanted by the colony governor
Who posted a massive reward
So they headed to Glen Rowan station
And took hostage the railway man
Then retreated inside the town hotel
To make their final stand
The cops lit a fire to flush them
And as the sky turned a bloody red
Ned picked up his helmet with a slit for eyes
And lowered it onto his head
Unrelated to the preacher
Unrelated to the law
On the bust and broken byways
Is where you find your own
When the farm is full of horsemen
When the town's been bought and sold
Out on the hot and haunted highways
Is where you find your own
© 2021 Cary Kembla
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