The Man From Tailem Bend Poem by Francis Duggan

He'll go back to grow old in Tailem Bend to where he first saw light of day
Down south in the Land of the Coorong where old Murray slowly winds his way
Through the wide and the flat brown country on his journey down to the sea
Where he has been flowing forever and few are as ancient as he.

Not born to be an Urban person he comes from a much smaller Town
He has grown tired of the noise of the traffic that all day long pass up and down
Through the noisy streets of the big City where smog and pollution is rife
In Tailem Bend where he was raised in a much more relaxed style of life.

The man from Tailem Bend he feels homesick for his Hometown and his many friends there
In the big City he'll always be a stranger the rustic fellow from elsewhere
You can take the man from the Country Town but the Country Town in him remain
In his dreams he sees the old Murray and he visits his Hometown again.

He will go back home to South Australia to grow into old age and die
To Tailem Bend and the old Coorong where he went to school as a boy
In his dreams he sees the old Murray the great river flowing deep and brown
Slowly winding his way through the flatlands by Tailem Bend his old Hometown.