Will I Return To Ballarat Poem by Francis Duggan

Will I return to Ballarat? don't know myself I may
Though I would like to return there if only for a day
To visit again my favourite haunts and meet friends I've got there
No better place than Ballarat though I've been to many where.

I'd love to spend a little while in Buninyong Crown Hotel
And have a drink and share a round with people I know well
And meet old 'Nuffa' one more time if just to say hello
Will I return to Ballarat? don't ask me I don't know.

I'd love to spend an hour or two by lake of Wendouree
The nearest place to heaven itself or so 'twould seem to me
Where man and nature live in peace and wild born bird grow tame
Will I return to Ballarat? my answer still the same.

Will I return to Ballarat? I've returned to there before
And every time I've left that town departure pain hurt more
I'd love to see old Ballarat to visit there again
But I know I might have to leave and is it worth the pain? .

Will I return to Ballarat? don't know can't even say
For distant Lands and distant hills keep beckoning me away
Far from sunny Victoria and that beloved place
My home from home in Ballarat where mine was no strange face.