With my head stuck in the glove box cursin searchin for a key
When a voice said Gday Dusty, bloody well remember me
I looked up yes it was Sonny, I couldnt place him for awhile
Cause his face was rather beaten from a pretty hard lifestyle

Yes wed been kids together, on the farm we were good friends 
But our pasts have really drifted unbelievably since then
And our meetings seem quite regular every two or three years now
It gets harder now to pick up threads and talk to him somehow

With pride he spoke of old times and his family doing well
One brother in a mansion by the seaside with the swells
Oh hed won and lost some fortunes some for better mainly worse
Had hard luck with the horses and an everlasting thirst

But hes always in the big time on the up and up you know
And hes always heading somewhere in the search for bigger dough
But his life of beer and brawling in the road camps and the mines

His life was not so great at all as I read between the lines

Yes wed been kids together, on the farm we were good friends 
But our pasts have really drifted unbelievably since then
And our meetings seem quite regular every two or three years now
It gets harder now to pick up threads and talk to him somehow

But Ive met him in the city in the midst of maddened rush
And Ive met him in the big towns and small pubs in the bush
But my heart was rather saddened for a life damn near destroyed
I was looking at an old man that I once knew as a boy

We talked awhile and I noticed how he checked the time
The pubs would soon be open but his offer I declined
So he said Ill see yer Dusty on the street we shook hands then
And I wondered what might happen before we meet again

Yes wed been kids together, on the farm we were good friends 
But our pasts have really drifted unbelievably since then
Oh he reminded me of Sweeny, youve heard that song before
As he gave a lurch and headed for the nearest swinging door

[From the LP On the Wallaby June 1983
Barcoo Bill]