King Billy was a blackfellow brave
And lived near the river Murray
From night till morn, from morning till night
He’d never a care nor worry.
His wife lived too in his mia-mia green
Her dresses were few and airy,
She was known to all both far and near
As King Billy’s wife, Black Mary.
Two pickaninnies had this bold king,
A son and a little daughter,
So full of fun, of mischief and pranks,
They always were in hot water.
They stole away, on a sunny day
With a boomerang game to capture,
King Billy had taught his son to hunt
With a father’s pride and rapture.
They wandered far away from their home
Till, close by the shady river,
They heard a sound so fearful and loud
It made these poor children shiver.
“Oh come away” screamed the little girl,
“For I hear the Bunyip roaring”.
As a matter of fact it only was
King Billy loudly snoring.
For after dinner King Billy thought
He’d like a nap by the river
Scarce fast asleep when loud piercing screams
Woke him with his nerves aquiver.
He found his children and took them home
To the mia-mia so green and airy
And now never more they roam away
From King Billy and Black Mary.
Amnesiac Archive 