The night is on the creep
Shut out the noise all around
Sleep, Australia, sleep
And dream of counting sheep
Jumping in fields coloured brown
Who’ll rock the cradle and cry?
Who’ll rock the cradle and cry?
Sleep, Australia, sleep
Dust storms west of Orange on January 19.Credit:Nick Moir
As off the cliff the kingdoms leap
Count them as they say goodbye
Count down the little things
The insects and birds
Count down the bigger things
The flocks and the herds
Count down our rivers
Our pastures and trees
But there’s no need to hurry
Paul Kelly’s Sleep Australia Sleep will be released this week.Credit:Morgan Hancock
Oh, sleep now, don’t worry
‘Coz it’s only a matter of degrees
Fog, Australia, fog
Just like the boiling frog
As we go we won’t feel a thing
Who’ll rock the cradle and cry?
Who’ll rock the cradle and cry?
Sleep, my country, sleep
As off the cliff the kingdoms leap
A dead kangaroo and koala are carried to a mass grave on Kangaroo Island on January 8.Credit:Maree Williams/Getty
Count them as they pass on by
Our children might know them
But their children will not
We won’t know ‘til it’s gone
All the glory we’ve got
But there are more wonders coming
All new kinds of shows
With acid seas rising
To kiss coastal mountains
Burnt melaleuca at Bastion Point, Mallacoota.Credit:Justin McManus
Big cyclones pounding
And fireballs devouring
And we’ll lose track of counting
As the corpses keep mounting
But that’s just the way this old world goes
Sleep, my country, sleep
As we sow so shall we reap
Who’ll rock the cradle and cry?
Retro-styled artwork for Paul Kelly’s Sleep, Australia, SleepCredit:Arielle Gamble
Paul Kelly’s single of Sleep, Australia, Sleep will be released on EMI Music on Wednesday.
Loading
Most Viewed in Culture
Loading
