Wooloomooloo

Trad

On the day that I was born, it was a cold and a frosty morn
In the famous suburb known as Woolloomooloo
It was down in Riley Street my folks first heard me bleat
‘Cause at the time, I’d nothing else to do
Well me mother died of fright when she saw me in the light
And me father thought he’d sent me to the zoo
But I owe a lot to him, ’cause he taught me how to swim
When he heaved me off the pier at Woolloomooloo

Oh me name it is McCarty and I’m a rorty party
I’m rough and tough as an old man kangaroo
Some people say I’m crazy, I don’t work because I’m lazy
I tag along with the boozing throng, the push from Woolloomooloo

And when I was just a lad I went straightaway to the bad
A larrikin so hard, you’d strike me blue
But the government was kind, they didn’t seem to mind
And in Darlinghurst I spent a night or two
Well the judge gave me a stare and he said “You’re a lair”
They heaved me into Darlinghurst gaol, you understand
They gave me clothes, they cut my hair, I didn’t seem to care
And every night you’d find me in the van

And I spent some years in gaol, ’til I began to quail
I resolved to live upon a different lay
And enlisted in the ranks of the Salvation Army cranks
You can bet I made the bloody business pay
Well hallelujah! I’m a lout, I knows me way about
I kids the mugs that I’m converted too
All the lassies there I mash, I’m never short of cash
‘Cause I beats me drum all over Woolloomoolo

This is an Australian song that we got from Laura Black. A typical larrikin’s song. A larrikin is basically just a hooligan or a trouble maker.