INTRO (Spoken Monologue) They talk about the dangers Down Australia way… The landscape and the animals, The things we live with every day. Here’s a story - real and true, No myth, no tall tale spun… Just one small moment from a childhood When trouble came… and found someone. Verse 1 When we were kids we went camping With Mum, Dad, and Grandpop too, Cars and trailers in a long slow line West of Narrabri, New South Wales through. Ten kilometres out we stopped, Pitched the tents by the river bend, Fishing, swimming, wildflowers picked, Days that never seemed to end. Verse 2 Pop and Dad on the riverbank, Lines cast quiet in the brown, Mum and kids at the marquee tent Fixing lunch while the sun beat down. Then a holler split the afternoon, Sharp and urgent - no debate, “Quick, Maryanne, sit on that bucket!” Obedience ruled… I didn’t wait. Chorus My eyes looked round, no questions asked, No time to reason why, I parked myself upon that bucket, Jammed the smell of bait inside. In my family, when you’re told to move, You move - that was the rule, So I sat right there and held my place, Just doing what I was told to do. Verse 3 Then I saw what the fuss was about, Five dark shapes from out the scrub, Growling, squealing, rooting round, Snouts in dirt and kicking mud. Closer still they edged toward me, Sniffing, nudging all around, I met the eyes of a striped piglet Set on what that pail pinned down. Pre-Chorus A big black boar with heavy tusks (They’ve grown with every telling since), The mother tried to hold them back, But the small one showed no sense. Chorus Voices rang above the snorts and squeals, “Get out of here! Go on, shoo!” And I remember thinking quietly then, You get over here and do what I do. I shrank myself to half my size, Tried to vanish where I’d sat, Protecting bait with all I had While danger breathed just off my back. Bridge The story’s true - every word of it, Just one thing I never knew, Only later did I come to learn What feral pigs can really do. Dad said I was brave that day, Said I couldn’t have been harmed, But time has taught me different truths About risk… and childhood calm. Final Chorus I sat on that bucket by the riverbank, A child doing as she’s told, Standing firm between fear and trust Before I was old enough to know. One small moment from a camping trip That time refused to lose, Ten kilometres from Narrabri In borrowed courage - and not even shoes. Outro (Spoken) The river runs the same way still, Wide and steady, brown and deep, One bucket, one long held breath… A memory I still keep. So when you meet an Aussie danger, Think of that little girl - Who faced her fear without a quit, Doing the Aussie Bucket Sit.
