"S. McLaren" wrote:

Hello,I hear this (the chorus only though) on the box from time to time. Who
wrote the song?I must say I do like the chorus very much. Seems a very
appropriate song to sing now for some reason.... except for the Ned Kelly
part.

I came from the dream-time, from the dusty, red-soil plains;
I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the flame.
I stood upon the rocky shores, I watched the tall ships come;
For forty thousand years I'd been the first Australian.


Beautiful, isn't it? It was written by Bruce Woodley (of The Seekers)
and Dobe Newton, who is rarely given any credit for his input to such a
well-known piece.

There's another song, also by Bruce Woodley, called 'Can We Learn to Get
Along?'. It was featured on what I think was the very first Seekers'
album ('The Seekers') and the lyrics express very similar sentiments to
'I Am Australian' with a quite different and very lovely melody. I've
been searching for over an hour, but I'm afraid I can't find those
lyrics *any*where on the Net! :-(

I'd love to find them, as I used to sing and play 'Can We Learn to Get
Along' as a teenager and I'd like to again before I sink into
decrepitude... =:-O

Anyway, HTH,
--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia