Lament of the Chiming Wedgebill

When the wind’s from the north, love
I can hear the railway line
That low, lonesome whistle
Comes floating through the night
And I dream of departure
Of a suitcase by the door
And I wake in the morning
As weary as before I fell asleep
When the wind’s from the west, love
I can smell the distant sea
And ten thousand teardrops
Come flooding back to me
I’d almost forgotten
How we spoke of setting sail
That evening gin-sodden
The moon a fingernail scratched in the sky
For we’d seen the sorrow summer brings
Where the chiming wedgebill sings
«Oh why did you get drunk?
Why did you get drunk?»
But when the wind’s from the south, love
You’re only half an hour from here
I hardly need pedal
And that hill just disappears
The silos stands silent
Down that endless railway line
The district’s deserted
The sunset might be mine
And yours, of course
But I’ve seen the sorrow summer brings
Where the chiming wedgebill sings
«Oh why did you get drunk?
Why did you get drunk?
Why did you get drunk?
Oh why did you get drunk?»