The Camel Boy John Williamson

They called him Camel Boy
But he was a man
He walked behind us ...with a billy
He tended the campfire ... and he made the tea
Drowned in the colours ... we didn't see

And the ghost gums stand ... gleaming white
Showed him a paint brush ... he showed us the light
I apologise ... for the condescension
Paid no attention to the pain of the Camel Boy

It's Namatjira ... he became the one
We remember ... all alone
Under a huge sky ... with a gentle hand
Painted the pictures ... of an ancient land

What fools we were ... what did we mean
Dressed in white ... to meet the queen
Take down her picture ... hang up a ghost gum
Put up a landscape... by the Camel Boy

'Cause her majesty... was in his eye
The 'sleeping lubra', the Aranda sky
I apologise...for the condescension
Paid no attention to the pain of the Camel Boy