The Woy Woy Workers Train

A poem by Joe Fernside (1952).
Roger Ilott - vocals, guitar, banjo. Penny Davies - whistle.

Have you ever travelled to Sydney
On the Woy Woy Workers Train?
It rattles along the railway
It rattles through your brain
Fills your clothes with smoke and soot
Filthy dirt and grime
You never travel in comfort
And you never get there on time.

You run to catch the dreary thing
Quite early in the morn,
You gaze out of the windows
For the breaking of the dawn.
Everything looks dreary
Nothing's looking right,
And half the flamin' carriages
Don't even have a light.

As the train pulls into Woy Woy
The crowd all gives a roar,
Starts climbing through the windows,
And breaking down the doors,
They got no seats to sit on
So they stand up with a frown,
The whistle blows, the engine goes
And you head for Sydney town.

You come to the Hawkesbury River
Put an engine in the lead,
There's twice the smoke soot and grime
And half the bloody speed.
They say we own the railways
But they don't belong to me,
We only pay the interest to
The Bigwigs overseas.

The train pulls out from Brooklyn
Climbs up the Hawkesbury Hill
The darn thing travels such a speed
You'd swear your standing still!
When at last you get to work
The boss is in a rage
And when it comes to payday
He docks your bloody wage.

They say we own the railways
There's breakdowns here and there
If the people own the railways
I'll give away my share
You never travel in comfort
You always get there late,
We want to change the system
Cause the whole things out of date!

Notes

Collected by the Bush Music Club.