The Lights of Gladstone

For a while (it’s no stunt) –
In the darkness we must shunt
Till the lights of Gladstone shine again.
It’s so dark in the yard –
We can scarcely see the guard
Till the lights of Gladstone shine again.
So keep your hand-lamp near you –
It’s all you’ve got tonight
To keep those engine drivers
Doing things all right
So don’t moan now they’re gone –
Just grin and carry on
Till the lights of Gladstone shine again.

Notes

Folklorist Ron Edwards writes that this parody comes via:

"Folklore of the Australian Railwaymen by Patsy Adam Smith Macmillan Melbourne 1969 p246.
This one verse parody on the popular wartime song THE LIGHTS OF LONDON appears under what is obviously the incorrect title TILL THE LIGHTS OF LONDON SHINE AGAIN, the key line in the song of which this is a parody. Here is the complete item, written at Gladstone during the black-out 1939-45 war."