Lilac out round London, primrose and buttercup;
Fields of glowing poppies and he sweet blue-bell;
But for a bunch of gum leaves, real Australian gum leaves
For a bunch of gum leaves the lot I'd sell!
O! The green of England, the rare green of England!
You've seen nothing like it on Australian plains,
Tho' the burnt feed's springing, emerald bright and springing,
All along the timber in the February rains.
But I'd give the green of England, the dazzling green of England,
And the tidy little holdings where holly hedges run,
For a bunch of gum leaves, apple Australian gum leaves,
Drooping in the glory of the Australian sun!
Oak trees, gnarled a hundred years, elder, ash, and beech,
Immemorial forests, and the cowslips in the dell --
But for a bunch of gum leaves, real Australian gum leaves,
For a bench a gum leaves the lot I'd sell!
First published in The Sydney Mail, 5 September 1917
