Aussie Barbecue

by Eric Bogle

When the steaks are burning fiercely

When the smoke gets in your eyes

When the snags¹ all taste like fried toothpaste

And your mouth is full of flies

It's a national institution

It's Australian through and through

So come on mate and grab your plate

Let's have a barbecue

When the summer sun is shining on Australia's happy land

Round countless fires in strange attires you'll see many solemn bands

Of glum Australians watching their lunch go up in flames

By the smoke and the smell you can plainly tell that it's barby time again

The Scots eat lots of haggis, the French eat snails and frogs

The Greeks go crackers over their moussakas and the Chinese love hot dogs

Welshmen love to have a leek, the Irish like their stew

But you just can't beat that half-cooked meat at an Aussie barbecue

There's flies stuck to the margarine, the bread has gone rock-hard

The kids are fighting and the mossies² are biting, who forgot the Aerogard³

There's bull ants in the Esky⁴ and the beer is running out

And what you saw in Mum's coleslaw you just don't think about

And when the barby's over and your homeward way you wend

With a queasy tummy on the family dunny⁵ many lonely hours you spend

You might find yourself reflecting, like many often do

Come rain or shine that's the bloody last time that you'll have a barbecue.

1. snags = sausages  2. mossies = mosquitoes  3. Aerogard = insect repellent  
4. Esky = portable ice-box  5. dunny = toilet

Tune: Kelty Clippie