From the shade of a Gum tree
The old beam on her way
Where the only bed she knew
Was where the river lay
With home laid out for miles
Beneath the great divide
Looking back, it's hard to tell
Just where her spirit lies
All of four years old
Barely learned to breathe
Mystery of life
Real as the dirt on her knees
Torn from loving arms
To a forced and foreign life
Somewhere between her belonging place
And the white man's wistful smile
Freshwater child
Cootamundra lady
One and the same
Raised in different light
All the while
Her spirit be returning
From the Cootamundra life
To the Freshwater lady
With every passing year
She learned to live their way
Worked hard to keep the heavy hand
And profiteers at bay
Dance among the flames
Decade intense, in tents still
Yet rising from the fire
Like the truth always will
Freshwater child
Cootamundra lady
One and the same
Raised in different light
All the while
Her spirit be returning
From the Cootamundra life
To a Freshwater Lady
Freshwater Lady
Let the water that's been calling
Wash you off your feet
And carry you back to the place
Your spirit's always been
Freshwater child
Cootamundra lady
One and the same
Raised in different light
All the while
Her spirit be returning
From the Cootamundra life
To the Freshwater Lady
From the Cootamundra life
To the Freshwater Lady