The Camel Boy

They called him Camel Boy
But he was a man
He walked behind us… with a billy
He tended the campfire … and he made the tea
Drowned in the colours … we didn’t see
And the ghost gums stand … gleaming white
Showed him a paint brush … he showed us the light
I apologise … for the condescension
Paid no attention to the pain of the Camel Boy
It’s Namatjira … he became the one
We remember … all alone
Under a huge sky … with a gentle hand
Painted the pictures … of an ancient land
What fools we were … what did we mean
Dressed in white … to meet the queen
Take down her picture … hang up a ghost gum
Put up a landscape… by the Camel Boy
'Cause her majesty… was in his eye
The 'sleeping lubra', the Aranda sky
I apologise… for the condescension
Paid no attention to the pain of the Camel Boy
And the ghost gums stand … gleaming white
Showed him a paint brush … he showed us the light
Drowned in the colours … we didn’t see
What a man was he … Albert the Camel Boy
Albert the Camel Boy
Namatjira the Camel Boy