I've given the Better part of my days To the consideration Of small things Gingerly went Unpicking the seams Of a long dried-up stream (ya-ho, ya-ho, ya-ho) Dwelling at length Inside the mad waltz Of spores on a gust Of the mind's hair And when I dream I really go To that ocean of stone (ya-ho, ya-ho, ya-ho) In the shadowed shallows Our spirit wells Move closer Move closer On the radio I hear the blue hills Move closer Here and there When I was young The better part of my days Were spent to the nursing of my mum I found my pleasure Whenever I could In tennis and piano (ya-ho, ya-ho, ya-ho) And though we were half-broke I managed to go To study at the university Of melbourne (ya-ho, ya-ho, ya-ho) In the shadowed shallows Our spirit wells Move closer Move closer On the radio I hear the blue hills Move closer Here and there A week at sea The better part of my days Holed up in the cabin Lost in Boundless Study I'm on my way To the UK With ethel mclennan (ya-ho, ya-ho, ya-ho) Unfortunately The fungal Cultures We brought with us Have started To degrade There are no birds No bushes or trees No beasts Nor people Only this Single stem