Banjo Paterson: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Been There Before

Banjo Paterson

“Been There Before” as printed in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses (1895).

Banjo Paterson: Collected Lyrics Text 2 1895 · historical text
Public domainBush balladAustralian song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

There came a stranger to Walgett town,

To Walgett town when the sun was low,

And he carried a thirst that was worth a crown,

Yet how to quench it he did not know;

But he thought he might take those yokels down,

The guileless yokels of Walgett town.

Verse 2

They made him a bet in a private bar,

In a private bar when the talk was high,

And they bet him some pounds no matter how far

He could pelt a stone, yet he could not shy

A stone right over the river so brown,

The Darling river at Walgett town.

Verse 3

He knew that the river from bank to bank

Was fifty yards, and he smiled a smile

As he trundled down, but his hopes they sank

For there wasn't a stone within fifty mile;

For the saltbush plain and the open down

Produce no quarries in Walgett town.

Verse 4

The yokels laughed at his hopes o'erthrown,

And he stood awhile like a man in a dream;

Then out of his pocket he fetched a stone,

And pelted it over the silent stream—

He had been there before: he had wandered down

On a previous visit to Walgett town.

Credits

Written by Banjo Paterson

Words by Banjo Paterson. Historical text published in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses (1895); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses (1895), “Been There Before”

A. B. "Banjo" Paterson (1864-1941) died more than 84 years ago; his works entered the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions in 2012, and the 1895 first edition is in the public domain in the United States. Entries credited to other hands are held unless their author died more than 70 years ago.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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