Bradman

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Sydney, 1926: this is the story of a man Just a kid in from the sticks, just a kid with a plan St George took a gamble, played him in first grade Pretty soon that young man showed them how to flash the blade And at the age of nineteen, he was playing for the state From Adelaide to Brisbane, the runs did not abate He hit 'em hard, he hit 'em straight [Chorus] He was more than just a batsman He was something like a tide More than just one man He could take on any side They always came for Bradman 'Cause fortune used to hide In the palm of his hands In the palm of his hands [Verse 2] A team came out from England Wally Hammond wore his felt hat like a chief All through the summer of '28–'29 They gave the green-caps no relief Some reputations came to grief They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn And in the hour of greatest slaughter The great avenger is being born But who then could have seen the shape of things to come? In Bradman's first Test, he went for eighteen and for one They dropped him like a gun Now big Maurice Tate was the trickiest of them all And a man with a wisecracking habit But there's one crack that won't stop ringing in his ears "Hey, Whitey! That's my rabbit" Bradman never forgot it [Chorus] He was more than just a batsman He was something like a tide More than just one man He was a match for any side Fathers took their sons 'Cause fortune used to hide In the palm of his hands In the palm of his hands [Bridge] La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la [Verse 3] England, 1930: and the seed burst into flower All of Jackson's grace failed him, it was Bradman was the power He murdered them in Yorkshire, he danced for them in Kent He laughed at them in Leicestershire, Leeds was an event Three-hundred runs he took, and rewrote all the books That really knocked those gents The critics could not comprehend this nonchalant phenomenon "Why, this man is a machine!", they said "Even his friends say he isn't human" Even friends have to cut something [Chorus] He was more than just a batsman He was something like a tide More than just one man He was half the side Fathers took their sons 'Cause fortune used to hide In the palm of his hands In the palm of his hands [Verse 4] Summer, 1932: and Captain Douglas had a plan When Larwood bowled to Bradman, it was more than man to man And staid Adelaide nearly boiled over, as rage ruled over sense When Bert Oldfield hit the ground, they nearly jumped the fence Now, Bill Woodfull was as fine a man as ever went to wicket And the bruises on his body that day showed that he could stick it But to this day he's still quoted, and only he could wear it: "There's two sides out there today And only one of 'em's playing cricket' [Chorus] He was longer than a memory And bigger than a town His feet they used to sparkle And he always kept them on the ground Fathers took their sons Who never lost the sound Of the roar of the grandstand [Bridge] La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la [Verse 5] Now shadows grow longer And there's so much more yet to be told But we're not getting any younger, so let the part tell the whole Now the players all wear colours, the circus is in town I no longer can go down there, down to that sacred ground [Chorus] He was more than just a batsman He was something like a tide More than just one man He was half the bloody side Fathers took their sons 'Cause fortune used to hide In the palm of his hands In the palm of his hands [Bridge] La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la La-la, la-la, la-la La-la, la-la, la-la, la