Two Strong Arms-Eric BogleIn the still heat of the afternoonKritos was laid to restin the dry and dusty red soil of AustraliaAs the Mulberry and Cypress bloomedbeneath the mountain crestsso far away in MacedoniaThe children of his heartand the children of his bloodIn sorrow and in silence and in pride, around him stoodAll his sons and daughters withtheir daughters and their sons,The Family of the man with two strong armsBorn a peasant's son on a mountain farmwhere a thin and grudging earthmade hunger a gray ghost at every mealwhere life was just a grinding stoneof poverty and deaththat crushed young and old alikebeneath the wheelSo before the wheel could turnwith his family and his wifeKristos came down from the mountainssearching for a better lifeBringing only hopes and dreams with himto the distant southern landAnd a brave and willing heart,and two strong armsIn a West Australian country townKristos found a jobfor men willing to work hardand bend their backsCutting the lofty gum trees down,clearing brush and scrubWhere speaking English mattered lessthan a good sharp axeDriven by his dreamsas the hard years came and wentKristos bent his back to everydaylight hour that got sentHow many golden wheat fields grow?how many western farms?The rich harvest of the manwith two strong armsHe worked to keep his family fed and clothedto give his kids the chancefor them to try and be all they could beSo that unlike him they'd never knowthe chains of ignoranceor taste the bitter bread of povertyHe wanted them to haveall the things he'd never hadAnd if all that took was blood and sweatHe'd give both and be gladHe lived to watch his children growand match their father's dreamsAll it took was love and prideand two strong armsIn the still heat of the afternoonKritos was laid to restin the dry and dusty red soil of AustraliaAs the Mulberry and Cypress bloomedbeneath the mountain crestsso far away in MacedoniaThe children of his heartand the children of his bloodIn sorrow and in silence and in pride, around him stoodAll his sons and daughters withtheir daughters and their sons,The Family of the man with two strong armsThe Family of the man with two strong arms