Lyrics
When the Ants are Dancing
By Noel Downs Copyright (Feb 2000)
Drought had hold the country
It had been near seven years,
Since rain had wet the dusty soil
Most were close to tears,
Farmer Jack had seen it like this
It had happened all before,
He just patiently watched for a sign
Outside of his back door,
Then just as Jack decided
Not to plant again this year,
The sign that he had waited for
One day just appeared,
Though it had been many years
He knew it at a glance,
The first sign rain was coming
The ants began to dance,
He went to town that very day,
To get himself supplies,
On asked what the reason was,
"The ants are dancing" he replied,
But it's only February,
Are you some kind of loon,
The weather man is saying,
"There'll be no change till June",
But Jack at 76 years old,
Started preparing for the rain,
The locals down the pub all said,
“The heat has fried his brains",
He checked a dam 20 miles west,
The ants were dancing here too,
That can only mean a real,
Big wet was really gunna brew,
So he went and pulled the creek pump,
Carried hay to high ground,
Chased the cows up from the creek beds,
So they wouldn't drown,
He kept one eye on the sky,
Always the same old clear and blue,
Not a cloud anywhere in sight,
But the ants they always knew,
He started putting in the seed,
Preparing for the wet,
Ignoring all the shaking heads,
And comments he did get,
But the ants are dancing,
He reassured himself again,
As four weeks stretched to seven,
Doubt started creeping in,
The heat must have got to them,
All that money down the drain,
All me mates at the pub were right
The heat has cooked me brain,
Monty his weather forecasting frog croaked
In the scorched hot afternoon,
Farmer Jack just shook his head and said,
"The heats fried his brain too",
That very night on the stroke of ten
Lightning cracked about,
The rain on the roof was drumming
Signing the end of drought,
It rained and rained and rained and rained
The dams all overflowed,
All the creeks ran their banks
Flooding all that lay below,
Roads were cut for several weeks
Food was chopper'ed from the city,
His cattle safe and crops were in
Old Jack was sitting pretty,
So remember when in drought,
Give the ants a glancing,
Cause the first sign rain is coming
Is when the ants are dancing.
