[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
