The worn-down shacks of labour past on a hill of broken stone Once brought by men to the stamping mills to brush away the gold But before it could pass to their sons, the glory left the hole The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold The grandsons of the mining men scratch the fields among the trees When the gold played out, they were all turned out with granite-dusted knees But at night around the stove, sometimes the stories still unfold The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold Grandson of the mining men, you'll see it in your dreams Beneath your father's bones still lies the undiscovered seam Of quartzite in a serpentine vein that marks the greatest yield And along the Midland Railway, it's still told How the Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold Eighty years has been and gone since there was colour in the hole And the care-worn shades of the hard rock men surround the old Cope Lode And through the tiny hillside farms, the mines tales grow old The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold