They built this house from tall timber
Cut it down in the mountain air
Building dreams in the city
Kept on going till the hills were bare
Came along with their axes
Brought their trucks and chainsaws too
And they cut down all that tall tall timber
Tall timber for me and you

She was a young girl she was a hero
Stood on the stage and the people cheered
But the critics cut her down to zero
Because she sang the words that they all feared
And they came with their axes
Brought their knives and opinions too
And they cut her down like tall tall timber
Tall timber in the mountain dew

Please don't cut down tall timber
Let it grow tall straight and true
In this world we need tall tall timber
Tall timber like me and you

He was a young man with a dream
To bring freedom to his land
Shared his voice with his brothers
And they came with their soldiers
Brought their tanks and machine guns too
And they cut down all that tall tall timber
Tall timber like me and you

Please don't cut down tall timber
Let it grow tall straight and true
In this world we need tall tall timber
Tall timber like me and you

The redgum and the kauri
The eucalypt and pine
The poets and the painters
Thinkers of the time
Don't cut down the timber
Or we'll be forever poor
Don't kill off our heroes
Or we'll never win the war

Now the sun's so strong that it burns my eyes
And the air's so bad that I can't breathe
The winter's warmer and the summer's hotter
I drive for miles and I don't see trees
And they came with their axes
Brought their knives and chainsaws too
And they cut down all that tall tall timber
Tall timber in the mountain dew