“Billabong Valley” details the life of the infamous bushranger Daniel Morgan. Over his life, Morgan was involved in a number of crimes including robbery and murder in northern Victoria, often targeting authority figures such as sergeants and police. On the morning of April 9th, 1865, Morgan was shot dead by John Wendlan before being mutilated and decapitated. His story was later immortalized in the 1976 film Mad Dog Morgan, directed by Phillippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper. The song bases itself on the movie through the use of the name “Mad Dog Morgan” — a name which was created for the film. It also mentions real life events, such as the destruction of a camp in Kyeamba. In the band’s 2022 Reddit AMA, Ambrose said, “The story is about the Aussie bushranger Mad Dog Morgan. He would hide out in [a] place called the Billabong Valley. Savage sucker he was.” The word “billabong” is an Australian term which refers to a small body of water such as a pond or a lake. The song itself is a rocking microtonal track fitting for the violent, action-packed life of the outlaw, though it does slow down to a climactic end. The backing track is typical for Flying Microtonal Banana, though the use of zurna and microtones contrasts with (even adds flair to) the song’s distinctly Australian story. “Billabong Valley” is also the only track on Flying Microtonal Banana sung primarily by Ambrose.
Some of the creative process behind “Billabong Valley” was revealed by Ambrose during the band’s previously mentioned Reddit AMA. “Stu had the tune going and asked me to sing on it cause I think at the time he thought my voice might have suited it better? I do remember Cavs asking me if the lyric 'faster than a stolen' was actually 'loaded gun'. Should've changed it to that but it was too late.” The studio version is out of tune as it was slightly sped up on tape. The song was played by Ambrose (vocals), Cavs (drums/bongos), Joey (bass) and Stu (guitar/piano/zurna). It saw a release on February 24th, 2017.
The earliest known performance of the song was on 2017-03-19 at The Night Cat in Naarm (Melbourne). Throughout 2017 the song was in the band’s regular rotation. These performances were longer than the studio version, with improvisation during the intro and break. The song would also contain a unique lineup change, with Ambrose and Stu switching instruments. Ambrose played the Flying Microtonal Banana while Stu took over on keys. This would continue throughout the following years. It was played a bunch in 2018, with a Banana-less performance from 2018-08-05 appearing in ПАДАЮЩИЙ СНЕГ. It remained a common track in 2019 before falling off of setlists in 2020. It returned for the band’s microtonal shows in 2021 and returned to the regular rotation afterwards, though it's less prominent than it was before the release of K.G. and L.W. The song is typically played as a standalone piece though it has been paired with “Sleep Drifter,” like on 2022-08-05.