Poet Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson

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The Song Of Old Joe Swallow Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABBCC CCDDC DDEEFF GGAACC HHIICC JJKKCC DDLLCC GGE CC MMNNCC CCDDC

When I was up the country in the rough and early daysA
I used to work along ov Jimmy Nowlett's bullick draysA
Then the reelroad wasn't heered on an' the bush was wild an' strangeB
An' we useter draw the timber from the saw pits in the rangeB
Load provisions for the stations an' we'd travel far and slowC
Through the plains an' 'cross the ranges in the days of long agoC
-
Then it's yoke up the bullicks and tramp beside 'em slowC
An' saddle up yer horses an' a ridin' we will goC
To the bullick drivin' cattle drovin'D
Nigger digger roarin' rovin'D
Days o' long agoC
-
Once me and Jimmy Nowlett loaded timber for the townD
But we hadn't gone a dozen mile before the rain come downD
An' me an' Jimmy Nowlett an' the bullicks an' the drayE
Was cut off on some risin' ground while floods around us layE
An' we soon run short of tucker an' terbacca which was badF
An' pertaters dipped in honey was the only tuck we hadF
-
An' half our bullicks perished when the drought was on the landG
An' the burnin' heat that dazzles as it dances on the sandG
When the sun baked clay an' gravel paves for miles the burnin' creeksA
An' at ev'ry step yer travel there a rottin' carcase reeksA
But we pulled ourselves together for we never used ter knowC
What a feather bed was good for in those days o' long agoC
-
But in spite ov barren ridges an' in spite ov mud an' heatH
An' dust that browned the bushes when it rose from bullicks' feetH
An' in spite ov cold and chilblains when the bush was white with frostI
An' in spite of muddy water where the burnin' plain was crossedI
An' in spite of modern progress and in spite of all their blowC
'Twas a better land to live in in the days o' long agoC
-
When the frosty moon was shinin' o'er the ranges like a lampJ
An' a lot of bullick drivers was a campin' on the campJ
When the fire was blazin' cheery an' the pipes was drawin' wellK
Then our songs we useter chorus an' our yarns we useter tellK
An' we'd talk ov lands we come from and ov chaps we useter knowC
For there always was behind us OTHER days o' long agoC
-
Ah them early days was ended when the reelroad crossed the plainD
But in dreams I often tramp beside the bullick team againD
Still we pauses at the shanty just to have a drop er cheerL
Still I feels a kind ov pleasure when the campin' ground is nearL
Still I smells the old tarpaulin me an' Jimmy useter throwC
O'er the timber truck for shelter in the days ov long agoC
-
I have been a driftin' back'ards with the changes ov the landG
An' if I spoke ter bullicks now they wouldn't understandG
But when Mary wakes me sudden in the night I'll often sayE
Come here Spot an' stan' up Bally blank an' blank an' come eer way '-
An' she says that when I'm sleepin' oft my elerquince 'ill flowC
In the bullick drivin' language ov the days o' long agoC
-
Well the pub will soon be closin' so I'll give the thing a restM
But if you should drop on Nowlett in the far an' distant westM
An' if Jimmy uses doubleyou instead of ar an' veeN
An' if he drops his aitches then you're sure to know it's heN
An' yer won't forgit to arsk him if he still remembers JoeC
As knowed him up the country in the days o' long agoC
-
Then it's yoke up the bullicks and tramp beside 'em slowC
An' saddle up yer horses an' a ridin' we will goC
To the bullick drivin' cattle drovin'D
Nigger digger roarin' rovin'D
Days o' long agoC

Henry Lawson



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