Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
    Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
    Just on spec, addressed as follows, "Clancy, of The Overflow".

And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,
    (And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)
'Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
    "Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are."

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy
    Gone a-droving "down the Cooper" where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
    For the drover's life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
    In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
    And at night the wond'rous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
    Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
    Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all.

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
    Of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
    Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
    As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
    For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy,
    Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal—
    But I doubt he'd suit the office, Clancy, of The Overflow.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:45 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 378 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Yay!

Posted by: Emma at April 09, 2004 10:28 AM (kpNlZ)

2 Very cool. Thanks. I'll be retooling the look and feel over the next few days as I pack up my old blog boxes and lug them over here.

Posted by: physics geek at April 09, 2004 01:25 PM (Xvrs7)

3 Yay!!2! Welcome to our world! Let me know if you need any help.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at April 09, 2004 05:38 PM (upORr)

4 Yay! Beer! I mean, Welcome!!!!

Posted by: Susie at April 09, 2004 05:43 PM (D/dEp)

5 Still futzing around with the theme. Direct MT editing substantially different from my previous home. I'm slogging through it as best I can, figuring that it's the best way for me to figure it out. However, I'm saving the tough questions for later. Susie, the latest beer tastes pretty good, although a little undercarbonated. I'm about ready to ship out the batch, probably early next week. Smaller bottles this time, though. :-/

Posted by: physics geek at April 09, 2004 07:19 PM (Xvrs7)

6 AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Smaller Bottles!!!! Does this mean that we get more of them? :-)

Posted by: Harvey at April 09, 2004 07:31 PM (ubhj8)

7 No, it means that I get more of them. :-)

Posted by: physics geek at April 09, 2004 07:54 PM (Xvrs7)

8 this is the most borin poem eva

Posted by: i dunno at October 26, 2004 11:43 AM (lZxll)

Hide Comments | Add Comment