I’m one of the has-beens, a shearer I mean;
I once was a ringer and used to shear clean;
I could make the wool roll off like the soil from the plough,
But you may not believe me, because I can’t do it now.
Chorus:
I’m as awkward as a new chum, and I’m used to the frown,
That the boss often shows me, saying, ‘Keep them blades down!’
I’ve shore with Pat Hogan, Bill Bright and Jack Gunn,
Charlie Fergus, Tommy Layton and the great roaring Dunn;
They brought from the Lachlan the best they could find,
But not one among ’em could leave me behind.
Well, it’s no use complaining, I’ll never say die,
Though the days of fast shearing for me have gone by;
I’ll take the world easy, shear slowly and clean,
And I merely have told you just what I have been.
(Anonymous Oceania)
More Poetry from Anonymous Oceania:
Anonymous Oceania Poems based on Topics: World, Complaints- The Old Bark Hut (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
- The Kelly Gang (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
- Billy Barlow in Australia (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
- A Voice From The Bush (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
- Paddy Malone in Australia (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
- The Old Keg of Rum (Anonymous Oceania Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: World Poems, Complaints PoemsBased on Keywords: ringer, dunn, fergus, shear, shearer, lachlan, hogan, gunn, has-beens
- Threnodia Augustalis: Overture - Pastorale (Oliver Goldsmith Poems)
- The Song Of Hiawatha XV: Hiawatha's Lamentation (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- The Progress Of Patriotism (Nicholas Amhurst Poems)
- Jerusalem Delivered - Book 02 - part 06 (Torquato Tasso Poems)
- The Nation's Loss (Jacob Rhodes Poems)