Analysis of The Squatter's Man
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Come, all ye lads an' list to me,
That's left your homes an' crossed the sea,
To try your fortune, bound or free,
All in this golden land.
For twelve long months I had to pace,
Humping my swag with a cadging face,
Sleeping in the bush, like the sable race,
As in my song you'll understand.
Unto this country I did come,
A regular out-and-out new chum.
I then abhorred the sight of rum
Teetotal was my plan.
But soon I learned to wet one eye
Misfortune oft-times made me sigh.
To raise fresh funds I was forced to fly,
And be a squatter's man.
Soon at a station I appeared.
I saw the squatter with his beard,
And up to him I boldly steered,
With my swag and billy-can.
I said, "Kind sir, I want a job!"
Said he, "Do you know how to snob
Or can you break in a bucking cob?"
Whilst my figure he well did scan.
"'Tis now I want a useful cove
To stop at home and not to rove.
The scamps go about—a regular drove
I 'spose you're one of the clan?
But I'll give ten—ten, sugar an' tea;
Ten bob a week, if you'll suit me,
And very soon I hope you'll be
A handy squatter's man.
"At daylight you must milk the cows,
Make butter, cheese, an' feed the sows,
Put on the kettle, the cook arouse,
And clean the family shoes.
The stable an' sheep yard clean out,
And always answer when we shout,
With ‘Yes, ma'am,' and ‘No, sir,' mind your mouth;
And my youngsters don't abuse.
"You must fetch wood an' water, bake an' boil,
Act as butcher when we kill;
The corn an' taters you must hill,
Keep the garden spick and span.
You must not scruple in the rain
To take to market all the grain.
Be sure you come sober back again
To be a squatter's man."
He sent me to an old bark hut,
Inhabited by a greyhound slut,
Who put her fangs through my poor fut,
And, snarling, off she ran.
So once more I'm looking for a job,
Without a copper in my fob.
With Ben Hall or Gardiner I'd rather rob,
Than be a squatter's man.
Scheme | AAABCCCB DDDEFFFE GGGE HHHE IIIEAAAE JXJXKKXX XLLE MMXE NNBEHXHE |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 11111101 11110111 101101 11111111 1111011 1000110101 1011101 10110111 010010111 11010111 1111 11111111 01011111 111111111 01011 11010101 11010111 01111101 1110101 11111101 11111111 111100101 11101111 11110101 11110111 0110101001 1111101 111111011 11011111 01011111 01011 1111101 11011101 110100101 0101001 01011111 0110111 111011111 0110101 1111110111 1110111 0111111 1010101 11110001 11110101 111110101 11011 11111111 01001011 11011111 010111 111110101 01010011 1111101101 11011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,853 |
Words | 383 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 4, 4, 8, 8, 4, 4, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:57 min read
- 31 Views
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"The Squatter's Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2705/the-squatter%27s-man>.
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