Old Tin Liz

Alice Guerin Crist 1876 (Clare Castle) – 1941 (Toowoomba)



We have scrubbed, and scoured and polished, till she's looking just like new,
And her good old engines singing, and our hearts are singing too,
While the magpies pipe a chorus, and the air's like a sparkling fizz.
And we're going to the races in the Old Tin Liz.

T'was the first car in the district, how we swelled our chests with pride,
As we asked our poorer neighbours to step up and take a ride,
Now they pass us by, disdainful, in the newest make there is,
Wondering why we cling so faithfully to Old Tin Liz.

When we'd got her, new and shining, Oh the picnics that we had,
Mother shredding all her troubles, Father larking like a lad,
While we youngsters sang in chorus, as our bubbling spirits riz,
Sitting decked with ferns and wattles in the Old Tin Liz.

But when Janey got a snake bite, ah! the terror of that day,
Nothing in the house to cure her, and the doctor miles away,
'Twas then Lizzie showed her mettle. Oh she had a heart of gold
Roaring up those flinty ridges liked a blessed two-year-old.

And the doctor cured our Janey, but the good old car helped too.
She has shared our joys and sorrows, and she's always pulled us through
Carting water in the drought time, pulling cattle from the bogs
Snorting gaily through the paddocks, over stones and stumps and logs.

The the precious hours on sunday-coming home from early Mass,
While the air's all hushed and holy, and the dew's still on the grass,
Sitting reverent and silent, what a blessed time it is:
We are near to Heaven then, in the Old Tin Liz.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:27 min read
141

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCBB DDBB EEFF AAXX GGBB
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,503
Words 285
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Alice Guerin Crist

Alice Guerin Crist was an Australian poet, author and journalist. more…

All Alice Guerin Crist poems | Alice Guerin Crist Books

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