The Cradle Song



Baby, O baby, fain you are for bed,  
 Magpie to mopoke busy as the bee;  
The little red calf’s in the snug cow-shed,  
 An’ the little brown bird’s in the tree.  
 
Daddy’s gone a-shearin’, down the Castlereagh,          
 So we’re all alone now, only you an’ me.  
All among the wool-O, keep your wide blades full-O!  
 Daddy thinks o’ baby, wherever he may be.  
 
Baby, my baby, rest your drowsy head,  
 The one man that works here, tired you must be,          
The little red calf ’s in the snug cow-shed,  
 An’ the little brown bird ’s in the tree.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
97

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB XBXB ABAB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 574
Words 100
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Louis Esson

Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson was an Australian poet, journalist, critic and playwright. more…

All Louis Esson poems | Louis Esson Books

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