The Oil from Bill Shane

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)



I got the oil: too right.  A cove called Shane.
Yes; ole Bill Shane.  You've 'eard of 'im, of course.
Big racin' 'ead.  There's no need to explain
The things he don't know about a 'orse.
Good ole Bill Shane.  They say he's made a pile
At puntin'.  Shrewd!  I wis I 'ad 'is brain.
An' does 'e know the game?  Well, I should smile.
They can't put nothin' over ole Bill Shane.

Yes; Shane, Bill Shane ...  Aw, listen, lad.  Wake up!
 Why everybody's 'eard of ole Bill Shane.
They say he made ten thousan' on the Cup
Last year, an' now he's got the oil again.
Wot?  Owner?  Trainer?  Nah!  Who 'eeds their guff?
Bill's a big racin' man - a punter.  See?
Top dog.  I alwiz sez wot's good enough
For ole Bill Shane is good enough for me.

Yes; he gave me the oil.  I got it straight
Well, nearly straight.  Of course, I've never spoke
To Bill 'imself direck.  I got a mate
Wot knows a bloke wot knows another bloke
Wot's frien's with Shane, an' so - you un'erstand.
Wot?  me give you the tip?  Aw, take a walk!
Yeh think I'd do a thing so under'and?
Bill Shane would kill me if I was to talk.
  
Well, listen ... Now, for gosh sake, keep it dark.
An' don't let no one know it came from Shane.
Keep it strick secret.  I would be a nark
To let you chuck yer money down the drain ...
Wazzat you said?  He's scratched?  'Ere!  Lemme look!
Scratched!  Ain't that noos to knock a man clean out?
I alwiz said this puntin' game was crook ...
Who?  Shane?  Aw, I dunno.  Some racin' tout.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:30 min read
123

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCACA DADXEFEF GHGHGIXI XAHAJKJK
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,449
Words 285
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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