[Editor: This poem by “Banjo” Paterson was published in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, 1895; previously published in The Bulletin, 17 December 1892. It is a story about a barber who plays a practical joke upon an unsuspecting man from the bush. The meaning of various words within the poem are given in the “Editor’s notes” section at the end.]
The Man from Ironbark
It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,
He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down.
He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop,
Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barber’s shop.
‘ ’Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I’ll be a man of mark,
I’ll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark.’
The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are,
He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar;
He was a humorist of note and keen at repartee,
He laid the odds and kept a ‘tote’, whatever that may be,
And when he saw our friend arrive, he whispered, ‘Here’s a lark!
Just watch me catch him all alive, this man from Ironbark.’
There were some gilded youths that sat along the barber’s wall.
Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no brains at all;
To them the barber passed the wink, his dexter eyelid shut,
‘I’ll make this bloomin’ yokel think his bloomin’ throat is cut.’
And as he soaped and rubbed it in he made a rude remark:
‘I s’pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark.’
A grunt was all the reply he got; he shaved the bushman’s chin,
Then made the water boiling hot and dipped the razor in.
He raised his hand, his brow grew black, he paused awhile to gloat,
Then slashed the red-hot razor-back across his victim’s throat;
Upon the newly-shaven skin it made a livid mark —
No doubt it fairly took him in — the man from Ironbark.
He fetched a wild up-country yell might wake the dead to hear,
And though his throat, he knew full well, was cut from ear to ear,
He struggled gamely to his feet, and faced the murd’rous foe:
‘You’ve done for me! you dog, I’m beat! one hit before I go!
‘I only wish I had a knife, you blessed murdering shark!
‘But you’ll remember all your life the man from Ironbark.’
He lifted up his hairy paw, with one tremendous clout
He landed on the barber’s jaw, and knocked the barber out.
He set to work with nail and tooth, he made the place a wreck;
He grabbed the nearest gilded youth, and tried to break his neck.
And all the while his throat he held to save his vital spark,
And ‘Murder! Bloody Murder!’ yelled the man from Ironbark.
A peeler man who heard the din came in to see the show;
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.
And when at last the barber spoke, and said ‘’Twas all in fun —
‘’Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone.’
‘A joke!’ he cried, ‘By George, that’s fine; a lively sort of lark;
‘I’d like to catch that murdering swine some night in Ironbark.’
And now while round the shearing floor the list’ning shearers gape,
He tells the story o’er and o’er, and brags of his escape.
‘Them barber chaps what keeps a tote, By George, I’ve had enough,
‘One tried to cut my bloomin’ throat, but thank the Lord it’s tough.’
And whether he’s believed or no, there’s one thing to remark,
That flowing beards are all the go way up in Ironbark.
Source:
Andrew Barton Paterson. The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1896 [January 1896 reprinting of the October 1895 edition], pages 64-68
Previously published in: The Bulletin, 17 December 1892
Editor’s notes:
all the go = the current fashion
blessed = an exclamatory oath; “bloody” was the most common expletive used at that time, but it was regarded as so rude and uncouth that it could not be printed
bloomin’ = an exclamatory oath
bushman = a man from the bush; someone who lives out in the country
By George = an exclamatory oath; from the tradition of avoiding blasphemy and the misuse of sacred words, by substituting words with the same initial letter (exclamatory oaths that use such a substitution for “God” include “by George”, “good golly”, “oh my gosh”, “good gracious me”, and “good grief”)
catch him all alive = to succeed in tricking someone with a practical joke (originally an unrelated fishermen’s phrase)
dexter = on the right side
flash = showy, vulgar; fashionable or showy, but in a way that shows a lack of taste.
flats = usually a reference to river flats, the flat and fertile alluvial plains located around the lower reaches of large streams or rivers (usually prone to flooding)
gilded youths = fashionable and usually idle young men; from “gilded” as in covering an item with a thin layer of gold (or to make something look that way), leading to the meaning of “gilded” as to give a deceptively attractive or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth
Murder! Bloody Murder! = this is a precise usage of the word “bloody”, as to use “bloody” as a swear word was considered at that time to be too rude and uncouth to be printed
nail and tooth = to act in a totally unrestrained manner; the usual phrase “tooth and nail” means to fight fiercely with every available means
peeler man = a policeman; a reference to Sir Robert Peel, 1788-1850, former British Prime Minister who, when he was Home Secretary, laid the foundations for the modern police force in Britain (police were also nicknamed “Bobbies” after him; from the nickname of “Bob” commonly used for the name Robert)
razor = an open-blade razor or (also known as a “cut-throat razor”), as was used in earlier times for shaving, in wide use before the invention of the safety razor
toff = someone who is rich or upper-class, a term usually used in a somewhat derogatory manner; “do the Sydney toff” refers to acting like a rich man from the city of Sydney
tote = short for totalisator (US spelling, totalizator), a form of betting on horse races, where those who bet on the winners divide the bets or stakes, less a percentage which goes to those who run the operation (who “keep the tote”)
up-country = a reference to a remote, inland region; in this context it is an unflattering reference to an unsophisticated style
Banjo Paterson seems to be the Australian Robert Service!
Banjo Paterson is a classic.
> Banjo Paterson the Australian Robert Service!
Perhaps but with remarkably less doggerel.
I’m making a story about the man from Ironbark.
Me too
Thank you for your comment.
Robert Service looks to be an interesting poet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Service
http://www.internal.org/Robert_W_Service
http://www.poemhunter.com/robert-william-service/
Why is this a rude remark:
‘I s’pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark.’
Australia is a very dry, “Arizona-like” country – in summer in particular there is very little green to be seen – Paterson has his Barber make a sarcastic remark – “the flats is pretty green” means they are particularly parched and brown.
When someone compares your country to a state in America.
Because Ironbark is in rough mountainous county side which is also very dry in the summer time.
The barber implied it was flat and lush like farm land (knowing full well it’s not) and the Man From Ironbark wasn’t as tough as he looked (knowing that he was).
It’s a subtle Aussie way of poking fun at somebody.
Apart from the fact that Ironbark is almost always dry, I suspect there may be an additional snipe tucked into the remark; in country NSW it’s a common joke to describe a fat person as having been in a ‘good paddock.’ He could be calling the Man from Ironbark a big fellow, especially given that the flats are generally not pretty green in central western NSW.
Banjo was my man.
I think the people who’ve provided the context for you here are missing a few things. To be green = new/naive. People from the country are often considered naive, and people from the city – well they fancy themselves as knowing and clever.
Here the rude remark is slur against the country man who is too stupid to know what’s going on.
It works to form the humour, because the barber man – who is small and flash – doesn’t suspect for a minute that the country man is capable of making the place a wreck if threatened.
Because the country is really dry so saying it is green is rude because they regularly experience droughts
Good question. The answer is not readily apparent, although “green” can be used to refer to someone who is inexperienced or naive, or lacking maturity, knowledge, sophistication, or wisdom. Possibly it could be a snide remark, inferring that the folk of Ironbark are unsophisticated.
Would be interesting if someone else has more insight into this issue.
I suspect that the bush may have been going through a drought or dry spell at the time. So the remark as to green implies things are good in Ironbark when in fact the opposite is the case
Probably for the same reason that it would be considered an insult to ask a visiting American “I s’pose the deep fried burgers taste good back in the USA?” Or asking the Japanese about rice, Egyptians about camels, New Zealanders about sheep, etc. Having said that, this is one of those types of mild joke that get repeated so frequently nowadays that they’ve become one of the standard ways to start an informal conversation.
There could be another layer in this case: typically in such a situation the barber could touch on a distinctive aspect of the visitor’s home town, but with Ironbark being in the middle of nowhere, this topic is apparently the best that the barber could come up with.
‘Flats’ is obsolete slang for dull and uninteresting people. ‘Green’ means gullible. He’s being rude about the yokels in Ironbark
Yep, exactly what I remember being told back at school back in the 1950s! Old-style double-entendre…. The literal meaning is straight enough; You could paraphrase: “I guess the yokels are pretty dumb, up there in Ironbark.”
Classic Banjo!
If that was a straight out insult then there’s no subtle sarcasm which would have been better if he was pretending the flat plains were green ie pretending to be nice whereas if your definition is correct then that’s as bad as saying it an Irishman “I suppose your people there are as dumb as 2 planks haha” that’s not even funny because a straight out insult is rude and immediately inciting violence from anyone whether smart or dumb but being sarcastic he was trying to ascertain if the Ironbark man got the joke. Ergo, if your definitions correct then Banjo is also one dimensional and flat without much depth!
I always thought it meant “rude” as “simple” or “basic”- generally just making conversation in a hairdresser-y sort of way.
read the shiralee
Love Banjo Paterson. One of my Dad’s (RIP) favourite poets.
I keep coming back to this poem and enjoy it very much. As a bit of a bushie myself, it’s all right for them smart townies to take a few liberties with us if they’re harmless practical jokes (we do the same ourselves), but if they step over the line, they’d better start running.
What is considered over the line to you? That’s a subjective interpretation as a harmless joke performed a trifle overdone could seem grounds for violence for some whereas others would just laugh it off.
I fell in love with The Man From Ironbark when introduced to bit by a teacher in primary school. He got us to memorize it as a whole class by conducting us through it, which was easy and fun due to the lilt and rhythm of it. Of all the things I remember verbatim from primary, now aged 60, was this poem, NOT math, science or history.
I always felt it would transform into a good Aussie movie, every bit as well as Man From Snowy River. Most certainly it could be easily transformed into a school play with everyone having a walk-on part because of the bustling streets of “Sydneytown”. I happen to think the barber got his just desserts…if you’re prepared to disrespectfully ‘take the piss’ out of a customer in your business, then be able to accept the fallout of any response. I’m sure that after the dust from the melee settled with explanations and apologies exchanged, all would of had a great laugh recounting the course of events. The poems links itself a bit to the John O’Brien poem Honeymooning From The Country where a newlywed couple holidaying in the city stick out awkwardly in a metropolitan landscape (except they appeared to be looked upon and treated with a respectful endearment whereas the Ironbark guy was not).
My 74th Birthday yesterday. My twenty Grand Children recited the ‘Man from Ironbark’ all duly filmed and taped. What a great day!
I was wondering what a blessed murdering shark is.
Could someone please answer?
I would imagine the word shark would have a meaning as in “shyster” or a modern day loan shark someone who prays on the weak. Also it has to rhyme with ironbark.
Blessed is an alternative to bloody as an exclamation, and shark is someone to not be trusted, essentially saying ‘Bloody murderous liar!’.
I think people are being a bit too subtle about the word “shark”. It may well have the meaning of untrustworthy, etc., but the man from Ironbark is using it to describe someone who he thought had just tried to kill him! So he’s being literal: the barber is like a shark — a vicious, mindless predator that attacks without warning and needs to be killed in sheer self-defence. That may not be fair to sharks (?), but it is a popular perception of them, and a bushman may well have an exaggerated opinion of them that way, made worse by lack of experience — he probably only knows of sharks at second- or third-hand. The point is, he thinks he’s fighting for his life, having been attacked for no reason, so a shark is a natural comparison to the barber. Also, a knife is a common weapon for defence against sharks, though that post-dates Paterson’s writings by several decades.
How many stanzas are in this poem? please answer ASAP
There are eight stanzas are in this poem.
Does anyone know the name of the man from Ironbark?
Upon many of research I can only find one person that suits the description, that being a man named John Sloane and being named in the man of mark and in which visited Sydney at times, John being a strong figure of a man 6.2′ and of some wealth and respected in the community of where he lived.
I love this poem, it is so original.
Love this poem too. I learnt & recited in year 5. Was just refreshing the bits I have forgotten.
I Love this Poem.
Love Banjo.
Learnt this as a kid.
As a kid i also loved Lawson’s
The Loaded Dog…….Great Poem
What does he mean by “his brow grew black”?
I always took that line to mean he took on a vicious, sneering expression filled with anticipatory glee. He had his victim right where he wanted him, and now it was time to spring his trap — but it’s hard to write all that in four words, so Banjo got the effect that way.
One thing in the second verse that should be noted: At the time (and even now), keeping a tote was illegal unless licenced, and only government betting shops were permitted to do that. So the barber comes across as a thoroughly dodgy character even before he decides to play his joke. On the other hand, illegal totes were quite common, but everyone pretended that they weren’t — after all, they were against the law! Hence the line “whatever that may be.” Oh, no, Mr Policeman, I don’t know anything about any sort of illegal gambling. I’m a law-abiding citizen. Yeah, right… See also Two-Up, the Australian equivalent of craps.
Banjo is one of my true (RIP) aspirations (RIP) #6feetunder #LongLive
so real
There’ll never be another. How fortunate we are to have his journeys for a trifling. Long may his works be
testaments to the bush bible.
Amen I’ll not forget it