[Editor: This poem by “Banjo” Paterson was published in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, 1895; previously published in The Bulletin, 21 December 1889.]
Clancy of The Overflow
I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just ‘on spec’, addressed as follows, ‘Clancy, of The Overflow’
And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,
(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)
’Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
‘Clancy’s gone to Queensland droving, and we don’t know where he are.’
* * * * * *
In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy
Gone a-droving ‘down the Cooper’ where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.
And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars.
* * * * * *
I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all
And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
Of the tramways and the ’buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.
And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.
And I somehow rather fancy that I’d like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal —
But I doubt he’d suit the office, Clancy, of ‘The Overflow.’
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 20-22
Previously published in: The Bulletin, 21 December 1889
Editor’s notes:
’buses = omnibuses; long enclosed vehicles, used for public transport; unlike modern buses, these were horse-drawn contraptions
The Overflow = the name of a rural station; “The Overflow” was referred to in several of Banjo Paterson’s poems (“Clancy of The Overflow”, “The Man From Snowy River”, “Old Australian Ways”, “The Silent Shearer” and “The Travelling Post Office”); Paterson, in an annotation to a letter from Angus & Robertson (18 January 1913, in the George Robertson papers at the Mitchell Library) wrote: “‘Overflow’ is not intended to refer to any particular run. It is just used as a typical name”; however, it is believed by some to refer to a station named “The Overflow” situated about 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the south-east of the town of Nymagee in New South Wales
tramways = vehicles, used for public transport, running on light rail tracks set into the streets; unlike modern trams, these were horse-drawn
I am a half and half, product of the second world war. My Father during the war served in Australia where he met my Mother in Rockhampton. I’m interested in catching up with some Oz culture. Glad I found this site.
Can someone tell me all the figurative languages features in this?
‘stock are slowly stringing’ is an example of alliteration
The trams in question were not horse drawn. They were steam tram motors hauling passenger trailers.
Sitting in Newfoundland, Canada. I love listening to all the Australian bush songs and poems. Keep up the good vibes.
Can someone tell me what the subject of this poem is?
The subject of this poem is Clancy, a fictional bushman. The character is believed to be based upon a real-life person; although he may be a composite character, based on two or more real-life people.
The poem is written from the point of view of an office worker (a city-slicker, as some might say). The writer imagines what Clancy’s rural life must be like, thinking about it in an idyllic sense, and he dreams of changing places with Clancy, but decides that city life would not suit a bushman such as Clancy.
I have wondered about the Ingpen portrait, thinking it may have been based on a photograph. From what I have been told his surname was MacNamara (from memory!) and he was nicknamed ‘Clancy’ as a toddler. He worked at the Overflow Station, which was near Hillston, north-west of Griffith. He died in 1947 and is buried in Griffith. Drop a line to Darren de Bortoli c/ Bortoli wines, Griffith, it was he who rediscovered Clancy’s grave.
These poems are uniquely Australian Culture and should be used in all school curriculum to define Australian culture past present and future. AB Paterson still conjures up an image of an office worker in Collins street Melbourne writing as the dust particles drift through a shaft of light. As the worker yearns for the bush and its freedom and the countryside so lush.