[Editor: This poem, allegedly written by “Clancy” (Thomas Gerald Clancy), was composed as a reply to Banjo Paterson’s poem, “Clancy of the Overflow” It is believed to have been written in 1897.]
Clancy’s Reply
’Neath the star-spangled dome
Of my Austral home,
When watching by the camp fire’s ruddy glow,
Oft in the flickering blaze
Is presented to my gaze
The sun-drenched kindly faces
Of the men of Overflow.
Now, though years have passed forever
Since I used, with best endeavour
Clip the fleeces of the jumbucks
Down the Lachlan years ago,
Still in memory linger traces
Of many cheerful faces,
And the well-remembered visage
Of the Bulletin’s “Banjo”.
Tired of life upon the stations,
With their wretched, scanty rations,
I took a sudden notion
That a droving I would go;
Then a roving fancy took me,
Which has never since forsook me,
And decided me to travel,
And leave the Overflow.
So with maiden ewes from Tubbo,
I passed en route to Dubbo,
And across the Lig’num country
Where the Barwon waters flow;
Thence onward o’er the Narran,
By scrubby belts of Yarran,
To where the landscape changes
And the cotton bushes grow.
And my path I’ve often wended
Over drought-scourged plains extended,
Where phantom lakes and forests
Forever come and go;
And the stock in hundreds dying,
Along the road are lying,
To count among the “pleasures”
That townsfolk never know.
Over arid plains extended
My route has often tended,
Droving cattle to the Darling,
Or along the Warrego;
Oft with nightly rest impeded,
When the cattle had stampeded,
Save I sworn that droving pleasures
For the future I’d forego.
So of drinking liquid mire
I eventually did tire,
And gave droving up forever
As a life that was too slow.
Now, gold digging, in a measure,
Affords much greater pleasure
To your obedient servant,
“Clancy of the Overflow.”
Editor’s notes:
Original publication details not known.
Austral = of or relating to Australia or Australasia; Australian, Australasian; an abbreviation of Australia, Australian, Australasia, Australasian; in a wider context, of or relating to the southern hemisphere; southern, especially a southern wind
Banjo = Andrew Barton Paterson (1864-1941), known as “Banjo”, author, journalist, and poet; he was born in Narrambla (near Orange, New South Wales) in 1864, and died in Sydney in 1941
See: 1) Clement Semmler, “Paterson, Andrew Barton (Banjo) (1864–1941)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Banjo Paterson”, Wikipedia
Barwon = the Barwon River (in Victoria); the Barwon River (in New South Wales)
See: 1) “Barwon River (New South Wales)”, Wikipedia
2) “Barwon River (Victoria)”, Wikipedia
Bulletin = The Bulletin newspaper/magazine, published 1880-2008 (in Sydney, NSW), which was known colloquially as “The Bully” (also known as “The Bushman’s Bible”)
See: “The Bulletin (Australian periodical)”, Wikipedia
Darling = the Darling River (in New South Wales)
See: “Darling River”, Wikipedia
en route = (French) on the way
jumbuck = a sheep
Lachlan = the Lachlan River (in New South Wales)
See: “Lachlan River”, Wikipedia
Lig’num = [see: lignum]
lignum = Latin for wood, or woody; may also refer to the woody tissue of a plant, or to firewood in general; in Australia, it also refers to the Muehlenbeckia Florulenta shrub (known commonly as “Tangled Lignum”, or just “Lignum”), which is a perennial shrub native to inland Australia, which grows up to 2.5 metres in height; may also refer to Vitex lignum-vitae (also known as Lignum-vitae, or more commonly as Yellow Hollywood), which is a rainforest tree native to Queensland and northern New South Wales, which grows up to 30 metres in height (also, there are other types of Lignum which grow in various other countries)
Narran = the Narran River (in New South Wales)
See: “Narran River”, Wikipedia
’neath = (vernacular) beneath
o’er = (archaic) over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
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
star-spangled dome = the night sky; the heavens; the firmament (the vault of the heavens, including clouds, sky, sun, moon, and stars)
Warrego = the Warrego River (in New South Wales and Queensland)
See: “Warrego River”, Wikipedia
Yarran = a small hardy Australian tree, Acacia homalophylla, useful as a source for fodder, firewood, and fence posts
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