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Hang the Man Who Works [song]

19 March 2022 · Leave a Comment

[Editor: This song was published in Old Bush Songs: Composed and Sung in the Bushranging, Digging, and Overlanding Days (8th edition, 1932), edited by Banjo Paterson.]

Hang the Man Who Works

Come listen to my ditty, come listen to me hum,
While I relate a verse or two of the professional bum
Who travels the north, likewise the south, likewise the east and west,
Humming his chuck wherever he goes, and hanging the man who works.

Chorus
To work upon the harvest, and let the cocky starve us,
Humming our chuck wherever we go, and hanging the man who works:
For we are bums and jolly good chums, we live like Royal Turks —
If we have any luck we’ll hum our chuck, and hang the man who works.

I asked a woman the other day for something for to eat,
A little bit of chicken, or a little bit of meat;
A little bit of turkey, or a little bit of ham,
Half a dozen leaves of bread, and a bucketful of jam —
For we are nearly starving, anything at all to help a joker on his way.

Chorus: To work upon, etc.

We rise up in the morning, we rise up from our doss,
We rise up in the morning ’fore the dew is off the grass;
From the Harp into the Shamrock we fly like birds of the air,
And never cry a go, my boys, till bottled up with beer.

Chorus: To work upon, etc.

Now my tale is nearly finished, my song is nearly done,
Relating to the daily life of the professional bum,
Who travels the north, likewise the south, likewise the east and west,
Humming his chuck wherever he goes, and hanging the man who works.

Chorus: To work upon, etc.



Source:
A. B. Paterson (editor), Old Bush Songs: Composed and Sung in the Bushranging, Digging, and Overlanding Days (8th edition), Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1932, pp. 57-58

Editor’s notes:
cocky = (also spelt “cockie”) a farmer (the term was used to refer to poor bush farmers, from having land so poor that they were jokingly said to only be able to farm cockies, i.e. cockatoos, a type of bird; however, it was later used to refer to farmers in general)

doss = a bed (especially in a cheap lodging house, also known as a dosshouse or flophouse); a crude or makeshift bed, usually uncomfortable; a place to sleep (can also mean to lie down or sleep; especially to “doss down” in a location that is close at hand, convenient, or readily available)

’fore = (vernacular) before (a contraction of “before”)

joker = man, chap, fellow (depending on the context, used in a slightly disparaging but friendly manner, or in a strongly negative manner)

[Editor: The word “Chorus” (which is used several times in this song) has been put into italics (Chorus) so as to distinguish it from the text of the song.]

Filed Under: songs Tagged With: Old Bush Songs (Banjo Paterson 1932), song, SourceTrove, swagmen, year1932

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