[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.]
The Ramble-eer
The earth rolls on through empty space, its journey’s never done;
It’s entered for a starry race throughout the kingdom come.
And, as I am a bit of earth, I follow it because —
And to prove I am a rolling stone and never gather moss.
Chorus
For I am a ramble-eer, a rollicking ramble-eer,
I’m a roving rake of poverty, and son of a gun for beer.
I’ve done a bit of fossicking for tucker and for gold;
I’ve been a menial rouseabout and a rollicking shearer bold.
I’ve “shanked” across the Old Man Plain, after busting up a cheque,
And “whipped the cat” once more again, though I haven’t met it yet.
Chorus: For I am, etc.
I’ve done a bit of droving of cattle and of sheep,
And I’ve done a bit of moving with “Matilda” for a mate;
Of fencing I have done my share, wool-scouring, on the green,
Axeman, navvy. Old Nick can bear me out in what I haven’t been.
Chorus: For I am, etc.
I’ve worked the treadmill thresher, the scythe and reaping-hook,
Been wood-and-water fetcher for Mary Jane the cook;
I’ve done a few “cronk” things too, when I have struck a town,
There’s few things I wouldn’t do — but I never did “lambing down.”
Chorus: For I am, 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. 61-62
Editor’s notes:
a bit of earth = in the context of mankind, a reference to the idea that God made man out of the earth; from Genesis 2:7 in the Old Testament of the Bible, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (related to the idea of God making man out of clay)
cronk = ill, sick, unwell; can also mean: bad, not good; broken down (especially regarding a horse); dishonest, illegal
fossicking = to search for gold, especially by picking through dirt that has already been worked on
kingdom come = a remote time or place; the end of the world (such as in the phrase “til kingdom come”); also, heaven, the hereafter, the Kingdom of God; from the phrase “Thy kingdom come” in “The Lord’s Prayer” (from Matthew 6:9-13, also Luke 11:2-4)
lambing down = spending money on alcoholic drinks, on a drinking spree; a “lambing-down shanty” (or “lambing-down shop”) is a rural pub where the owners or staff encourage heavy drinkers (taking advantage of their drunkenness) to spend all of their money
Matilda = a swag
navvy = an unskilled labourer, especially one employed on major civil engineering projects; from navigations (canals), as many construction workers were employed on widespread canal-building schemes in 18th century Britain (thus, navigation workers came to be colloquially known as “navvies”)
Old Nick = a nickname for the Devil (also known as: Lucifer, Satan)
rouseabout = an unskilled worker, someone employed to carry out odd jobs or unskilled tasks, especially used regarding someone working in a shearing shed
tucker = food
whipped the cat = past tense of “whip the cat”: to drink alcohol (may also refer to: vomiting, especially from imbibing too much alcoholic drink); may also refer to: a) itinerant tradesmen, especially tailors, working in private homes; b) crying over spilt milk, i.e. “to whip the cat who spilt the milk”; c) a specific practical joke whereby a man is pulled through a pond
wood-and-water fetcher = a hewer of wood and a carrier of water: a reference to low-status or lowly-paid occupations; the phrase is mentioned in the Bible several times, in Deuteronomy 29:11 (“from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water”) and Joshua 9:21, 9.23, and 9.27 (“hewers of wood and drawers of water”), although the wording of the phrase varies, depending on which Bible translation is used
[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.]
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