LANES OF WOOLLOOMOOLOO by John Dengate

Oh, then who's your mate, my Johnny lad, so drunk he can hardly stand
With his eyeballs staring so wildly and his violently shaking hand?
His name is not for the naming, but his story I'll tell you true;
He's a child of the great depression from the lanes of Woolloomooloo.
Reared on bread and dripping and on dollops of dole plum jam,
He dodged the police and his father's boot and his fare on the city tram.
Mustered in the militia on the wharves of Woolloomooloo,
Fought disease and the Japanese in the summer of '42.
Never you mind his shaking hand or his strangely twisted mouth;
He was cut off at Templeton's Crossing when the Japs came swarming south,
He wept and prayed in the jungle and God to his prayers was deaf:
Chocko! Retreat on your bleeding feet, and where was the A.I.F.?
You'll find him now in Bell's Hotel or round by the Domain;
You'll find him under a Moreton Bay, sleeping it off in the rain,
You'll find him wandering William Street without any work to do,
He's a child of the great depression from the lanes of Woolloomooloo.
He's a hollow, dirty derelict, abandoned by the fates;
His soul's at Templeton's Crossing with his dead militia mates,
White lady is his mistress, they fornicate and woo,
Spawning blind oblivion in the lanes of Woolloomooloo.

John's notes give:
Templeton's Crossing: New Guinea battlefield
Chocko: Chocolate soldier – derisive term for militiaman (An Australian soldier who had not volunteered for the A.I.F)
White Lady: Methylated spirits and lemonade.

To which I probably should add:
A.I.F. : Australian Imperial Force – the regular army units.
Dole: Unemployment payments, and some food issues, made during the great depression (1929/39)
Domain: Public park area to the east of Sydney, frequented by the homeless
Methylated spirits: Denatured alcohol – originally made poisonous with methyl alcohol but now rendered nauseating with turpentine. The cheapest possible alcohol.
Moreton Bay: The Moreton Bay Fig – a wide-spreading tree with large leaves planted widely in Sydney's inner city parks.
William Street: Major street of Kings Cross – inner eastern suburb of Sydney
Woolloomooloo: East Sydney harbourside suburb – once slums, but these are being 'gentrified' as their value rises.

Published in My Shout! Songs and Poems by John Dengate, Bush Music Club, Sydney, 1982

originally posted by Bob Bolton in 2001

video Jason reciting, backed by Chloe & Jason Roweth Band.