JennieG, I know what you mean about 'woman' in the Williamson song. I can sympathise with your experience with an insensitive sod. However, given the song's structure, what other term could he have used? You wouldn't want the American 'babe' or 'baby' - 'darling', 'wife', 'love', 'dear' et alia wouldn't really work either.

Back on 15 September (it seems so long ago), I noted that Phil Gray of Loaded Dog opposed the insertion of a Wendy Evans chorus about shearers in Sorensen's 'Glenburgh Wool' which is about the transportation of wool not shearing. Phil has recently recorded the song sans the inappropriate chorus and with his own tune. He recorded it in the shearer' kitchen at Glenbugh Station. His note for the clip:

This is a set of verse by Jack Sorensen - I put my tune on it. In early September Yvonne, myself and our trusty Border Collie Cobber, did a 'mini tour' up through the Gascoyne and Murchison regions of Western Australia. I played at Gascoyne Junction, Glenburgh Station and Murchison Settlement. One of the pleasures of my life was to record this in the Shearers' Kitchen at Glenburgh Station, where Jack Sorensen spent time shearing, and to tread where he trod and probably ate 80 years ago. In Jack's words .......'and from those roaring yesterdays the echoes linger yet'.....

Youtube clip

The text of all of Sorensen's poems may be found here:

Click

--Stewie.