Lyr Req: Outside Track (Henry Lawson)

Subject: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 01:53 AM

Alan of Australia mentioned this song in another thread. Can somebody post the lyrics? It sounds interesting.

I checked the Australian folksong database, but didn't find it there. Here's the URL, in case anyone is interested:

http://www.chepd.mq.edu.au/boomerang/songnet/songnet.html

Priscilla Herdman has an interesting album called "The Water Lily," a collection of Lawson poems she set to music, with a tune or two from others.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 02:09 AM

Joe,

I have the words in a file somewhere and will paste them in this thread when I find the file. If not in the next few minutes it will be a couple of days - going to a folk festival this weekend.

Cheers,

Alan

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Alan of Oz
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 02:11 AM

P.S. have the Priscilla Herdman album and it's great.

Cheers,

Alan

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: THE OUTSIDE TRACK (Lawson/Hallom)
From: Alan of Oz
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 02:39 AM

Here we go (mild panic when I thought I'd lost the file):-

THE OUTSIDE TRACK
Henry Lawson
Gerry Hallom

The D port-lights Em glowed in the G morning mist that G rolled from the waters D green; A7
And D over the Em railing we D grasped his fist as the dark tide came be- A tween.
We G cheered the captain and D cheered the crew and our mate times out of A7 mind;
We D cheered the Em land he was D going G to and the D land he had A7 left be- D hind. G D

Chorus
For they D marry and go as the world rolls back, they marry and vanish and A7 die;
But their D spirit shall Em live on the D outside G track, as D long as the A7 years go D by. G D

We roared Lang Syne as a last farewell but my heart seemed out of joint;
I well remember the hush that fell when the steamer passed the point.
We drifted home through the public bars, we were ten times less by one,
Who had sailed out under the morning stars and under the rising sun.

And one by one, and two by two, they have sailed from the wharf since then;
I have said good-bye to the last I knew, the last of the careless men.
And I can't but think that the times we had were the best times after all,
As I turn aside with a lonely glass and drink to the bar-room wall.

Last chorus
But I'll try my luck for a cheque Out Back, then a last good-bye to the bush;
For my heart's away on the Outside Track, on the track of the steerage push.
For they marry and go as the world rolls back, they marry and vanish and die;
But their spirit shall live on the outside track, as long as the years go by.


Chords embedded in the text - an idea of my good friend Alison.

Cheers,

Alan

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 04:26 AM

Thanks, Alan. Yes, it is a good piece of work.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: LaMarca
Date: 06 Jun 97 - 03:06 PM

Alan et al,
There's a first stanza that Gerry Hallom left off of his setting of the poem, that I've added back when I sing it:

There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay,
And one on the for'wd hatch.
No straighter mate to his mates than he
Ever said, "Old Len's a match!
'Twill be long, old man, e're our glasses clink,
'Twill be long e're we grasp your hand,"
So we dragged him ashore for a final drink
And the whole wide world looked grand...

This was from "The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Lawson", Angus and Roberts Publishing.

Hallom also omitted the last stanza. I have two of his LPs on Fellside Records; they're great collections of both traditional Aussie songs and his settings/recitations of some of the poems by Lawson, Patterson, Thatcher and others. Rumor has it he did a third album, but it never made it to our part of the US.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From:
Date: 07 Jul 98 - 08:55 AM

Garnet Rogers does this on his "Outside Track" CD

Bob Schwarer

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 11:49 AM

Two of the fine Australian singers, Margaret Walters and John Warner, I met on my recent visit to Oz (5-String Banjo in Oz) do a fine rendition of this song on their CD WHO WAS THERE?, Feathers & Wedge © 1997; their version includes the first verse. Margaret occasionally lurks on Mudcat. Bok, Tricket & Muir also did a rendition similar to Gerry Hallom which leaves out the first verse on their HARBORS OF HOME CD. Hallom provided the fine tune.

Could someone post the original Lawson words so we can better appreciate the "folk-processing" which has been taking place?

Subject: Lyr Add: OUTSIDE TRACK (Henry Lawson)
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 09:23 PM

There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay,
And one on the for'ard hatch;
No straighter man to his mates than he
Had ever said "Len's a match!"
"'Twill be long, old man, ere our glasses clink,
"'Twill be long ere we grip your hand" -
So we dragged him ashore for a final drink
And the whole wide world seemed grand.

For they marry and go as the world rolls back,
They marry and vanish and die;
But their spirit shall live on the Outside Track
As long as the years go by.

The port-lights glowed in the morning mist
That rolled from the waters green;
And over the railing we grasped his fist
As the dark tide came between.
We cheered the captain and cheered the crew,
And our mate, times out of mind;
We cheered the land he was going to
And the land he had left behind.

We roared "Lang Syne" as a last farewell,
But my jeart seemed out of joint;
I well remember the hush that fell
When the steamer had passed the point.
We drifted home through the public bars,
We were ten times less by one
Who sailed out under the morning stars,
And under the rising sun.

And one by one, and two by two,
They have sailed from the wharf since then;
I have said good-bye to the last I knew,
The last of the careless men.
And I can't but think that the times we had
Were the best times after all,
As I turn aside with a lonely glass
And drink to the bar-room wall.

But I'll try my luck for a cheque Out Back,
Then a last good-bye to the bush;
For my heart's away on the Outside track,
On the track of the steerage push.

"Poetical Works of Henry Lawson," Angus and Robertson Publishers. First published 1918. ISBN 0 207 94373 7

For more information on musical settings of Lawson's work, the definitive work is Chris Kempster's "Songs of Henry Lawson." It is out of print, so you'll have to be lucky. Can't give publishing references - some bastard knocked off my copy.





Lawson was lamenting the gradual passing of the circle of drinking and writing mates he had, centred on the "Bulletin" magazine - which, by the way, is also but a shell of its former self.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: breezy
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 10:18 AM

Garnett's version is 'back-of -the-neck' stuff.I think of my mate who's now Stateside.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 12:28 PM

Well, we're making some progress but now we have TWO versions of line 4 of the first verse, apparently from the same published source. I don't have the book in front of me. Am I supposed to flip a coin or write my own variant?

Ever said, "Old Len's a match!"

OR:

Had ever said, "Len''s a match!"

I believe these two variations have different meanings. Margaret is quite firm that "Len''s a match" is what's there and that the meaning is in her words:

the laconic "len' 's a match" [to light a cigarette/pipe] suggests an intimacy born of tough times shared together.

Any more thoughtful feedback?

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: lamarca
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 03:10 PM

I posted the first "version" from (faulty) memory, Charlie - Margaret is correct on both the words and the meaning.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of Kempster's collection of Lawson settings from 'Catter Bob Bolton - a volume well worth looking for on the used book nets. Thanks, Bob! It would be great if someone would do the same for settings of Banjo Paterson poems...

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 03:59 PM

"Back-of-the-neck" stuff???? Wazzat mean???

I use Outside track as #2 song in my Emmigration/Immigration medley... Opens with "Fields Of Athen Rye"... then "The Outside Track"... and closes with "When The Boys Come Rollin' Home"...

It's 8-10 minutes of music, and a bit of a haul, but it's a KILLER way to end the 2nd set!

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 04:59 PM

Mystery solved. Thanks, Lamarca!

Now that final verse that no one sings:

But I'll try my luck for a cheque Out Back,
Then a last good-bye to the bush;
For my heart's away on the Outside Track,
On the track of the steerage push.

Does this mean that he's going out again to try to earn some money, and then follow his mates back to England when he can, rather than drinking to the bar-room wall?

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 07:54 PM

Correction of my above: James Fagan does sing the last verse according to Margaret Walters.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 06 Jan 02 - 09:16 PM

G'day all & sundry,

lamarca: I have not seen any count of tunes, but I doubt that there are anywhere near as many musical settings of Paterson's poems as there are of Lawson's. Paterson's a re good stirring poetry, but often in forms that don't drop as easily into ballad metre.

When Chris Kempster did the Lawson book, he had to leave out about half of the settings submitted ... now he has as many again! (We have been discussing just how some of these can be published.)Unfortunately, the book was not a great commercial success, so there is little hope of a 'mainstream' publisher reprinting, let alone doing an expanded, second edition.

BTW: There is some rumour of an un-accounted-for crate of copies of the first edition. Whether they still exist ... and, on which continent they are ... remains a mystery, but I would like to find the answer(s).

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: GUEST,Ernest
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 01:59 AM

Hello everyone,

a great version of this song was recorded by the band Midnight Court on their album "Ring the bell...run like hell", which contains not only the lyrics, but the notation and chords just as well. The website of the recording company should be something like magnetic-music.com. (I don`t work for that company, but I do like the band.).

Yours

Ernest

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: GUEST,hrothgar
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 03:17 AM

Bob Bolton is right - Lawson is made to be set to music, and Paterson is made to be recited.

With notable exceptions in both cases, of course!

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 07:56 AM

G'day hrothgar,

You're pretty right in that ... there are some Paterson poems that have worked well as ballads ... Clancy of the Overflow has had a few settings - some made it onto the top 40 charts! Artesian Waters has a couple of good tunes ... one shuffled back into 'ballad' form and the other meticulously crafted to fit Paterson's poetical form ... and both work well. But, by and large Paterson is great reciting, not great ballads.

Lawson, on the other hand, thought of his poems as songs ... and often referred to them as such. He didn't actually sing ... having a hearing defect that would have made such a course most unwise ... but oldtimers have said they heard Lawson sung more often in the bush than recited. I tink modern tune writers/setters are just following in the established folk tradition (I've even written the odd tune for a Lawson lyric, myself). But then, I'll recite Henry's Scots of the Riverina as a verse introducion to Wee Eric's No Man's Land ... and practically have myself weeping ... if not the audience!

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 08:15 AM

Thanks to all above for their help.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 02:10 PM

I'll ask again...

"Back-of-the-neck" stuff???? Wazzat mean???

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: breezy
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 02:55 PM

Bet it kills the audience too
How to spell Athenry. An American tourist , whilst in Eire really did ask directions for, ''That place called 'At Henry,'''.
I mean Outside Track, as performed by Garnet has so much emotion, and if you can empathise you'ld understand.If you don't then you're missing the intrinsicity of the song.Go back and start again.
The piece can be a stand-out number if delivered well and should remain isolated from others of similar sentiment .To include it as a medley is an insult to the author's artistry as well as his talent as a writer of merit.
Well how about that then guys and galls!!.
Gareth has sent me a donation to Mudcat in Trouble, thank you Gareth.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 06:54 PM

I keep losing track of where I've posted these links, but both Lawson and Paterson can be found online:look in these lists....you can download and print your own copy, or just read at your leisure....The home page is

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

L list

P list

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Jan 02 - 08:20 PM

Hey breezy... no need to be snarky... I just hadn't heard that turn of phrase before... "Back-of-the-neck-stuff".. interesting phrase...

Also...

"To include it as a medley is an insult to the author's artistry as well as his talent as a writer of merit."

Yer entitled to your opinion, but don't state it like it's a fact, or has grand merit o.k... I've only ever heard Garnet do Outside Track in medleys, like he does on his live album, Summer Lightning...

I also have had PLENTY of audiences who really like my medley, so you'll forgive me if your arrogant and condescending opinion pales in comparison...

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Jan 02 - 08:04 AM

You want to step outside and say that? Sigh, more Mudcat spatting.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 08 Jan 02 - 03:14 PM

tough!

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: breezy
Date: 08 Jan 02 - 03:24 PM

Well it works for Garnet but then he dont do it with At Henry!.
How many of us have got Summer lightening? Its the song about planting that hits home.
Peace on earth.
Can you come to the club on Fri 18th Jan at The Silver Cup , Harpenden, Herts?

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Francy
Date: 08 Jan 02 - 03:45 PM

Why ruin a perfectly good and interesting thread with petty bickering? Henry Lawson is a magnificent poet and yes, his poems work well with music....I've never met him, and problably never will; considering the fact that he's dead; but I'm feel quite comfortable with the feeling that he would like to have his poems sung and also put into medleys.....Let's just enjoy the knowledge and music we can share with each other....Be cool and enjoy...Frank of Toledo

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 08 Jan 02 - 05:07 PM

"Why ruin a perfectly good and interesting thread with petty bickering?"

Don't look at me... I'm not the one who played the "arrogant and condescending" card...

"Be cool and enjoy..."

Abso-frigg'n-lootly!

;-)

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jan 02 - 10:10 AM

Now I want to know more about Henry Lawson. Does anyone have the title of a favorite biography they would be willing to share?

One of my West Coast friends was mentioning that Utah Phillips had just completed an Austraian tour in which he sang some Lawson ballads. Any comment from you folks in Oz?

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 17 May 03 - 06:01 PM

Refresh for "Q"!

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 17 May 03 - 07:59 PM

Thanks for the refresh. It had Bill D's link to online Lawson and Patterson material. Served two purposes- I hadn't updated my Acrobat, and found that I got a black screen with the Setis PDF files. Now the veil is lifted and I can read Lawson's "Verses popular and humorous," and others.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 17 May 03 - 08:21 PM

G'day Charley Noble,

I think I must have missed your 09 Jan 02 posting ... I may well have been away somewhere and not picked up on the traced thread when I came back. I see no answer ... Did you you locate a good biography of Henry Lawson?

I had a quick scan of my shelves - and I mostly have the standard verse and prose collections. Somewhere, I think I had a very light biog - but it appeared to be aimed at school-age kids.

Anyway, if you didn't find a good one, I'll enquire what is in the market - possibly quote a few Author/Title/ISBNs that could help with a library search.

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 May 03 - 12:20 PM

Bob-

I did find what I thought was a satisfactory biography of this intriguing man but I've since lent it out and it's still circulating on the outside track...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 May 03 - 12:30 PM

Ah, found the title of the biography in my e-mail file of book orders: The Real Henry Lawson.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 18 May 03 - 01:14 PM

"The Real Henry Lawson." Author Colin Roderick, 1982. Quarto, 208pp. Found 8 copies at Abebooks.com, all in Aus.-NZ, $8-25 US depending on condition and the greed of the bookseller. Also by same author but more expensive- "Henry Lawson, Poet and Short Story Writer" but only 74 pp.
One that looks interesting is "In Search of Henry Lawson," by Manning Clark. "Compelling and often tragic." Anyone familiar with this one?

Looking for one to buy, but hard to select. There are others- seems like he was a popular subject.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 May 03 - 02:07 PM

Yep, that's the one, Q, by Colin Roderick. I did just find my copy in the book shelf where I should have looked first instead of in the various piles around the house. It's in my opinion a good even-handed treatment of a complex life, and not too pricey.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 18 May 03 - 11:31 PM

G'day Charley,

The "standard verse ... collections" I mentioned included the magnificent 3-volume Collected Verse of Henry Lawson by Colin Roderick ... every single item of verse ... all the dates ... notes on the various versions, commentaries - the odd argument, &c. Roderick is the foremost individual chronicler of Lawson and has done a great lot of research. (I should probably seek out a copy of The Real Henry Lawson ... nobody said the internet actually saved you money!)

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Hrothgar
Date: 19 May 03 - 06:45 AM

Don't read his biography. It's too bloody depressing.

Just enjoy his work - and sometimes when I'm reading his poetry i come across something like "One-Humdred-and-Three" and I find that bloody depressing as well.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 May 03 - 08:00 AM

True, there are parts of Lawson's biography that are depressing, primarily his last years, and if you're concerned about that risk then skip it.

However, after reading some of Lawson's poetry I really felt a need to know something more about the man and the life he lived, the experience that his poetry grew out of, for better or worse.

And now Bob has reminded me that I don't have "the magnificent 3-volume Collected Verse of Henry Lawson by Colin Roderick." That's really depressing, and more so with regard to my bank account. Maybe it's in paperback...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 19 May 03 - 09:43 AM

G'day again Charley,

Actually ... I now see that the correct title is Henry Lawson - Collected Verse. My copies are:

~ Volume One: 1885-1900 (the great one!, Angus & Robertson, Australia, 1967, reprinted 1981. ISBN 0 207 14379 X

~ Volume Two: 1901-1909, Angus & Robertson, Australia, 1968, reprinted 1981. ISBN 0 207 14387 O

~ Volume Three: 1910-1922, Angus & Robertson, Australia, 1969. National Library of Australia Registry Number AU68-2745.

The first two volumes I picked up around the end of the reprint period ... but the third was finally sourced from Berlelouw's Rare Book Barn (the third one back ...) down at Bowral. Berkelouw's do have a book search engine at their web site (www.berkelouw.com.au ...?) - but that do take the "rare book" description seriously!

Some years back I did an interview with one of Henry Lawson's nieces (one of Peter James Lawson's daughters) .. and a few of her brothers and sisters. There should be a rambling tape recording ... somewhere ... from which I produced a small interview article in Mulgas Wire ... about 1980 ... along with a rather dubious song written and published by Peter and Charles - Henry's brothers! (A Little Town Called Budgee Budgee ...?)

Regard(les)s,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 May 03 - 07:17 PM

Colin Roderick writes:

"I have written his story with sorrow for his suffering and pleasure in his triumph...If there is anything to be learnt from the record of Lawson's life it is the old truth which every generation discovers that:

Men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things."

I think Roderick does a fine job of telling the story of the "real" Henry Lawson.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: OUTSIDE TRACK (Henry Lawson)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jun 03 - 08:07 PM

I'm not sure how much I've strayed from Gerry Hallom's tune. I have to admit becoming fascinated with finding fragments of "Roddy McCalley" and "Foggy Dew" embedded in his arrangement and I may have added a few other elements in what I've been doing. I've also done some relatively minor "folk processing" of the verses which look like this:

Words by Henry Lawson, 1896; original tune by Gerry Hallom © 1982
Primarily from the singing of Margaret Walters and John Warner,
Who Was Here?, Feathers & Wedge © 1997
Words and tune modified by Charlie Ipcar, 2002
Key: F (C/5)

The Outside Track

G----------D----------Em------------D--------G
There were ten of us there on that moon-lit quay
-----D-----------A--D--G
And one on the for'ard hatch;
----D---------Em---------D------------G
No straighter man to his mates than he,
----D---------G---D-A
No one could be his match;
-------------D----G—D--------------------G--D
"'Twill be long, old man, 'fore our glass-es clink,
----------------------------------------A
'twill be long 'fore we grasp your hand!"
----------D--------------Em----------D----G
Then we dragged him ashore for a final drink,
---------D------------A---------------G
Till the whole wide world seemed grand.

Chorus:
G--------D-----G----D------------------G----D
For they marry and go, as the world rolls back,
---------------------------------A
They marry and vanish and die;
-----------D-----------Em---------D-------G
But their spirit shall live on the outside track,
---D------------A-------G
As long as the years go by.

The port-lights glowed in the morning mist
That rolled from the waters so green;
And over the railing we grasped his fist
As the dark tide came between;
We cheered the captain, we cheered the crew,
And our own mate, times out of mind;
We cheered the land he was going to,
And the land he'd left behind. (CHO)

We roared Lang Syne as a last farewell,
But me heart seemed out of joint;
I well remember the hush that fell
As the steamer cleared the point;
We drifted home through the public bars,
We were ten times less by one,
Who'd sailed out under the morning stars,
Into the rising sun. (CHO)

And one by one, and two by two,
They've sailed from the quay since then;
I've said good-bye to the last I knew,
The last of the careless men;
And I can't but think that the times we had
Were the best times after all,
As I turn aside, raise my glass,
And drink to this bar-room wall. (CHO)

An MP3 sample of how I'm doing this can be accessed from my personal website: Charley Noble Personal Website

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 10 Jun 03 - 07:00 AM

Hi Charley Noble,

I've got a 4 page bio of Lawson's time in NZ, but will have to hand-type, so it could take some days.

Methinks 'Outside Track' was written at the same time as Lawson's prose 'Last of the Push' (title from memory - can't find 'While the Billy Boils' vII). Will was farewelling the last of his mates heading from Oz to NZ, looking for jobs such as shearing, during the 1890s Depression.

Again, from memory, there were about 4-5 yarns that mention the incident.

Anyway, Lawson ended up following them to Kiwiland for a while.

HELP BOB! You must have 'While the Billy Boils' on the shelf?

Cheers - Sam

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 10 Jun 03 - 09:42 AM

G'day Sam (Sorry for misnomer in my earlier PM!),

The Outside Track was 1896 - The newly-married Lawsons had just returned from an unsuccessful attempt to settle in Western Australia .. and make something of a life there ... the new gold-rush had pushed up housing prices and they were forced to live in a tent.

I believe Lawson wrote this after seeing off yet another Australian writer going off "to make a name for himself in "the Old Country" ... England" - and Henry was off on the same quest shortly after ... this is what he refers to in saying:

But I'll try my luck for a cheque Out Back,
Then a last goodbye to the bush;
For my heart's away on the Outside Track,
On the track of the steerage push.

(He had made a quick trip to Enzed earlier in 1896.)

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: GUEST,croc
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 03:51 PM

A B Patterson was better than Lawson

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 04:02 PM

Patterson was better at writing the things he wrote, and Lawson was better at writing the things he wrote.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 04:10 PM

Better at what, croc? Why compare - is there a prize to be given? Can we not enjoy both?

Or did you simply mean that you like A B Patterson better than Henry Lawson? In which case - just listen to A B Patterson, and your world will be a happier one.

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 04:31 PM

*Snap*, Kevin

Subject: RE: Outside Track - Henry Lawson
From: Helen
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 05:27 PM

Paterson, not Patterson, also known as Banjo Paterson. I'm not sure whether that means he played the banjo. I never thought about that until now because we are at Mudcat and everything comes back to music here one way or another.

(Uh-oh, not another thing for me to look up on the 'Net! I've got enough of them already.)

Lawson can get a bit sentimental sometimes. I prefer Paterson but I can appreciate both.

Helen