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21 May 07 - 08:38 PM (#2058069) Subject: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: emjay I've tried to post this three times, and I am going to try again. This time I won;t even try to embellish my request. I am just trying to figure out some words that may or may not be, "humpin' blooey." Thanks! |
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21 May 07 - 08:41 PM (#2058072) Subject: Lyr Add: FREEDOM ON THE WALLABY (Henry Lawson) From: Peace Freedom on the Wallaby 1891 Henry Lawson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUR FATHERS toiled for bitter bread While idlers thrived beside them; But food to eat and clothes to wear Their native land denied them. They left their native land in spite Of royalties' regalia, And so they came, or if they stole Were sent out to Australia. They struggled hard to make a home, Hard grubbing 'twas and clearing. They weren't troubled much with toffs When they were pioneering; And now that we have made the land A garden full of promise, Old greed must crook his dirty hand And come to take it from us. But Freedom's on the Wallaby, She'll knock the tyrants silly, She's going to light another fire And boil another billy. We'll make the tyrants feel the sting Of those that they would throttle; They needn't say the fault is ours If blood should stain the wattle. |
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21 May 07 - 08:42 PM (#2058074) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Peace OK. What words? The Oz folks will be awake soon (if not now). |
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21 May 07 - 08:45 PM (#2058075) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Peace "Freedom on the Wallaby Henry Lawson's well known poem, Freedom on the Wallaby, was written as a comment on the 1891 Australian shearers' strike and published by William Lane in the Worker in Brisbane, May 16, 1891. The last two stanzas of the poem were read out by Frederick Brentnall MP on July 15, 1891 in the Queensland Legislative Council during a 'Vote of Thanks' to the armed police who broke up the Barcaldine strike camp. There were calls in the chamber for Lawson's arrest for sedition. Lawson wrote a bitter rejoinder to Brentnall, The Vote of Thanks Debate. The "Rebel flag" referred to in the poem is the Eureka Flag that was first raised at the Eureka Stockade in 1854, above the Shearers' strike camp in 1891 and carried on the first Australian May Day march in Barcaldine on May 1, 1891." That's from Answers.com |
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21 May 07 - 08:45 PM (#2058076) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Sandra in Sydney humpin' (or humping) = carrying bluey = worldly goods rolled up in a blanket bluey is also a swag for more info on Australian words, you can check out the Aussie Dictionary in the drop down menu at the top of this page sandra |
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21 May 07 - 08:49 PM (#2058079) Subject: Lyr Add: FREEDOM ON THE WALLABY (Henry Lawson) From: Sandra in Sydney complete poems of Henry lawson ^^^ Freedom on the Wallaby Henry Lawson 1891 Australia's a big country An' Freedom's humping bluey, An' Freedom's on the wallaby Oh! don't you hear 'er cooey? She's just begun to boomerang, She'll knock the tyrants silly, She's goin' to light another fire And boil another billy. Our fathers toiled for bitter bread While loafers thrived beside 'em, But food to eat and clothes to wear, Their native land denied 'em. An' so they left their native land In spite of their devotion, An' so they came, or if they stole, Were sent across the ocean. Then Freedom couldn't stand the glare O' Royalty's regalia, She left the loafers where they were, An' came out to Australia. But now across the mighty main The chains have come ter bind her – She little thought to see again The wrongs she left behind her. Our parents toil'd to make a home – Hard grubbin 'twas an' clearin' – They wasn't crowded much with lords When they was pioneering. But now that we have made the land A garden full of promise, Old Greed must crook 'is dirty hand And come ter take it from us. So we must fly a rebel flag, As others did before us, And we must sing a rebel song And join in rebel chorus. We'll make the tyrants feel the sting O' those that they would throttle; They needn't say the fault is ours If blood should stain the wattle! |
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21 May 07 - 08:51 PM (#2058080) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Peace Dang. Nice to see the whole poem. |
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21 May 07 - 09:01 PM (#2058088) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: emjay Thank you! I was so sure I could count on Mudcat and all the fine folks who read it and respond and post. My granddaughter and I were listening and trying to make sure we heard the words right. I learned all the things about the shearer's strike, what the rebel flag was -- I really wanted all the words -- and I wanted to know what humpin' bluey meant. I feel so much better now that I do know. And we will go back to listening to the Makem and Spain Brothers singing the song. I realaly like it! Martie |
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21 May 07 - 09:24 PM (#2058104) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Rowan Swaggies were blokes who carried their swag, walking from property to property (called homesteads or ranches in the US but more usually called "stations" in Oz), looking for work and, sometimes, looking to avoid working too hard for the obligatory handout of basic tucker. The process was sometimes called the tucker track. There was a technique of rolling one's clobber into a blanket that could be carried comfortably over the shoulder. The nearest north American equivalent was a hobo but I'm not sure they carried swags, let alone waltzed matilda. Cheers, Rowan |
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21 May 07 - 09:54 PM (#2058121) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Charley Noble emjay- Those were good questions, and Mudcat, when we're being good, can provide some astonishing good answers. We only have problems when no one has any good questions to ask. All mine have been answered finally, alas, but I still hang around in hopes that someone will ask something that I know the answer of. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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22 May 07 - 10:52 AM (#2058378) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: GUEST "The Eureka Flag' - finest flag an Aussie could fly IMO. Its midnight blue with a white cross and the stars of the 'southern cross' constellation emblazoned on the arms of the cross. Its beautiful and meaningful and one day it will be the national flag of our country. |
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22 May 07 - 01:15 PM (#2058465) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Peace This it? |
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22 May 07 - 03:40 PM (#2058565) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Little Robyn The late Frank Fyfe used to sing a similar song years ago. His one was Australia's on the Wallaby Do they both go to the same tune? Robyn |
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22 May 07 - 06:40 PM (#2058679) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Bugsy GUEST, whilst I fully agree with your sentiment about the Eureka Flag I don't see that it will ever become the national flag until th CFMEU stop using it as their flag. There are too many Right Wingers in the country who would say that we are "Selling out to the Unions". CHeers Bugsy |
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22 May 07 - 06:50 PM (#2058692) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Old Grizzly Darn it - and I always thought it was the carrying out of an 'unnatural act' with a Kangaroo in the days before the sheep arrived .... Learn something new here every day :o) ..well... someone had to lower the tone :o) Regards Dave |
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22 May 07 - 07:11 PM (#2058711) Subject: RE: Freedom on the Wallaby -- Meaning From: Rowan Peace, you got it right. And its image and meaning have been appropriated by every part of the political spectrum in Oz. Cheers, Rowan |
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04 Sep 21 - 03:29 AM (#4118783) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: Daniel Kelly Reviving this thread to ask a question about whether this song came before or after 'Australia's on the Wallaby'. Lawson's poem was published in The Worker in Brisbane in May 1891, and the 'Australia' poem/song was published anonymously in the New Australia Journal in August 1893 (in the Communist Colony in Uruguay). Some links to the relevant references on my recent recording. Any suggestions on an earlier source for 'Australia's on the Wallaby'? Warren Fahey pointed out that Lawson was friends with Mary Gilmore who left for Paraguay in 1893, maybe she wrote the song based on Henry's original? |
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04 Sep 21 - 06:22 AM (#4118791) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: GerryM Chris Kempster, The Songs of Henry Lawson, writes, "Regardless of which came first, the Lawson poem or the traditional song [Australia's on the Wallaby], it seems likely that Lawson adapted the phrase 'Australia's on the wallaby' to link the Australian working man with the spirit of freedom." |
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04 Sep 21 - 07:01 AM (#4118798) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: Daniel Kelly Gerry, but ‘Australia’s on the wallaby’ was not a traditional song, it was specifically written by people who had left Australia and were voicing there bitterness at not being able to live the way they wanted. The Lawson poem is similarly political, but about the shearer strike. If there is an earlier, non political, precursor to both songs/poems, I was hoping someone might have a link. The phrase ‘on the wallaby’ was in common use in the early/mid 1850s, but the specific pairing with freedom or Australia seems peculiar to these two works. |
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05 Sep 21 - 05:47 AM (#4118878) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: GerryM For what it's worth, "Australia's on the Wallaby" is in the Digital Tradition at https://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=388 The first four lines there differ from what Ron Edwards gives in Great Australian Folk Songs. Edwards has The old man's gone in search of gold, The claim has proved a duffer, They search for gold in the rain and cold, And they are the ones that suffer, Neither Edwards nor the DT gives any reference that goes back to Lawson's time. |
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05 Sep 21 - 07:05 AM (#4118884) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: Daniel Kelly Hi Gerry, The lyrics in DT match very closely to the version published in the 'New Australia' journal from Aug 1893. It looks like the Edwards version has been de-politicized. |
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06 Sep 21 - 08:51 AM (#4118966) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: GUEST According to Roderick, "Freedom on the Wallaby (May 1891)" was given a major revision in September 1894, with further changes in 1913. In addition minor changes were done for publication in drifferent journals. 1891 version, Published in the Brisbane Worker May 1891 OUR FATHERS toiled for bitter bread While idlers thrived beside them; But food to eat and clothes to wear Their native land denied them. They left their native land in spite Of royalties' regalia, And so they came, or if they stole Were sent out to Australia. They struggled hard to make a home, Hard grubbing 'twas and clearing. They weren't troubled much with toffs When they were pioneering; And now that we have made the land A garden full of promise, Old greed must crook his dirty hand And come to take it from us. But Freedom's on the Wallaby, She'll knock the tyrants silly, She's going to light another fire And boil another billy. We'll make the tyrants feel the sting Of those that they would throttle; They needn't say the fault is ours If blood should stain the wattle. 1894 version Published Sydney Worker September 1894 There's trouble in the back countree An' Freedom's humping bluey, An' Freedom's on the wallaby Oh! don't you hear 'er cooey? She's just begun to boomerang, She'll knock the tyrants silly, She's goin' to light another fire And boil another billy. Our fathers toiled for bitter bread While loafers thrived beside 'em, But food to eat and clothes to wear, Their native land denied 'em. An' so they left their native land In spite of their devotion, An' so they came, or if they stole, Were sent across the ocean. Then Freedom couldn't stand the glare Of Royalty's regalia, She left the loafers where they were, And came out to Australia. But now across the mighty main The chains have come to bind her – She little thought to see again The wrongs she left behind her. Our parents toiled to make a home, Hard grubbin' 'twas an' clearin' They wasn't crowded much with lords When they was pioneering. But now that we have made the land A garden full of promise, Old Greed must crook his dirty hand And come to take it from us. So we must fly a rebel flag, As others did before us, And we must sing a rebel song And join in rebel chorus. We'll make the tyrants feel the sting Of those that they would throttle; They needn't say the fault is ours If blood should stain the wattle! Bruce D |
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24 Jan 23 - 01:12 AM (#4163396) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Freedom on the Wallaby (Henry Lawson) From: GUEST I'm not so sure that Lawson was referring to the Eureka flag as his "rebel flag". In his other poem 'The old rebel flag in the rear' published in 1892, he clearly refers to the Red flag. And the blood that was shed by old rebels, For rights that shall ever be dear, Drips down from the red of the flag overhead, Of the Old Rebel Flag in the Rear. |
