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11 Feb 25 - 04:18 AM (#4217034) Subject: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Monologue John The Outside Track by Henry Lawson There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay, And one on the forward hatch. No straighter mate to his mates than he Ever said, "Old 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 looked grand Chorus: For they marry and go, And the world rolls back, They marry, and vanish and die, But their spirits shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by. The port lights glowed in the morning mist As it rolled on the waters 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 mate, times out of mind. We cheered the land he was going to And the land he had left behind. Chorus For they marry and go, And the world rolls back, They marry, and vanish and die, But their spirits shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by. We roared "Lang Syne" in a last farewell But my heart felt out of joint. I well remember the hush that fell. As the steamer 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. Chorus For they marry and go, And the world rolls back, They marry, and vanish and die, But their spirits shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by. Then one by one, and two by two They've sailed from the wharf since then. I've said goodbye 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 my lonely glass And drink to the barroom wall. Chorus For they marry and go, And the world rolls back, They marry, and vanish and die, But their spirits shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by. Final Chorus: So I'll try my luck For a check Outback And a last farewell to the bush For my heart's away on the Outside Track At the back of the steerage push. Errors - "Mondogreens" are reported in this post's version of the poem. Please scroll to this post to see the corrections. ---mudelf
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11 Feb 25 - 06:59 AM (#4217038) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: GUEST See also the track Origin: The Outside Track (H Lawson/G Hallom). |
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11 Feb 25 - 08:34 AM (#4217041) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Backwoodsman Made into a lovely song by Gerry Hallom. Here’s Nancy Kerr and James Fagan’s fine version… ‘The Outside Track’ - Nancy Kerr & James Fagan |
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11 Feb 25 - 04:14 PM (#4217077) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: GerryM Some mondegreens have slipped in in this thread. The most important one is the fourth line of the first stanza, "Ever said, "Old Len's a match!" It is really, "Had ever said: ‘Len’s a match!’" Here, "Len's" is a contraction of "Lend us". It's not a reference to someone named Len. The very last line of the poem is not "At the back of the steerage push." It's "On the track of the steerage push." The other differences between the words given in the first post in this thread, and Lawson's actual words, are pretty small. Here's the poem from https://allpoetry.com/The-Outside-Track There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay, And one on the for’ard hatch; No straighter mate 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!"— And we dragged him ashore for a final drink Till 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 heart 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. And here are the words from the collection, Poetical Works. There are some very small differences between this and the words at allpoetry.com: There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay, And one on the for’ard hatch; No straighter mate 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 heart 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. |
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11 Feb 25 - 04:38 PM (#4217079) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Backwoodsman Absolutely right about ‘Len’s a match’, Gerry. Unless that’s understood, the line makes no sense. And in both their recorded and YT (live) versions of the song, James Fagan actually sings, “Had ever said lend us a match”. |
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11 Feb 25 - 08:34 PM (#4217090) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Charley Noble Very few people actually sing the last four lines which in my opinion seem to go against the spirit of the poem. Some other singers such as Garnet Rogers and Gordon Bok skip the first verse entirely which I think is a mistake since it sets the scene. Gerry Hallom certainly did a great job fitting a tune to the words. Cheerily, Charlie Ipcar |
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12 Feb 25 - 07:05 AM (#4217097) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Tattie Bogle Then there was the band that took the name, The Outside Track: made up of musicians from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton. Enjoyed a lot of success in the 2010 onwards decade, but don’t seem to be doing anything nowadays. |
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12 Feb 25 - 08:14 AM (#4217101) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Dave the Gnome I thought Paul Metsers did a version but I cannot find any reference to that. Ah well, here is a lovely version by my good mate Phil Atkinson instead :-) The Outside Track |
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12 Feb 25 - 08:39 AM (#4217103) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Backwoodsman Very nice, Dave. But I do wonder why he missed the first verse completely? |
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12 Feb 25 - 10:29 AM (#4217109) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Outside Track From: Dave the Gnome I dunno but you should hear his version of American Pie when he has had a few :-D |