The Man from Snowy River
Dec 7th 2012, 1:38 pm
#1
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The Man from Snowy River
I wonder how many British expats in Oz have even heard of The Man from Snowy River.
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
I was brought up on that poem. My Dad, a sheep-farmer in Queensland, could recite it word for word - though he would never do so in public. His reticence was due partly to a fear of ridicule and partly to the emotion it generated in him. I have to say it generates the same emotion in me today, though that may just be old age.
I was reminiscing about my childhood in "the bush" just last month in a blog-post to which I gave the title of the poem. Any expat who wants to get a feel of life in the "old" bush should read the whole poem. Google "man from snowy river words" and you'll find them first up. It's Australia's cultural equivalent of "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
I was brought up on that poem. My Dad, a sheep-farmer in Queensland, could recite it word for word - though he would never do so in public. His reticence was due partly to a fear of ridicule and partly to the emotion it generated in him. I have to say it generates the same emotion in me today, though that may just be old age.
I was reminiscing about my childhood in "the bush" just last month in a blog-post to which I gave the title of the poem. Any expat who wants to get a feel of life in the "old" bush should read the whole poem. Google "man from snowy river words" and you'll find them first up. It's Australia's cultural equivalent of "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
Dec 7th 2012, 9:50 pm
#2
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,838
Re: The Man from Snowy River
Great stuff
but I'm more your Mulga Bill's Bicycle kind of a guy.
It cracks me up every time I read it.
but I'm more your Mulga Bill's Bicycle kind of a guy.It cracks me up every time I read it.
Dec 7th 2012, 10:33 pm
#3
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
I wonder how many British expats in Oz have even heard of The Man from Snowy River.
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
I was brought up on that poem. My Dad, a sheep-farmer in Queensland, could recite it word for word - though he would never do so in public. His reticence was due partly to a fear of ridicule and partly to the emotion it generated in him. I have to say it generates the same emotion in me today, though that may just be old age.
I was reminiscing about my childhood in "the bush" just last month in a blog-post to which I gave the title of the poem. Any expat who wants to get a feel of life in the "old" bush should read the whole poem. Google "man from snowy river words" and you'll find them first up. It's Australia's cultural equivalent of "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
I was brought up on that poem. My Dad, a sheep-farmer in Queensland, could recite it word for word - though he would never do so in public. His reticence was due partly to a fear of ridicule and partly to the emotion it generated in him. I have to say it generates the same emotion in me today, though that may just be old age.
I was reminiscing about my childhood in "the bush" just last month in a blog-post to which I gave the title of the poem. Any expat who wants to get a feel of life in the "old" bush should read the whole poem. Google "man from snowy river words" and you'll find them first up. It's Australia's cultural equivalent of "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
For anyone who enjoys this kind of thing -
WHILE THE BILLY BOILS
Henry Lawson
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7144/7144-h/7144-h.htm
Dec 7th 2012, 11:33 pm
#4
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
The Man from Snowy River is a great poem... but along with the folklore aspect it also demonstrates a bush brutality which isn't so pretty.
For example, the line about making the chasing pony bleed from the use of spurs.
I grew up on the Silver Brumby books though. Loved them long before I knew anything about Australia.
For example, the line about making the chasing pony bleed from the use of spurs.
I grew up on the Silver Brumby books though. Loved them long before I knew anything about Australia.
Dec 8th 2012, 8:39 am
#5
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
Yes, bush brutality is quite a bit different from town brutality: maybe even worse, sometimes. Here is how I introduced a post of mine called "Town & Country" in December 2011:
Sometimes daily newspapers have to cast a wide net for their news, don’t they? Last week England’s Daily Mail reported that two men in a lamb-castrating speed-contest in Wyoming had become physically ill from removing lambs’ testicles with their teeth. I may have been one of a rather small number of readers whose immediate reaction was, “Gosh, Dad used to do that all the time, and it never made him sick.”
I mean, why should it?
There has always been a huge cultural difference between the customs of towns and countrysides. What counts as good, practical sense in rural settings is often frowned upon in urban ones, and vice versa.
Then in the one on The Man from Snowy River a couple of weeks ago I described how my Dad used to kill a sheep every ten days to feed his family. Not a pleasant image to have in my mind all these years - but that's just the way things were. It's not always a bad thing for townsfolk to know what happens when they're not looking!
Sometimes daily newspapers have to cast a wide net for their news, don’t they? Last week England’s Daily Mail reported that two men in a lamb-castrating speed-contest in Wyoming had become physically ill from removing lambs’ testicles with their teeth. I may have been one of a rather small number of readers whose immediate reaction was, “Gosh, Dad used to do that all the time, and it never made him sick.”
I mean, why should it?
There has always been a huge cultural difference between the customs of towns and countrysides. What counts as good, practical sense in rural settings is often frowned upon in urban ones, and vice versa.
Then in the one on The Man from Snowy River a couple of weeks ago I described how my Dad used to kill a sheep every ten days to feed his family. Not a pleasant image to have in my mind all these years - but that's just the way things were. It's not always a bad thing for townsfolk to know what happens when they're not looking!
Dec 8th 2012, 9:38 am
#6
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
Dec 11th 2012, 2:38 pm
#7
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
Zen - thanks for the Henry Lawson essays. I hadn't run across them before.
Uke - A favourite of mine is "Saltbush Bill's Second Fight", about a drover who tricks a landowner into letting him graze sheep for a week on his land. The last verse is a classic: talking about the air being thick with the curses of teamsters striving to get their waggons out of deep mud, and ending,
"The teamsters say, as they pause to rest and moisten each hairy throat,
They wish they could swear like Stingy Smith when he read that neighbour's note."
They don't write them like that any more.
Uke - A favourite of mine is "Saltbush Bill's Second Fight", about a drover who tricks a landowner into letting him graze sheep for a week on his land. The last verse is a classic: talking about the air being thick with the curses of teamsters striving to get their waggons out of deep mud, and ending,
"The teamsters say, as they pause to rest and moisten each hairy throat,
They wish they could swear like Stingy Smith when he read that neighbour's note."
They don't write them like that any more.
Dec 11th 2012, 3:47 pm
#8
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
back then road rage had a different meaning !
even the dogs had enough
Dec 11th 2012, 3:58 pm
#9
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Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Melbourne
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/4918/wagonm.jpg
back then road rage had a different meaning !
even the dogs had enough
back then road rage had a different meaning !
even the dogs had enough
Dec 12th 2012, 9:03 am
#10
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
mulben. Thanks for posting the amazing painting - or is it a photo? Is it available online?
Maybe Banjo Paterson had it in front of him when he wrote that verse!
Maybe Banjo Paterson had it in front of him when he wrote that verse!
Dec 12th 2012, 3:52 pm
#11
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
Original is in the NSW State Library , I have a copy on my wall .
Google images - " bogged wool wagon" - other resolutions available but I think the sepia one is the highest quality.
Dec 12th 2012, 7:52 pm
#12
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
Last week England’s Daily Mail reported that two men in a lamb-castrating speed-contest in Wyoming had become physically ill from removing lambs’ testicles with their teeth. I may have been one of a rather small number of readers whose immediate reaction was, “Gosh, Dad used to do that all the time, and it never made him sick.”
But seriously, it was the quickest way to get the job done, so they just got on with it!
Dec 12th 2012, 7:58 pm
#13
FREE TIBET
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
I much prefer Kevin bloody Wilson
Dec 12th 2012, 8:51 pm
#14
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Dec 13th 2012, 1:15 am
#15
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Re: The Man from Snowy River
mulben. Thanks for the direction to the links. Some great photos there!
