Page 3 - eMuse Vol.9 No.11

And I’ve heard you say Mother Nature
Women of the Bush
by Grahame Watt ©
We were sittin’ one night, just yappin’,
With a few Beers, down at the “Royal”,
The conversation had run out of “steam like,
We’d sorta “Gone of the Boil”.
When Up spoke “Old Harry — the Rouser”,
Who we thought was asleep in his Chair,
Everyone knew him as “Hairy”
For the top of his head was quite bare.
He said, “Have you ever wondered or thought?”
As he scratched the nude bit of his head,
“When you talk about the ‘Great Outback’ —
Is it the blokes you immediately think of —?
Or is it the WOMEN instead?”
“Nugget” said loud, “It’s a Man’s World,
It’s the Men made the Outback so Grand,
The Drovers, the Bullocky Drivers,
The Axe-men who cleared the Wild Land.”
“It’s the Men there’s no doubt,” said Old Rusty,
“The sweated an’ slaved without tears,
It’s the men built the Roads an’ the Fences,
An ploughed an’ sowed Crops all these Years.”
“No Worries! It’s men,” said the Ringer,
“It’s natural and part of a Plan,
Women are Handy for some things,
But the Outback was made by a man.”
Now Hairy just sat back and he listened.
He let them all have their say,
As each gave forth with the reasons,
Why Men are in front — all the way.
But when the drew breath for a Minute,
He said “You’re wrong, an’ I tell you no Lie,
The Outback you see — is a woman,
An’ I’ll tell you the Reasons and Why.
For you always speak of a Woman
When you talk of the Outback by Gee!
You never give it a Man’s name,
You refer to the Outback as “She!”
How many time have I herd you
Say in a meaningful way,
‘She’s a Bonzer Life in the Outback,
She’s a beautiful Outback Day.”
November 2020
Is just like all Women you know,
She’s fickle an’ changes direction,
An’ you never know which way She’ll Go.
You mention the Girls of the Outback
When you talk of the places you’ve been,
You say, ‘You’re in love with The ALICE,
An’ Katherine an’ Mary Kathleen.’
And where would you be without Women,
I ask you blokes ‘Dinki Di!’
For who made the homes that you come from,
Who made you laugh, made you cry.
The Outback of course is a Woman,
And the touch of a Woman is seen,
Wherever you look you see Beauty.
You can tell that a woman has been.”
A silence prevailed in the Bar-Room,
Then Hairy said, “Take it from me,
I reckon the Outback’s a Woman,
I reckon you’ll have to agree.”
Nugget an’ Rusty fell silent,
They were sullen and looked at a Loss.
Said Nugget, “If the Outback’s a Woman,
US Blokes, we are still the Boss!”
The ‘Ringer’ was choked with emotion,
An’ at last he broke down and cried,
Through his tears he said, “I’d stay an’ argue,
BUT THE MISSUS IS WAITIN’ OUTSIDE.”
A Singer
of the Bush
There is waving of grass in the breeze
And a song in the air,
And a murmur of myriad bees
That do toil everywhere.
There is a scent in the blossom and bough,
And the breath of the spring
Is as soft as a kiss on the brow —
And springtime I sing.
There is drought on the land, and the stock
Tumble down in their tracks
Or follow — a tottering flock —
The scrub-cutter’s axe.
While ever a creature survives
The axes shall swing;
We are fighting with fate for their lives —
And the combat I sing.
Banjo Paterson.
eMuse 3