The Fitzroy Blacksmith

With Apologies to Longfellow

by A. B. "Banjo" Paterson

 

Under the spreading deficit,

The Fitzroy Smithy stands;

The smith, a spendthrift man is he,

With too much on his hands;

But the muscles of his brawny jaw

Are strong as iron bands.

Pay out, pay put, from morn till night,

You can hear the sovereigns go;

Or you'll hear him singing "Old Folks at Home",

In a deep bass voice and slow,

Like a bullfrog down in the village well

When the evening sun is low.

 

The Australian going "home" for loans

Looks in at the open door;

He loves to see the imported plant,

And to hear the furnace roar,

And to watch the private firms smash up

Like chaff on the threshing-floor.

 

Toiling, rejoicing, borrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some scheme begun

That never sees its close.

Something unpaid for, someone done,

Has earned a night's repose.

Banjo Patterson Australian Poet

A. B. (Banjo) Patterson 5

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The City of Dreadful Thirst

The Dam that Keele Built

The Daylight is Dying

The Diggers

The Federal Bus Conductor and the Old Lady

The Fitzroy Blacksmith

The Geebung Polo Club

The Great Calamity

The Hypnotist

The Last Trump

The Lay of the Motor Car

The Lost Leichhardt

The Corner Man

The Dauntless Three

The Deficit Demon

The Duties of an Aide-de-camp

The First Surveyor

The Flying Gang

The Ghost of the Murderer's Hut

The Gunaroo Bullock

The Incantation

The Last Parade

The Lost Drink

The Lung Fish