Poetry Monday!: "Clancy of the Overflow" by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson

(For the rest of my playlist, click here. Past poems are "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson; "The Pulley" by George Herbert; "Harmonie du soir" by Charles Baudelaire; and "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.)

Comments

[LegoAthos]

I think this is my favorite so far.

[Well Regulated Militia]

That was great. Thanks for reading it, I doubt I would've ever heard it otherwise.

[GivenABadName]

Amazing poem.
Reminds me a little bit of Robert Service and a little bit of Dylan Thomas.
I don't think I would have heard of this either. Thank you for reading it, made my day. "And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all."
(quoth the raven, here it comes again.)

[bernard11]

Reminds me a little bit of Robert Service and a little bit of Dylan Thomas.

Definitely endorse both for future readings.

[Miss Greenparker]

Good reading of a fun poem and reverie about escaping city life, which lasted for at least as long as it took to pen the proposition in ink, not tar, and realize Clancey is no accountant or businessman and that our lives tend to follow our natural inclinations with their settings.

Particularly like the rhyming scheme.

Didn't have a chance last poem to say how utterly lovely and strong Millay's "Dirge without Music" sounded to our ears and hearts!

[Miss Greenparker]

Forgot to add the cheekiest part of the poem for me-- that he pins the futility of his pining for the raw elements on poor ole Overflow not being suited to trade places with him in the city, when he knows, and won't expressly declare so, that he himself isn't really suited for the unrelenting dust, sun, and saddle of the hard trail.

That's the fun of reveries. We can direct them and go into denial as much as we may wish.

[MarkW201]

Nice. The Clancy of the poem is the character of that name in the movie The Man From Snowy River, adapted from the poem of that title, also by A. B. Paterson.

[Well Regulated Militia]

Thats funny because that is exactly who i envisioned when i listened to this. Thanks.

[Shamie Ervin iv]

Un STOP able. and just beautiful. Thanks.

[Paladin_44]

Thanks for these readings, Sasha. I wonder if I would be able to understand this one if read by an Aussie - might take several listens.

[Sasha Volokh]

Try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s27QP0QGv0

[MarkW201]

That's not just an Aussie, but Jack Thompson, who played Clancy in The Man From Snowy River. 🙂

[Well Regulated Militia]

and defense counsel in Breaker Morant, a very under rated movie

[arch1]

Banjo was only 25 when he wrote that.

[XEleison]

Wow, I really liked that. And I really enjoyed the rhyme scheme.

Thanks for keeping up with these!