Rio Grandes Last Race, Etc. | Page 3

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ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses
by Andrew Barton `Banjo'
Paterson [Australian Poet, Reporter -- 1864-1941.]
[Note on text: Italicized stanzas are indented 5 spaces.
Italicized
words or phrases are capitalized.
Lines longer than 78 characters have
been broken according to metre, and the continuation is indented two
spaces. Also,
some obvious errors, after being confirmed against
other sources, have been corrected.]
[This etext has been transcribed from the original 1902 Sydney
edition.]
Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses
by A. B. Paterson
The verses in this collection have appeared in papers in various parts of
the world -- "Rio Grande" in London; most of the war verses in
Bloemfontein; others in Sydney.
0. B. Paterson.
Contents
Rio Grande's Last Race
Now this was what Macpherson told
By the Grey Gulf-water
Far to the Northward there lies a land,
With the Cattle
The drought is down on field and flock,
The First Surveyor
`The opening of the railway line! -- the Governor
and all!
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught
the cycling craze;

The Pearl Diver
Kanzo Makame, the diver, sturdy and small Japanee,
The City of Dreadful Thirst
The stranger came from Narromine and
made his little joke --
Saltbush Bill's Gamecock
'Twas Saltbush Bill, with his travelling
sheep, was making his way to town;
Hay and Hell and Booligal
`You come and see me, boys,' he said;
A Walgett Episode
The sun strikes down with a blinding glare,
Father Riley's Horse
'Twas the horse thief, Andy Regan, that was
hunted like a dog
The Scotch Engineer
With eyes that searched in the dark,
Song of the Future
'Tis strange that in a land so strong,
Anthony Considine
Out in the wastes of the West countrie,
Song of the Artesian Water
Now the stock have started dying, for the
Lord has sent a drought;
A Disqualified Jockey's Story
You see, the thing was this way -- there
was me,
The Road to Gundagai
The mountain road goes up and down,
Saltbush Bill's Second Fight
The news came down on the Castlereagh,
and went to the world at large,
Hard Luck
I left the course, and by my side
Song of the Federation
As the nations sat together, grimly waiting --
The Old Australian Ways
The London lights are far abeam

The Ballad of the `Calliope'
By the far Samoan shore,
Do They Know
Do they know? At the turn to the straight
The Passing of Gundagai
`I'll introdooce a friend!' he said,
The Wargeilah Handicap
Wargeilah town is very small,
Any Other Time
All of us play our very best game --
The Last Trump
`You led the trump,' the old man said
Tar and Feathers
Oh! the circus swooped down
It's Grand
It's grand to be a squatter
Out of Sight
They held a polo meeting at a little country town,
The Road to Old Man's Town
The fields of youth are filled with
flowers,
The Old Timer's Steeplechase
The sheep were shorn and the wool
went down
In the Stable
What! You don't like him; well, maybe -- we all have
our fancies, of course:
"He Giveth His Beloved Sleep"
The long day passes with its load of
sorrow:
Driver Smith
'Twas Driver Smith of Battery A was anxious to see a
fight;
There's Another Blessed Horse Fell Down
When you're lying in your
hammock, sleeping soft and sleeping sound,
On the Trek
Oh, the weary, weary journey on the trek, day after day,

The Last Parade
With never a sound of trumpet,
With French to Kimberley
The Boers were down on Kimberley with
siege and Maxim gun;
Johnny Boer
Men fight all shapes and sizes as the racing horses run,
What Have the Cavalry Done
What have the cavalry done?
Right in the Front of the Army
`Where 'ave you been this week or
more,
That V.C.
'Twas in the days of front attack,
Fed Up
I ain't a timid man at all, I'm just as brave as most,
Jock!
There's a soldier that's been doing of his share
Santa Claus
Halt! Who goes there? The sentry's call
Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses
Rio Grande's Last Race
Now this was what Macpherson told
While waiting in the stand;
A
reckless rider, over-bold,
The only man with hands to hold
The
rushing Rio Grande.
He said, `This day I bid good-bye
To bit and bridle rein,
To ditches
deep and fences high,
For I have dreamed a dream, and I
Shall
never ride again.
`I dreamt last night I rode this race
That I to-day must ride,
And
cant'ring down to take my place
I saw full many an old friend's face

Come stealing to my side.
`Dead men on horses long since dead,
They clustered on the track;


The champions of the days long fled,
They moved around with
noiseless tread --
Bay, chestnut, brown, and black.
`And one man on a big grey steed
Rode up and waved his hand;

Said he, "We help a friend in need,
And we have come to give a lead

To you and Rio Grande.
`"For you must give the field the slip,
So never draw the rein,
But
keep