Related quotes: The rum was rich and...

Josephus Riley

The rum was rich and rare,
There were wagers in the air,
The atmosphere was rosy, and the tongues were
wagging free;
But one was in the revel
Whose occiput was level -
Plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

The conversation's flow
Was not devoid of “blow,”
And neither was it wanting in the plain, colloquial “D.”
With a most ingenuous smile -
'This here is not my style,'
Said plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

'And I wouldn't be averse
To emptying my purse,
And laying some small wager with the present
companee,
To cut the matter short -
Foot racing is my forte,'
Said plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

“I think it's on the cards
That I can run three hundred yards
(The match to be decided where you gentlemen
agree)
Against your fleetest horse;
The race would prove a source
Of pleasure,' said Josephus, from the North Countree.

'To equalise the task,
This little start I ask -
The rider, ere he follows, must imbibe a cup of tea;
A simple breakfast-cup
He will have to swallow up.
That's me - Josephus Riley, from the North
Countree.'

Then a “knowing 'un” looked wise,
“Begged to apologise;
But might he ask what temp'rature the liquid was
to be!
Would it come from out the pot
Milkless, steaming, boiling-hot?”
'Oh, not at all,' said Riley, from the North
Countree.

'Allow me to explain;
I do observe with pain,
This jocular reflection on my native honestee,
My bump of truth is huge,
I'd scorn a subterfuge' -
Said plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

“Before the parties start
I'll take the Judge apart
To prove, by tasting, whether I have tampered with
the tea;
And I beg to state again
Your suspicions give me pain,'
Said plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

Then they were all satisfied
That the match was 'boneefied,'
The bond was signed, and Riley went to 'preparate”
the tea;
But his slow, ambiguous smile
Would have seemed to token guile
In any man but Riley, from the North Countree.

He brought the fatal cup -
By its saucer covered up -
The Judge examined its contents with awful gravitee,
Then read the papers o'er,
But could not find a flaw:
'Wade in! Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.'

Then the “wagerer” just bowed,
And, passing through the crowd,
He handed up the beverage unto the “wageree;”
And off across the flat,
Springing gaily, pit-a-pat,
Went plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

But behind him what a yell
Of execration fell
From lips that lent themselves to shapes of great
profanitee!
For the people of that town
Were done a lovely brown
By plain Josephus Riley, from the North Countree.

And here's the reason why:
The tea was simply DRY,
You might eat it, but to drink it was impossibilitee;
But, curious to state,
Men did not appreciate
This hum'rous innovation from the North Countree.

You'll understand, of course,
That wager was a source
Of very little profit to the hapless “wageree,”
And, dating from that day,
I much regret to say,
Men look askance at Riley, from the North Countree.

poem by Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Related quotes

The Land where I was Born

HAVE you ever been down to my countree
Where the trees are green and tall?
The days are long and the heavens are high,
But the people there are small.
There is no work there; it is always play;
The sun is sweet in the morn;
But a thousand dark things walk at night
In the land where I was born.

Have you ever been down to my countree
Where the birds made happy Spring?
The parrots screamed from the honey-trees,
And the jays hopped chattering.
Strange were the ways of the water-birds
In the brown swamps, night and morn;
I knew the roads they had in the reeds
In the land where I was born.

Have you ever been down to my countree?
Have you ridden the horses there?
They had silver manes, and we made them prance
And plunge and gallop and rear.
We were knights of the olden time,
When the old chain-mail was worn:
The swords would flash and the helmets crash
In the land where I was born.

Have you ever been down to my countree?
It was full of smiling queens:
They had flaxen hair, they were white and fair,
But they never reached their teens.
Their shoes were small and their dreams were tall:
Wonderful frocks were worn;
But the queens all strayed from the place we played,
In the land where I was born.

I know you have been to my countree
Though I never saw you there;
I know you have loved all things I have loved,
Flowery, sweet, and fair.
The days were long,—it was always play;
But we,—we were tired and worn;
They could not welcome us back again
To the land where I was born.

poem by John Shaw Neilson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

The Drovers

Shrivelled leather, rusty buckles, and the rot is in our knuckles,
Scorched for months upon the pommel while the brittle rein hung free;
Shrunken eyes that once were lighted with fresh boyhood, dull and blighted—
And the sores upon our eyelids are unpleasant sights to see.
And our hair is thin and dying from the ends, with too long lying
In the night dews on the ashes of the Dry Countree.
Yes, we’ve seen ’em ‘bleaching whitely’ where the salt-bush sparkles brightly,
But their grins were over-friendly, so we passed and let them be.
And we’ve seen them ‘rather recent,’ and we’ve stopped to hide ’em decent
When they weren’t nice to handle and they weren’t too nice to see;
We have heard the dry bones rattle under fifteen hundred cattle—
Seen the rags go up in dust-clouds and the brittle joints kicked free;
But there’s little time to tarry, if you wish to live and marry,
When the cattle shy at something in the Dry Countree.

No, you needn’t fear the blacks on the Never Never tracks—
For the Myall in his freedom’s an uncommon sight to see;
Oh! we do not stick at trifles—and the trackers sneak their rifles,
And go strolling in the gloaming while the sergeant’s yarning free:
Round the Myalls creep the trackers—there’s a sound like firing crackers
And—the blacks are getting scarcer in the Dry Countree.
(Goes an unprotected maiden-’cross the clearing carrion-laden—
Oh they ride ’em down on horseback in the Dry Countree.)

But you don’t know what might happen when a tank is but a trap on
Roofs of hell, and there is nothing but the blaze of hell to see;
And the phantom water’s lapping—and no limb for saddle-strapping—
Better carry your revolver through the Dry Countree.
But I’m feeling gay and frisky, come with me and have a whisky!
Change of hells is all we live for (that’s my mate that’s got D.T.);
We have fought through hell’s own weather, he and I and death together—
Oh, the devil grins to greet us from the Dry Countree!

poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

It's Grim Up North

It's Grim Up North
by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
Transcribed by Drew Radtke
Bolton,
Barnsley,
Nelson,
Colne,
Burnley
Bradford,
Buxton,
Crewe,
Warrington,
Widnes,
Wigan,
Leeds,
Northwich,
Nantwich,
Knutsford,
Hull,
Sale,
Salford,
Southport,
Leigh,
Derby,
Kearsley
Keighley
Maghull,
Harrogate,
Huddersfield,
Oldham, Lancs,
Grimsby,
Glossop,
Hebden Bridge,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North.
Brighouse,
Bootle,
Featherstone,
Speke,
Runcorn,
Rotherham,
Rochdale,
Barrow,
Morecambe,
Macclesfield,
Lytham St. Annes
Clitheroe,
Cleethorpes,
The M62,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North.
Pendlebury,
Prestwich,
Preston,
York,
Skipton,
Scunthorpe,
Scarborough-on-Sea,
Chester,
Chorley,
Cheedle Hulme,
Ormskirk,
Accrington Stanley,
and Leigh,
Ossett,
Otley,
Ikley Moor,
Sheffield,
Manchester,
Castleford,
Skem,
Doncaster,
Dewsbury,
Hali-fax,
Bingley,
Bramall,
Are all in the North.
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North.
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North,
It's Grim Up North

song performed by by KLF
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

I Get the Job Done

[Kane] Hey yo Teddy
[Riley] Yo
[Kane] I ran into a young lady Maliya last night
[Riley] Word?
[Kane] Must have been her husband's payday
[Riley] Heheh
[Kane] because she bought me this here brand new
diamond link that you see me with on
[Riley] Mmm
[Kane] Smooth

song performed by by Big Daddy Kane from It's a Big Daddy Thing
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

The Riley Soldier

he speaks to me like there's nothing new.
but it's all lies.
riley soldier, tell me your worries.
tell me the images that you see, tell me the feelings that are left to bleed.
the war is an image he can never forgot.
he tries to erase memories but falls short.
'tomorrow i'll do normal things, like those civilians who deal and feed.'
i wish that you could, riley soldier.
at dawn there is no haste, to waste life away.
but be glad to live another day.
this is my riley soldier.
my husband, my savior.

poem by Valerie Chase
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

North

The East has that Englishmen
And the rising sun
The West has the open plains
And how they were won
On Independence Day
For all it's worth
You can ring those southern belles
I'm going
North
Up were the rushing rivers run and salmon leap
I could even get there in my sleep
Give me the ice and snow
Time to go...
North
So run up a banner and we'll stand underneath
You gave me a starry flag
For one with a leaf
I'm on the borderline
I jump back and forth
There's nothing to stop me now
I'm heading...
North
Up where the polar bears and moose and geese will play
And some of them address you en franais
Give me the ice and snow
Time to go...
North
And so I must leave you all
Alas and alack
And though we are parting now
I'll always come back
So as the compass points
That's where I'll be
But if you could only see
The perfection of...
North
It's something I will always carry in my heart
A place when dreams begin and life can start
Who cares what people know?
Let me go...
North

song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

The Guile of Dad M'Ginnis

When M,Ginnis struck the mining camp at Jamberoora Creek
His behaviour was appreciated highly;
For, although he was a quiet man, in manner mild and meek,
Not like ordinary swagmen with a monumental cheek,
He became the admiration of the camp along the creek
'Cause he showed a point to Kangaroobie Riley!

Both the pubs at Jamberoora had some grog that stood the test
(Not to speak of what was manufactured slyly!)
And the hostel of O'Gorman, which was called The Diggers' Rest,
Was, O'Gorman said, the finest house of any in the west;
But it was a burning question if it really was the best,
Or the "Miners" - kept by Kangaroobie Riley.

Dad M'Ginnis called at Riley's. Said he "felt a trifle queer",
And with something like a wan and weary smile, he
Said he "thought he'd try a whisky". Pushed it back and said, "I fear
I had better take a brandy." Passed that back and said: "Look here,
Take the brandy; after all, I think I'll have a pint of beer!"
And he drank the health of Kangaroobie Riley!

"Where's the money?" asked the publican; "you'll have to pay, begad!"
"Gave the brandy for the beer!" said Dad the wily,
"And I handed you the whisky when I took the brandy, lad!"
"But you paid not for the whisky!" answered Riley. "No," said Dad,
"And you don't expect a man to pay for what he never had!"
- 'Twas the logic flattened Kangaroobie Riley!

"See," said Kangaroobie Riley, "you have had me, that is clear!
But I never mind a joke," he added, dryly.
"Just you work it on O'Gorman, and I'll shout another beer."
"I'd be happy to oblige yer," said McGinnis with a leer,
"But the fact about the matter is - O'Gorman sent me here! -
So, good morning, Mr Kangaroobie Riley!"

poem by William Thomas Goodge
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

North And South Of The River

I want to reach out over the Loch
And feel your hand across the water
Walk with you along an unapproved road
Not looking over my shoulder
I want to see, and I want to hear
To understand your fears
But we're north and south of the river
I've been doing it wrong all of my life
This holy town has turned me over
A young man running from what he didn't understand
The wind from the Loch just get colder, colder
There was a badness that had its way
But love wasn't lost, love will have its day
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
Can we stop playing these old tattoos
Darling I don't have the answer
I want to meet you where you are
I don't need you to surrender
'Cause there's no feeling that's so alone
As when the one you're hurting is your own
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
Some high ground is not worth taking
Some connections are not worth making
There's an old church bell no longer ringing
Some old songs are not worth bringing
North...
(Higher ground is not worth taking)
North and south of the river

song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

North & South Of The River

I want to reach out over the loch
And feel your hand across the water
Walk with you along an unapproved road
Not looking over my shoulder
I want to see, and I want to hear
To understand your fears
But were north and south of the river
Ive been doing it wrong all of my life
This holy town has turned me over
A young man running from what he didnt understand
The wind from the loch just get colder, colder
There was a badness that had its way
But love wasnt lost, love will have its day
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
Can we stop playing these old tattoos
Darling I dont have the answer
I want to meet you where you are
I dont need you to surrender
cause theres no feeling thats so alone
As when the one youre hurting is your own
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
Some high ground is not worth taking
Some connections are not worth making
Theres an old church bell no longer ringing
Some old songs are not worth bringing
North...
(higher ground is not worth taking)
North and south of the river

song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

North star

Look at the north star
Look, North star is there
Only to run life's car
To run in a fixed and
Marvellous manner.

North star north star
I know why you are there
You are there to give
Right direction to the
Directionless
Right word to the wordless.

You are my centrestage
And my life'page
That I can turn
To attain liberation
And to remain fixed
Time's altenation.

North star, I sing
I hear I recite I study
Only your story
And try to acquire
Your qualities to reach
My Master
My Master is also
Your Master
And in this sense
We are brother.
Please help me my brother
I am yours for ever.

poem by Gajanan Mishra
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Viceroy Sonata

I am the king called Viceroy
And in my ship I sail the Red Sea
All the way to North America because I want to see the other world
That the people call the American dream
But I know that is not easy to migrate to North America
Because if you want to stay you will need to apply for a green card
And you will be a gringo for the rest of your life
But I don't have any plans to live in North America
But my plans is just to visit North America and that is all
Because I am a jew and I belong in Telaviv that is my birth place

poem by Aldo Kraas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Lady icicle

Little Lady Icicle is dreaming in the north-land
And gleaming in the north-land, her pillow all a-glow;
For the frost has come and found her
With an ermine robe around her
Where little Lady Icicle lies dreaming in the snow.

Little Lady Icicle is waking in the north-land,
And shaking in the north-land her pillow to and fro;
And the hurricane a-skirling
Sends the feathers all a-whirling
Where little Lady Icicle is waking in the snow.

Little Lady Icicle is laughing in the north-land,
And quaffing in the north-land her wines that overflow;
All the lakes and rivers crusting
That her finger-tips are dusting,
Where little Lady Icicle is laughing in the snow.

Little Lady Icicle is singing in the north-land,
And bringing from the north-land a music wild and low;
And the fairies watch and listen
Where her silver slippers glisten,
As little Lady Icicle goes singing through the snow.

Little Lady Icicle is coming from the north-land,
Benumbing all the north-land where'er her feet may go;
With a fringe of frost before her
And a crystal garment o'er her,
Little Lady Icicle is coming with the snow.

poem by Emily Pauline Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

Break North '97

[kool keith]
Yeah..
Black mon, come get him served
Black mon, come get him served
Black mon, come get him served
Yeah! live from, the st. nickalaus arena in detroit, michigan
We gon' get busy with fifty-five million thousand people out there
Let the crowd go wild!
One, two, three, four..
[kool keith]
I got a radio, small and yet portable
Comfortable, with the sound in audio
Kickin, high hats just tickin
Spicy lyrics, and words finger lickin.. good
But you know i could
Beat on steel, break tons of wood.. down
With a funky sound
Square mixer, the record is round
And turning, for the million i'm earning
Shock the rhythm, and just keep learning
This, that is supposed to
Grab your ear, and have it move close
To the speakers, so you hear me clearly
I'm out yes, to damage severely
You're very far, and not yet nearly
Expressing them, but you're messing them up
Your bummy rhymes, i'm dressing them up
For the battle win, like a snake i'm rattlin
The red ball with the wooden piece paddlin
Mc's stop perpetrating
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
[ced gee]
I'm a merchandise, a customized item
Computer rapper for suckers who wanna bite em
Stand back, watch the man recite em
It took a second a minute for me to write em
And type em and hype em and psych em, up
Change my rhythm, before i get stuck
In an altitude, beyond my own level
I smack rappers, and send em to the devil
On a bus, return em to dust
I start infections, reduce em to pus
I'm on the scanner, with brains i blow out
Your old bones, and skulls i throw out
To the backyard, and yes the wackyard
You need a pipe, there's the old crackyard
Your last stop, it has to be the graveyard
Peakin, ced gee i'm speakin
I smell smoke, my tonsils are leakin
Words, in the right direction
I had the beats, for lyrics perfection
Stompin, the bass and highs
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
[kool keith]
Well i'm locked, like a chain to a link
I wear black while suckers wear pink
Now think, about my capital law
I break domes, and speak in the raw
I'm iller, a south bronx killer
I chop rappers, and throw em in the river
Tasting, as i swallow your liver
Here's your brain for your girl i can give her
Messages, clues from a murderer
And if she's ugly, i never even heard of her
Telling, bugging detectives
I wear a bag, four contraceptives
And aluminum, wrapped in all foil
I play a game, slick to be oil
For the other roaches, mc's i boil
And roast, mega degrees
I swarm around with a thousand of bees
Absorb earth and the honey from trees
I'm the king bee, my girl's the queen bee
And when you're stung, you never even seen me
Vanish, kool keith here to damage, break north
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
Break north (break north)
[ced gee]
Another n-house, ced gee product'

song performed by by Ultramagnetic Mc's
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Quiet Crown

I want to fly a little to the right, Ill never get to crowsdell
And I want to stay awake all night to realise (Im not Ben Hoy)
What should I take with me to the north? Its the good north
The promised success, the appropriate north. Its the good north
Apparently, youre happy, youve realised
Im meant to be, unhappy, Ive realised (Im not Ben Hoy)
What should I take with me to the north? Its the good north
The promised success, the appropriate north. Its the good north
I want to reunite, Ill never save (What will you save?)
When everything is broken now
I want to reunite Ill never save (What will you save?)
Everything is broken
I want to fly a little to the right, Ill never get to crowsdell
And I want to stay awake all night to realise (Im not Ben Hoy)
And what should I take with me to the north? Its the good north
The promised success, the appropriate north. Its the good north
I want to reunite I need to save (What will you save?)
When everything is broken now
When everything is broken now
When everything is broken now
When everything is broken now
Everythings gone now, everythings gone now
(Youve gone now, when everythings broken now)
Everythings gone running without a sound

song performed by by Idlewild
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

And also, we are providing, you know, a nuclear power plant in the north, two light water systems, so some 4 or 5 billion dollars we are providing to meet with North Korean requests on the condition North Korea will not produce a nuclear weapon.

quote by Kim Dae Jung
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Old North Sydney

They're shifting old North Sydney—
Perhaps ’tis just as well—
They’re carting off the houses
Where the old folks used to dwell.
Where only ghosts inhabit
They lay the old shops low;
But the Spirit of North Sydney,
It vanished long ago.

The Spirit of North Sydney,
The good old time and style,
It camped, maybe, at Crow’s Nest,
But only for a while.
It left about the season,
Or at the time, perhaps,
When old Inspector Cotter
Transferred his jokes and traps.

A brand new crowd is thronging
The brand new streets aglow
Where the Spirit of North Sydney
Would gossip long ago.
They will not know to-morrow—
Tho’ ’twere but yesterday—
Exactly how McMahon’s Point
And its ferry used to lay.

The good old friendly spirit
Its sorrows would unfold,
When householders were neighbours
And shop-keeping was old;
But now we’re busy strangers,
Our feelings we restrain—
The Spirit of North Sydney
Shall never come again!

poem by Henry Lawson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

There was an Old Man of the North,
Who fell into a basin of broth;
But a laudable cook,
Fished him out with a hook,
Which saved that Old Man of the North

quote by by Edward Lear
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

The Place I Love!

You’ll never guess the place where I’ve been,
You’ll never believe the things I have seen,
I’ve been to a place that’s hidden from most,
To a secret place, off the north east coast.
It’s quiet, remote, and way off the track,
A place once visited, you’ll long to go back.
A place where rare birds, from Kittiwake, to tern,
Fly to far away places, to always return.
Where the shells on the sand lie, undisturbed,
And the Puffins of Farne, may nest, un-perturbed.
Where the mighty North Sea, meets the place I would be,
To the Farne isles, up north, in the coaly North Sea.
Where the fishermen steer clear, so as not to upset,
This wonderful wildlife, few people have met,
For here is a place, where few folk have been,
Where the fish can swim free, and the waters are clean.
Where the dolphin and seal, may swim side by side,
Where they breed and play courtship, with no need to hide,
Where “flatties”, and haddock, reproduce in large number,
Far, far away, from the industrious Humber!

Go visit, …The North East of England.

poem by Derek. A. Sim
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

North Sea Oil

Black and viscous --- bound to cure blue lethargy
Sugar-plum petroleum for energy
Tightrope-balanced payments need a small reprieve
Oh, please believe we want to be
In north sea oil
New-found wealth sits on the shelf of yesterday
Hot-air balloon --- inflation soon will make you pay
Riggers rig and diggers dig their shallow grave
But well be saved and what we crave
Is north sea oil
Prices boom in aberdeen and london town
Ten more years to lay the fears, erase the frown
Before we are all nuclear --- the better way!
Oh, let us pray: we want to stay
In north sea oil

song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

So if North Korea continues present isolation, then with such economic difficulties the North Korean government must meet a very serious situation in the future.