Banjo Dog Variations
Tramps on the road: floating clouds. OLD CHINESE POEM
1
Agriculture and Industry
Embraced in public on a wall—
Heroes in shirt-sleeves! Next to them
The average man felt small.
2
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
By Vassar girls surrounded.
They harmonized expertly; oh,
Their little true hearts pounded.
Joe went on smiling.
3
I thought I saw what Trotsky saw,
A friendly cossack wink;
And then his friends brought down their clubs.
Christ, what would Trotsky think!
4
Train had just slowed for the crossing when
Out from the bushes jumped a hundred men.
With baseball bats and iron bars
They persuaded us back onto the cars.
5
And out of dirty fists sometimes
Would bloom the melancholy harp.
Then low-low-low on the gon-doh-lah
We swayed beneath our tarp.
And far lights moving in and out of rain.
6
What you do with the Sunday news
Oh, citizens of the great riffraff,
Is you put the funny papers in your shoes.
It gives the feet a laugh.
7
We read our brothers’ shirts for lice
And moved around with the fruit,
Went north to Billings for the beets
And had three good days in the jail at Butte.
8
We chalked our names on red cliffsides,
High up, where only eagles dwelled.
Each time a big truck went by below,
The earth trembled like a woman held.
9
And we passed fields of smoking stumps
Where goats sometimes or ponies grazed.
Abandoned tractors stood against the sky
Like giant fists upraised.
10
But if we bent our knees it was
To drink from a creek’s rust-colored slime,
And splash our chests with it, and rub our eyes,
And wake into another world and time.
11
Let us go then, you and me,
While the neon bubbles upward ceaselessly
To lure us down back streets and alleyways,
Where we may wander and be lost for days.
Many days and many hours.
12
I miss the smell of the ratty furs
And saturday night cologne and beer,
And I miss the juke and the sign that read:
NO POLICE SERVED HERE.
13
Off Mission, wasn’t it? The old
White Angel Breadline, where we met?
You had just come west from Arkansas,
But the rest of it I forget.
A cup of coffee; afterwards a hymn.
14
Once we stood on a high bluff,
Lights fanning out across the bay.
A little ragged band of Christs we were,
And tempted—but we turned away.
15
And didn’t I see you Saturday night,
After the paycheck from the mill,
Bearing a pot of store-bought lilies home,
One budding still?
Ah, oh, my banjo dog!
poem by Donald Justice

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Related quotes
Hillbilly Hollywood
I can still remember my first guitar
Bright and shiny like a brand new car
Even took it with me when I went to school
And I practiced every day till I got real good
I learned every lick on the radio
From wabash cannon to go johnny go
I majored in rhythm with a minor in blues
Then I hit the road with my blue suede shoes
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
Hillbilly hollywood
I played some bars where you never wanna go
From oklahoma city down to tupelo
My ears would be ringing like an old fire bell
When Id lay me down in some cheap hotel
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
Hillbilly hollywood
And I pray before too long
They will hear my song
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
I dreamed grand old opry on a saturday night standing . .
Hillbilly hollywood hillbilly hollywood hillbilly hollywood
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

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012-Saturday Nights...They Ain't The Same!
I used to live for Saturday nights. I'd get all
spiffed up, go to my favorite watering hole,
and drink and dance, till they turned off the lights.
Hell, when they turned off the lights...the night
was just beginning. A bunch of us would go
our for Chinese food, and laugh and eat for
hours more.
The lucky ones would wind up with someone
to go home with-make love like it was gonna
be their last time...curl up and sleep with the
smile still on their face.
Next morning wake to bacon cooking and
someone with a smile...pushing a cup
of coffee your way.
Now, on Saturday Night, I'm grateful for a warm
place to sleep...a decent retirement check...
being in reasonably good health...curling
up under a warm blankets and being surrounded by
the welcomed silence.
I'm especially grateful for not having
to pretend to be something I'm not and
now just doing 'what I want...when I want.'
Nope...Saturday Nights Ain't What They Use To Be.
Tell you a secret. Sometimes I miss them...but most
times I don't.
High 'n' Dry
Saturday, i feel right
I been drinking all day
Yes i got a date, a midnight ride
I had to get it away
Yeah, i'm not a loner, i'm not a fool
Don't need a reason, reason to be cool
I got my whiskey, i got my wine
I got my woman, and this time the lights are going out
(saturday night) high
(saturday night) high 'n' dry
(saturday night) i'm high
(saturday night) high 'n' dry
Ow, i feel bad, i feel mean
I'm up and down and in between
On the bottle, i'm on the line
I'm up and feeling fine
Oh take me high
Saturday, kickin' out, her train was comin' to me
I gotta move, number one
Saturday night on the run
(saturday night) high
(saturday night) high 'n' dry
(saturday night) got my whiskey
(saturday night) got my wine
(saturday night) got my woman
(saturday night) high 'n' dry
You gotta try me tonight
song performed by by Def Leppard

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On More Saturday Night
One More Saturday Night
-----------------------
I went down to the mountain, I was drinkin' some wine,
looked up in the heavens Lord I saw a mighty sign,
written in fire across the heavens, plain as black and white;
Get prepared, there's gonna be a party tonight.
Uhuh, Hey! Saturday Night!
Yeh, uhuh one more Saturday night,
Hey saturday night !
Everybody's dancin' down the local armory
with a basement full of dynamite and light artillery.
The temperature keeps risin', everybody gittin' high;
come the rockin' stroke of midnite, the place is gonna fly.
Uhuh, Hey! Saturday Night!
Yeh, uhuh one more Saturday night,
Hey saturday night !
Turn on channel six, the President comes on the news,
says "I get no satisfaction, that's why I sing the blues."
These wives, they don't get crazy, Lord, they know just what to do,
crank up that old Victrola, put on them rockin' shoes.
Uhuh, Hey! Saturday Night!
Yeh, uhuh one more Saturday night,
Hey saturday night !
When God way up in Heaven, for whatever it was worth,
thought He'd have a big old party, thought He'd call it planet Earth.
Don't worry about tomorrow, Lord, you'll know it when it comes,
when the rock and roll music meets the risin' shinin' sun.
Uhuh, Hey! Saturday Night!
Yeh, uhuh one more Saturday night,
Hey saturday night !
Hey another Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
Everybody gettin' right,
Hey another Saturday night,
One more saturday, one more Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
One more saturday, one more saturday night.
Hey another Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
Hey another Saturday night,
One more saturday, one more saturday night
song performed by by Grateful Dead

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Saturday Night
(chuck cannon/jimmy stewart)
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y
I gotta get out of these coveralls
Theyre throwin a dance at the union hall
I just got paid so I got a little cash
I been workin all week gonna have me a blast
Monday, tuesday, humpday, wednesday, thursday, friday
Take up all of my life, and that aint right
I get my rest on sunday
But I have a little fun on saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y
Im gonna wash and wax my truck
I got a date with lady luck
She gonna wear her dancin shoes
And we gonna get just a little footloose
Monday, tuesday, humpday, wednesday, thursday, friday
Take up all of my life, and that aint right
I get my rest on sunday
Then I have a little fun on saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, saturday night
Saturday night
Saturday night
Saturday night
Well the band just played their last song
But me and my baby gonna party on, you know thats right
Gonna find another place with a neon light
Cant go home its saturday night
Monday, tuesday, humpday, wednesday, thursday, friday
Take up all of my life, and that aint right
I take my rest on sunday
Then I have a lot of fun on saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y, saturday night
S.a.t.u.r. all dressed up saturday night
S.a.t.u.r. ready saturday night
S.a.t.u.r.d.a.y all dressed up, ready to go, come on baby lets hit the road
song performed by by Lonestar

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Saturday Night
(annie roboff/tim nichols)
Every week it comes round
With a feel like new years eve
Get dressed, de-stressed, tonight I couldnt care less
Take a look at me
So I put myself together
Paint my lips and lashes on
cause I know theres someone out there
Wantin me to come along
Its the night of the week when my dreams hit the street
With boots and blue jeans on
Take a shot at romance, do I stand a chance
Will destiny be good to me
Its the thrill of the kiss that on
Monday Ill miss
When I look back and say
Well, oh my lord you should have seen me saturday
Saturday, oh saturday night
Marys got a mustang
We all pile in
Downtown, top down, rockin while we ride around
Let the night begin
Im just searchin for a dreamer
Wholl steal my heart away
Strong and shy with I dare you eyes
And a smile who lights the way
Its the night of the week when my dreams hit the street
With boots and blue jeans on
Take a shot at romance, do I stand a chance
Will destiny be good to me
Its the thrill of the kiss that on
Monday Ill miss
When I look back and say
Well, oh my lord you should have seen me saturday
Saturday, oh saturday night
Five days out of seven slavin
I need one thats just for me
Its the thrill of the kiss that on
Monday Ill miss
When I look back and say
Well oh my lord you should have seen my saturday
Oh saturday, saturday, saturday,
Oh saturday night
song performed by by Jo Dee Messina

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Sun C/79
Sun is the reason
And the world it will bloom
Cause sun lights the sky
And the sun lights the moon
Sun is the reason
All the happy trees are green
Then who can explain
The light in your dream
Sit you down
Sit you down young gentleman
Theres something I want you to know
You keep on asking me
You keep on asking me why
Why are we here?
It started a long time ago
Me and your mum on the night
Yeh yeh yeh ..we met
I was on the road again
She was in c79
Ill never never forget
Ill never forget that night no..
We met in a back road
Behind the stage
She had the best figure by far
Huh a thousand hours Ive looked at her eyes but i
Still dont know what color they are
Me & your mum on the night
Oh lord. we met
I was on the road again
She was in c79
She was a junkie then
And I was having a good time
Back on the road again
Oh momma I was on the road again
Back in suite 79
Ill never never forget
Ill never forget that time
Back on the road again
Oh Im travelling that line
I was a pop star then
Im still having a good time
song performed by by Cat Stevens

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Underneath The Neon Sign
Our hero leaves the pub his head still
Swimming with alcohol, his head
Buzzing with facts, figures and
Computers. night is descending as he
Wearily makes his way home through
The traffic jams and neon lights of the
Great metropolis.
Underneath the neon sign
All I see is imitation
And theres no earth beneath my feet.
There are no trees or fields in front of me
Only slabs of concrete.
Skyscrapers reaching up to the clouds,
Dont give the moon a chance to shine,
And Ive got imitation moonlight
Standing underneath the neon sign.
Is it real or just illusion?
Can there be a time when its night?
Is it merely my delusion
Or my senses telling me lies.
Is it just hallucination?
Have I been drinking too much wine?
I dont know if its day or night,
When Im underneath the neon sign.
Underneath the neon sign.
Electronic nature made by man with robots in mind.
Big city lights guide my way into the night, darkness shines
When Im standing underneath the neon sign.
If there isnt any sunshine
Well some-day buy the neon sign
And if we cant see any stars at night
Well sit and watch the traffic lights.
If there isnt any day-time
Ive got an imitation dawn,
Ive got a simulated sunshine
Standing underneath the neon sign.
Is it an illusion?
Have I been drinking too much wine?
Can there be day-time when its night
Underneath the neon sign.
Underneath the neon sign.
Is it mother nature
Playing tricks with my eyes
For darkness shines
When Im standing underneath the neon sign.
song performed by by Kinks

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Same Old Saturday Night
Went to see a movie show
Found myself an empty row
Thought the show was just all right
Same old Saturday night.
Then I made the usual stop
Coffee at the coffee shop
Friendly face nowhere in sight
Same old Saturday night.
I really thought the papers I bought
Would help me forget you for a while
Believe me
song performed by by Frank Sinatra from Voice

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Bright Lights
The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And Im heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me
As the world is round, the road is long
Ive trouble on my mind
Ill just keep on moving
Until the day comes round
The wind a blowing on my back
And my feet a flying
Flying down the road
Where the bright lights shine
Mondays in a pigtown
Tuesdays in a truck
Wednesdays a field of mud
And thursdays out of luck
Fridays rain clouds
Saturday flies by
Sunday comes shining
From a blue blue sky
The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And Im heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me
Some towns are golden
Some towns are stained
Some towns are shadows
Fading in the rain
Some towns are rust
And some towns they gleam
Some towns are mad dogs
Some towns are a dream
The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And Im heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me
Some dreams are hollow
Some dreams are cold
Some dreams are crazy
And some dreams are bold
Some dreams are bought
And other dreams are sold
Some dreams lie waiting
At the end of the road
The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And Im heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me
song performed by by Pogues

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Detroit City
You know last night I went to sleep in detroit city
And I dreamed about those cotton fields and home
I dreamed about my mother, dear old papa, sisters and brothers
And I dreamed about a love whos been waiting there so long
I want to go home
I want to go home
Oh how I want to go home
My kinfolks think Im big in detraoit city
From all the letters that I write, they think Im fine
By day I make the cars
But, by night I make all the bars
Oh if only theys just read between the lines
Theyd know I want to go home
I want to go home
Oh how I want to go home
You know I rode a freight train north to detroit city
And after all these years I find Ive been wasting my time
Think Ill put my foolish pride on a southbound train and ride
Heading back to the loved ones I left there waiting behind
Repeat chorus
song performed by by Dolly Parton

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One More Saturday Night
I went down to the mountain, I was drinking some wine,
Looked up in the heavens lord I saw a mighty sign,
Writtn fire across the heaven, plain as black and white;
Get prepared, theres gonna be a party tonight.
Uhuh, hey! saturday night!
Yeh, uhuh one more saturday night,
Hey saturday night!
Everybodys dancin down the local armory
With a basement full of dynamite and live artillery.
The temperature keeps risin, everybody gittin high;
Come the rockin stroke of midnite, the whole place gonna fly.
Uhuh, hey! saturday night!
Yeh, uhuh one more saturday night,
Hey saturday night!
Turn on channel six, the president comes on the news,
Says, I get no satisfaction, thats why I sing the blues.
His wife say dont get crazy, lord, you know just what to do,
Crank up that old victrola, put on them rockin shoes.
Uhuh, hey! saturday night!
Yeh, uhuh one more saturday night,
Hey saturday night!
Then God way up in heaven, for whatever it was worth,
Thought hed have a big old party, thought hed call it planet earth.
Dont worry about tomorrow, lord, youll know it when it comes,
When the rock and roll music meets the risin sun.
song performed by by Grateful Dead

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Night was coming
Night was coming
with a piercing huge orange sun
breaking through
white and black clouds
in the west.
It found a gap
and the sun was hanging
like a orange ball
above the street
and it was blinding.
Cars passed barely visible
above the orange glare
and some had already
turned their lights on.
The sun dipped down
below some trees
and for a time
it glowed behind them
and soon it would be dark
and the first stars
were already appearing
and a full yellow moon
was rising,
but below bright lights
was already burning
right across the city
in colours of amber
streetlights
green, yellow and red
traffic lights,
blue lights flashing
on police cars
and almost every bright colour
caught on neon signs
while people came and went
to different destinations
some smiling and relaxed,
others in a hurry
and some others
locked in a world of their own.
poem by Gert Strydom

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When Innocence Doesn't Matter
I've been there before
When I wasn’t even guilty
What they found didn’t belong to me
But they made me feel so filthy
Put me in hand cuffs
Then put me in shackles
While they put me in the police car
I swear I could hear evil cackles
You’re gonna get it now
You won’t get out this time
Your gonna do a bid
For your freaking crime
But Your Honor it’s wasn’t mine
But it was in your CAR
But still I don’t smoke that stuff
Must have been the guy from the bar
I was a little bit drunk
When this guy asked for a ride
He didn’t look very scary
So we both went outside
Took me a while to find the car
And unlocked all the doors
My new friend buckled up
With his feet planted on the floor
Where to I asked him
Just up the road a bit
Then he lit a pot pipe
And took a deep hit
He asked me if I wanted any
that’s when I saw the flashing lights
I told him I don’t do that shit
But thought what a freaking night
Then we got pulled over
There was so much smoke
I couldn’t prove I didn’t hit it
That I didn’t a toke
So in the car I went
And they took me off the jail
I had to call my dad to help
But he couldn’t make the bail
So off to jail I went
I was innocent of possession
Now I was really mad
And filled with depression
What I didn’t know
Was that he had a gun
He left it my car
When he couldn’t run
They told me it doesn’t matter
Whether or not I draw
Cause when it’s in your car
Possession is the law
The other guy went to jail too
But that don’t bother me none
I can’t believe I was so stupid
To give ride to a guy with gun
I was going off to jail
For three hundred days
Course they lowered the charge
But in prison I still had to stay
I would get off for good behavior
I wasn’t criminal, of course I would
So after one hundred and fifty days
I finally got out for good
poem by Linda Racaniello

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Sweet L.A. Days
written by Neil Diamond and Doug Rhone
I can see it all now.
I will never forget
what you meant to me.
Don't have a single regret.
And I was feelin' alright
when it was just me and you.
We loved with all of our might.
That's all we wanted to do.
There ain't a lot we had to know
except that I wanted you
to be wherever I'd go.
Will anything ever be sweeter than those days?
Nobody's gonna replace
all that we shared with each other in those days,
back in those sweet L.A. days,
sweet L.A. days.
No one could ever replace
how on a Saturday night
we would jump in your car
and how we'd drive through the night
and maybe not get that far.
There wasn't much we had to learn
except that we knew the road would take us through every turn.
Will anything ever be sweeter than those days?
Nobody's gonna replace all that we shared
with each other in those days,
back in those sweet L.A. days, sweet L.A. days.
Ooee baby it's takin' me back,
back to those L.A. days,
sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet L.A. days.
They can't be taken away,
not those L.A. days, no,
those L.A. days,
sweet L.A. days
song performed by by Neil Diamond

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Mudfootball
Saturday morning and it's time to go
One day these could be the days but who could have known
Loading in the back of a pickup truck
Riding with the boys and pushing the luck
Singing songs loud on the way to the game
Wishing all the things could still be the same
Chinese homeruns over the backstop
Kakua on the ball and soda pop well...
We used to laugh a lot
But only because we thought
That everything good always would remain
Nothing's gonna change there's no need to complain
Sunday morning and it's time to go
Been raining all night so everybody knows
Over to the field for tackle football
Big hits
song performed by by Jack Johnson from Brushfire Fairytales

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Saturday Morning
It's Saturday morning
I'm sitting here alone again
with a cup of coffee
and my first morning joint
got the radio on low
so I can hear nature sing
outside my door
after a good morning rain
waiting for the afternoon sun
waiting for the day to shine
to shine down on everything
It's Saturday morning
and I have you on my mind
after a Friday night drink
guess some things in life
you just can't let go
it cuts you like a knife
wounds deep in you
so lets get to the point
no time left to think
You can bury your pain
but it's still there inside you
and it's here inside of me
with the weight we burden
Tell me you're doing fine
that you don't miss those days gone
when you were the one
to make me smile
tell me you were never mine
It's Saturday morning
think I'll sit here awhile
I traveled but many a mile
just trying to forget
all that's come undone
losing to a dream
it's been such a long time
though it may seem
lost in promises you never regret
(spiritwind-2001)
poem by Spiritwind Wood

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Life On The Road
Ever since I was a child,
I loved to wander wild
Through the bright city lights,
And find myself a life I could call my own.
It was always my ambition
To see piccadilly,
Ramble and roam around soho
And pimlico and savile row,
And walk down the abbey road.
So I saved all my money
And packed up my clothes,
And I said good-bye to my friends
And my folks back home.
And I left for a life of my own.
I left for a life on the road.
Im a real hungry tyke,
And I know what I like.
And I know where Im goin:
To those bright city lights.
Oh yeah, oh yeah,
This time Im gonna get there.
Im bound for a life on the road.
Give me life on the road.
I said life on the road.
When I arrived in euston,
I was little more than a child.
And I didnt know then
That the dives and the dens
Would be so vulgar and wicked and wild.
Mama always told me
The city ladies were bawdy and bold.
And so I searched night and day
To catch a kissable lady,
But all that I caught was a cold,
cause those stuck-up city ladies
Didnt notice me walk by.
Now Ive got holes in my shoes
cause Ive been walkin the streets all night.
And Im livin the life that I chose.
Livin my life on the road.
I said life on the road.
I want life on the road.
Life on the road.
I was standing with the punks in praed street,
When a muscle man came my way.
He said, hey, are you gay?
Can you come out and play?
And like a fool, I went and said, o.k.
Ever since I was knee high,
I thought the city was paved with gold.
But Ive seen so many losers
And down and out boozers
Who were tired of bein bought and sold.
City women are a tease,
But Id really love to please.
Now Ive got blood shot eyes
cause Ive been walkin the streets all night.
And it sure knocks you out on the road.
And Im livin my life on the road.
I said life on the road.
Life on the road.
I want life on the road.
One of these days,
I wanna go home,
Visit my friends,
And see all the places that I used to know,
And say good-bye to a world thats too real;
Good-bye to a world thats forgotten how to feel.
And its slowly usin me,
And theres no security.
Sometimes I hate the road,
But its the only life I know.
But Im livin the life that I chose,
So Ill live out my life on the road.
Give me life on the road.
I said life on the road.
(repeat)
song performed by by Kinks

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She Misses Him On Sunday The Most
(steven dale jones/bobby tomberlin)
They were quite a pair
The way that love should be
They still held hands
For the world to see
Shes thankful that she had him all those years
But she still has days she cant hold back the tears
She misses their monday night bowling league
When theyd wear their matching shirts
She misses their wednesday night dinner out
As soon as he got home from work
And saturday morning sleeping late
Holding each other close
But she misses him on sunday the most
She sits alone on that same old pew again
His tenor voice still echoes now and then
It brings back all those memories of him there by her side
What shed give for one more sunday drive
She misses their monday night bowling league
When theyd wear their matching shirts
She misses their wednesday night dinner out
As soon as he got home from work
And saturday morning sleeping late
Holding each other close
But she misses him on sunday the most
But she misses him on sunday the most
song performed by by Diamond Rio

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The Battling Days
So, sit you down in a straight-backed chair, with your pipe and your wife content,
And cross your knees with your wisest air, and preach of the ‘days mis-spent;’
Grown fat and moral apace, old man! you prate of the change ‘since then’—
In spite of all, I’d as lief be back in those hard old days again.
They were hard old days; they were battling days; they were cruel at times—but then,
In spite of all, I would rather be back in those hard old days again.
The land was barren to sow wild oats in the days when we sowed our own—
(’Twas little we thought or our friends believed that ours would ever be sown)
But the wild oats wave on their stormy path, and they speak of the hearts of men—
I would sow a crop if I had my time in those hard old days again.
We travel first, or we go saloon—on the planned-out trips we go,
With those who are neither rich nor poor, and we find that the life is slow;
It’s ‘a pleasant trip’ where they cried, ‘Good luck!’ There was fun in the steerage then—
In spite of all, I would fain be back in those vagabond days again.
On Saturday night we’ve a pound to spare—a pound for a trip down town—
We took more joy in those hard old days for a hardly spared half-crown;
We took more pride in the pants we patched than the suits we have had since then—
In spite of all, I would rather be back in those comical days again.
’Twas We and the World—and the rest go hang—as the Outside tracks we trod;
Each thought of himself as a man and mate, and not as a martyred god;
The world goes wrong when your heart is strong—and this is the way with men—
The world goes right when your liver is white, and you preach of the change ‘since then.’
They were hard old days; they were battling days; they were cruel times—but then,
In spite of all, we shall live to-night in those hard old days again.
poem by Henry Lawson

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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