Lay Your Ears Back and Fight

Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)



WHEN you drink of what the poets rave about as “sorrer’s cup”,
And yer mouth, in spite of laughin’, gits a curve the wrong way up,
Do not whine for help or pity; never cringe at fortunes frown—
Lay yer list’ners back and fight until you fight yer sorrers down!

Though the world on empty pockets is at times a little harsh
And the weights of care are clinging to the ends of your mustarsh,
Never let yer grief boil over; it is nothing to the town—
Lay yer list‘ners back and battle till you fight yer sorres down!

When the law of gravitation lays a hand upon yer heart,
An’ the “slings an’ arrers” fetch yer and you feel ’em pretty smart,
When you cannot find a billet, and you haven’t half-a-crown—
Lay yer list’ners hack and fight until you fight yer sorrers down!

When the gilt upon the future wears in places very thin,
Look as if there’s nothink crooked, try an’ summon up a grin;
There’s a mask that you must always wear the other way about—
Lay yer list’ners back and battle till you knock yer sorrers out.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

58 sec read
59

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCBB DDBB EEFF
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,047
Words 194
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson 17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922 was an Australian writer and poet Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period more…

All Henry Lawson poems | Henry Lawson Books

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