Analysis of Riders in the Stand

Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)



There's some that ride the Robbo style, and bump at every stride;
While others sit a long way back, to get a longer ride.
There's some that ride as sailors do, with legs, and arms, and teeth;
And some that ride the horse's neck, and some ride underneath.
But all the finest horsemen out -- the men to Beat the Band --
You'll find amongst the crowd that ride their races in the Stand.
They'll say "He had the race in hand, and lost it in the straight."
They'll know how Godby came too soon, and Barden came too late

They'll say Chevalley lost his nerve, and Regan lost his head;
They'll tell how one was "livened up" and something else was "dead" --
In fact, the race was never run on sea, or sky, or land,
But what you'd get it better done by riders in the Stand.

The rule holds good in everything in life's uncertain fight;
You'll find the winner can't go wrong, the loser can't go right.
You ride a slashing race, and lose -- by one and all you're banned!
Ride like a bag of flour, and win -- they'll cheer you in the Stand


Scheme AABBCCDD EECC FFCC
Poetic Form
Metre 11110110111001 11010111110101 11111101110101 0111010101101 11010101011101 11010111110001 11110101011001 11110111010111 111111010111 11111101010111 01011101111111 11111101110001 0111010010101 11010111010111 11010101110111 110111001111001
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,033
Words 203
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 48
Words per line (avg) 13
Letters per stanza (avg) 256
Words per stanza (avg) 67
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:05 min read
103

Andrew Barton Paterson

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem. more…

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