Analysis of The Gundaroo Bullock
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Oh, there's some that breeds the Devon that's as solid as a stone,
And there's some that breeds the brindle which they call the "Goulburn Roan";
But amongst the breeds of cattle there are very, very few
Like the hairy-whiskered bullock that they breed at Gundaroo.
Far away by Grabben Gullen, where the Murrumbidgee flows,
There's a block of broken country-side where no one ever goes;
For the banks have gripped the squatters, and the free selectors too,
And their stock are always stolen by the men of Gundaroo.
There came a low informer to the Grabben Gullen side,
And he said to Smith the squatter, "You must saddle up and ride,
For your bullock's in the harness-cask of Morgan Donahoo --
He's the greatest cattle-stealer in the whole of Gundaroo."
"Oh, ho!" said Smith, the owner of the Grabben Gullen run,
"I'll go and get the troopers by the sinking of the sun,
And down into his homestead tonight we'll take a ride,
With warrants to identify the carcass and the hide."
That night rode down the troopers, the squatter at their head,
They rode into the homestead, and pulled Morgan out of bed.
"Now, show to us the carcass of the bullock that you slew --
The hairy-whiskered bullock that you killed in Gundaroo."
They peered into the harness-cask, and found it wasn't full,
But down among the brine they saw some flesh and bits of wool.
"What's this?" exclaimed the trooper; "an infant, I declare;"
Said Morgan, "'Tis the carcass of an old man native bear.
I heard that ye were coming, so an old man bear I slew,
Just to give you kindly welcome to my home in Gundaroo.
"The times are something awful, as you can plainly see,
The banks have broke the squatters, and they've broke the likes of me;
We can't afford a bullock -- such expense would never do --
So an old man bear for breakfast is a treat in Gundaroo."
And along by Grabben Gullen, where the rushing river flows,
In the block of broken country where there's no one ever goes,
On the Upper Murrumbidgee, they're a hospitable crew --
But you mustn't ask for "bullock" when you go to Gundaroo.
Scheme | AABCDDBC EEBC FFEE GGBC HHCCBC IIBCDDBC |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111110101110101 01111010111011 101011101110101 101011011111 1011111011 101110101111101 1011101000111 011111010111 110101010111 011110101110101 11100010111010 1010101000111 111101010111 11010101010101 010111011101 1101010010001 1111010010111 1101010110111 11110101010111 01011011101 11010101011101 11010111110111 1101010110101 11010101111101 11110101111111 1111101011101 0111010111101 01110100110111 11010101011101 1111111010101 0011111010101 001110101111101 101011011001 1110111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,065 |
Words | 381 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 6, 8 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 47 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 264 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 62 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 23, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 67 Views
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"The Gundaroo Bullock" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2649/the-gundaroo-bullock>.
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