Analysis of The Squatter Of The Olden Time

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



I'll sing to you a fine new song, made by my blessed mate,
Of a fine Australian squatter who had a fine estate,
Who swore by right pre-emptive at a sanguinary rate
That by his rams, his ewes, his lambs, Australia was made great
Like a fine Australian squatter, one of the olden time.

His hut around was hung with guns, whips, spurs, and boots and shoes,
And kettles and tin pannikins to hold the tea he brews;
And here his worship lolls at ease and takes his smoke and snooze,
And quaffs his cup of hysouskin, the beverage old chums choose
Like a fine Australian squatter, one of the olden time.

And when shearing time approaches he opens hut to all,
And though ten thousand are his flocks, he featly shears them all,
Even to the scabby wanderer you'd think no good at all;
For while he fattens all the great, he boils down all the small
Like a fine old Murray squatter, one of the olden time.
And when his worship comes to town his agents for to see,
His wool to ship, his beasts to sell, he lives right merrily;
The club his place of residence, as becomes a bush J.P.,
He darkly hints that Thompson's run from scab is scarcely free
This fine old Murray settler, one of the olden time.

And now his fortune he has made to England straight goes he,
But finds with grief he's not received as he had hoped to be.
His friends declare his habits queer, his language much too free,
And are somewhat apt to cross the street when him they chance to see
This fine Australian squatter, the boy of the olden time.


Scheme aaaaB ccccB ddddbeexeb eeeeb
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011111111 10101010110101 11111101011 11111111010111 10101010110101 11011111110101 010011110111 01110111011101 0111110100111 10101010110101 01101010110111 0111011111111 10101100111111 1111101111101 10111010110101 01110111110111 11111111111100 01111100101011 11011101111101 11110100110101 01110111110111 11111101111111 11011101110111 011111101111111 11010100110101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,486
Words 288
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 10, 5
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 47
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 293
Words per stanza (avg) 71
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:27 min read
49

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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