Heigh, Ho!

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)



Heigh, ho!  But they're talking, talking,
As the cold, hard streets we're walking
Seeking work at any wage,
While the talkers rant and rage.

Says the judge: 'Let's look up section
Ninety-eight in this connection.'
'Right,' replied the advocate.
'But I submit that's out of date.'
'Sir!' the judge says, 'such things border
On contempt.  You're out of order!'

Heigh, ho!  But a man grows weary,
Time flies; and the outlook's dreary,
What care we for argument
When bread alone can bring content?'

'What,' enquires the advocate,
'Happened in the Roman State,
Back in forty-two B.C.?
Let me read some history -
Fifty pages.  'Tis but just.'
'Well,' the judge sighs, 'if you must.

Heigh, ho!  When life is over
Must we rest in fields of clover,
Listening to long, endless chater
On some point that does not matter?
Heigh, ho!  I'd rather be
Where they'll find some work for me.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
47

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCDEFF GGXX DEAGHH FFFFGG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 855
Words 163
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 6, 4, 6, 6

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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