The Hacking Song

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



Yes, it's tryin', Mrs Gudgits.  Very tryin', as you say.
To 'ave a 'usban' on yer 'an's not only night but day.
An' so I can't go out with you, much as I wisht I could;
For me Jack is in there, gaspin' an' 'e's feelin' none too good.
With 'is ''Ack! 'Ack! 'Ack!'  Lor!  I bangs 'im on the back
An' 'e curses me a treat for my stoopidity.
''It a man,' 'e sez, 'wot's sick!'  Oh 'is temper's awful quick,
An' it ain't so much the 'eat as this youmidity.

Oh, I tries to in-ter-est 'im in the topics of the day,
An' I reads 'im from the noos wot Musserlini 'as to say
But 'e sez, 'If Musserlini 'ad me bronkil choobs an' chest,
'E'd 'ave somethink else to think about, an' give 'is was a rest.'
Then it's, ''Ack! 'Ack! 'Ack!' till 'is face is nearly black,
But 'e manidges to say, with much acidity,
'Blowin' peaceful blokes to death - 'Then 'e stops fer want a' breath.
An' it ain't so much the 'eat as this youmidity.

Then I reads the weather forecask - all about the low an' 'igh,
An 'ow they sez most like the change is passin' Melbun by
But 'e ups an' calls 'em liars, an' 'e starts to rave an' curse.
Sez I read that bit a-purpis for to try an' make 'im worse.
Then it's ''Ack! 'Ack! 'Ack!'  But, if I creeeps to the back,
'E recovers with remarkable rapidity.
An' 'e yells, ''Ere! where ya goin'?  Don't you leave a man alone!'
An' it ain't so much the 'eat as this youmidity.

Yes; a woman must 'ave patience, Mrs Gudgits, as you say.
An' I knows without your 'intin', mum, that it's my turn to pay.
So you needn't cast nasturtiums; very gladly would I shout,
But, with a 'usban' like 'e is -  well, 'ow can I git out?
Listen: ''Ack! 'Ack! 'Ack!'  Yeh needn't yell.  I'm comin', Jack!
There, Mrs Gudgits.  That's the chief awkwidity:
Day an' night I must stop in; an' I do so miss me gin
Not so much because of 'eat as this youmidity.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:54 min read
42

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabbcbxB aaddcexB xxffcexB aaggcbxb
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,815
Words 372
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

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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