Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, STARVING TO DEATH ON A GOVERNMENT CLAIM (1), by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

STARVING TO DEATH ON A GOVERNMENT CLAIM (1), by                    
First Line: "frank baker [or, bolar]'s my name, and a bachelor I am"
Last Line: "I'll stop in topeka and get me a wife, / and there shall I stay the rest of my life"
Subject(s): Homesteaders


Frank Baker's my name, and a bachelor I am;
I'm keeping old batch on an elegant plan.
You'll find me out west in the county of Lane --
I'm starving to death on a government claim.
My house, it is built of the natural soil;
The walls are erected according to Hoyle.
The roof has no pitch, but is level and plain,
And I always get wet when it happens to rain.
Hurrah for Lane County, the land of the free,
The home of the grasshopper, bedbug and flea.
I'll sing loud its praises and tell of its fame
While starving to death on a government claim.

My clothes, they are ragged; my language is rough;
My bread is case-hardened both solid and tough.
The dough is scattered all over the room,
And the floor, it gets scared at the sight of a broom
My dishes are scattered all over the bed;
They are covered with sorghum and Government bread.
Still I have a good time and live at my ease
On common sop-sorghum, old bacon, and grease.
Then come to Lane County. Here is a home for you all
Where the winds never cease and the rains never fall,
And the sun never sets but will always remain
Till it burns you all up on a Government claim.

How happy I feel when I crawl into bed,
And a rattlesnake rattles a tune at my head,
And the gay little centipede, void of all fear,
Crawls over my neck and down into my ear,
And the little bed bugs so cheerful and bright,
They keep me a-laughing two-thirds of the night,
And the gay little flea with sharp tacks in his toes
Plays "why don't you catch me" all over my nose.
Hurrah for Lane County, hurrah for the West,
Where farmers and laborers are ever at rest,
For there's nothing to do but to sweetly remain
And starve like a man on a Government claim.

How happy am I on my government claim,
For I've nothing to lose nor I've nothing to gain.
I've nothing to eat, and I've nothing to wear,
And nothing from nothing is honest and fair.
Oh, it is here I am solid and here I will stay,
For my money is all gone and I can't get away.
There is nothing that makes a man hard and profane
Like starving to death on a Government claim.
Hurrah for Lane County, where blizzards arise,
Where the winds never cease and the flea never dies.
Come join in the chorus and sing of its fame,
You poor hungry hoboes that's starved on the claim.

No, don't get discouraged, you poor hungry men,
For we are all here as free as a pig in a pen.
Just stick to your homestead and battle the fleas
And look to your Maker to send you a breeze.
Now, all you claim holders, I hope you will stay
And chew your hardtack till you are toothless and grey;
But, as for myself, I'll no longer remain
And starve like a dog on a Government claim.
Farewell to Lane County, farewell to the West.
I'll travel back East to the girl I love best.
I'll stop in Topeka and get me a wife,
And there shall I stay the rest of my life.






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