OH, I dreamt I shore in a shearin'-shed, and it was a dream of joy, For every one of the rouseabouts was a girl dressed up as a boy— Dressed up like a page in a pantomime, and the prettiest ever seen— They had flaxen hair, they had coal-black hair, and every shade between. There was short, plump girls, there was tall, slim girls, and the handsomest ever seen; They was four-foot-five, they was six-foot high, and every height between. The shed was cooled by electric fans that was over every shoot; The pens was of polished ma-ho-gany, and everything else to suit; The huts had springs to the mattresses, and the tucker was simply grand, And every night by the billerbong we danced to a German band. Our pay was the wool on the jumbuks' backs, so we shore till all was blue— The sheep was washed afore they was shore (and the rams was scented too); And we all of us wept when the shed cut out, in spite of the long, hot days, For every hour them girls waltzed in with whisky and beer on tr-a-a-a-ys! There was three of them girls to every chap, and as jealous as they could be— There was three of them girls to every chap, and six of 'em picked on me; We was draftin' 'em out for the homeward track and sharin' 'em round like steam, When I woke with my head in the blazin' sun to find 'twas a shearer's dream. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HONEY DRIPPER by CLARENCE MAJOR ON A YOUNG LADY'S SIXTH ANNIVERSARY by KATHERINE MANSFIELD ANCHORED TO THE INFINITE by EDWIN MARKHAM BETRAND AND GOURGAUD TALK OVER OLD TIMES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS RICHARD BOOTH TO HIS SON JUNIUS BRUTUS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS REINFORCEMENTS by MARIANNE MOORE |