What though the world does me ill turns And cares my life environ;I'd sooner laugh with Bobbie Burns Than sneer with titled Byron.
The smile has always been the best; 'Tis stronger than the frown, sirs:And Venus smiled the waves to rest; She didn't sneer them down, sirs.
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000365
Copy-textProject Gutenberg Australia, Collected Poems of Henry Lawson (2022), anchor p102; selected digital copy-text retained exactly; wording and layout confirmed against Ironbark Resources under D-180
While The Billy BoilsSearch