Poem

The Shearer's Dream

by Henry Lawson · 1905

‘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 size between.’
‘The shed was cooled by electric fans that was over every shoot;The pens was of polished ma-ho-gany, and ev’rything else to suit;The huts was fixed with spring-mattresses, and the tucker was simply grand,And every night by the biller-bong we darnced to a German band.’
‘Our pay was the wool on the jumbucks’ 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 cried 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-ays!’
‘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.’
        ‘They had kind grey eyes, they had coal-black eyes, and the grandest ever seen—        They had plump pink hands, they had slim white hands, and every shape be-tw-e-e-n.’
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000657
Copy-textWhen I Was King and Other Verses (1905), Project Gutenberg Australia, The Shearer’s Dream; selected copy-text retained exactly; wording and line/stanza structure independently confirmed against University of Sydney Library SETIS PDF prepared from the 1906 print edition, PDF p. 26 (digital viewer node 12085)
Source recordSRC-000068
Rights determinationRGT-000746
Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY
TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D208_D180

How texts and rights are verified →