fun night, cut slightly short by my dodgy knee

[deird1]

We went to a bushdance last night, and like all good Aussie bushdances, it began with the Heel-And-Toe Polka, and featured such music as Click Go The Shears, Botany Bay, and Home Among The Gum Trees.

For people who are unfamiliar with these:
- The Heel-And-Toe Polka is taught to every single primary school student in the country. It is extremely easy, and very fun.

- Click Go The Shears is a song about sheep shearing (also taught in primary school). No-one remembers the verses except for the person playing the song, but everyone knows the chorus, which should be sung as loudly as possible.

- Botany Bay is a song for convicts, about leaving England behind and shipping off to Australia. Very catchy...

- And then there's Home Among The Gum Trees, which is about the myriad delights of living in Australia, with a particular focus on vegemite, clotheslines, rabbits, and rocking chairs.

Any Aussie could sing these to you instantly. They're our songs, and we love them.


That's Australia for you: sheep, convicts, rocking chairs, and the polka...

Comments

[velvetwhip]

I'm pretty much stuck with I Love L.A. by Randy Newman as my sentimental geographical song.


Gabrielle

[klme.livejournal.com]

People don't know the words to the verses of 'Click go the shears', and they THINK they know the chorus, but in my experience what they know is "Click go the shears boys CLICK CLICK CLICK! Wide something something and his hands move QUICK! mumble mumble something something something by a blow...and something something something with a mumble something oh..."

[jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com]

From memory:


Out on the floor the old shearer stands
Clasping his shears in his thin bony hands
Fixed is his gaze on a bare-bellied yoe,
Glory, if he gets her, won't he make the ringer go?

Click go the shears, boys, click, click, click,
Wide is his blow and his hands move quick.
The ringer looks around and is beaten by a blow
And curses the old swagger with the bare-bellied yoe.

Tar boy is there with his tar brush in hand
dumdumdidumdumdidundundidum
Sees an old sheep with a cut upon its back
Here is what he's waiting for, it's, 'Tar, here, Jack!'

'Click!' go the shears, etc.

Up at the board stands the master da da
dadadaddaddaddaddad
can't remember this but something about a chair
lalalalalalallalala

'Click!' go the shears, etc.

Shearing is over, we've all got our cheques,
Roll up your swags, boys, we're off on our tracks.
First pub we come to, it's there we'll have a spree,
And everyone that comes along, it's, 'Come and drink with me!'

'Click!' go the shears, etc.

.................................................

Very evocative, isn't it?

The men were paid per sheep, and the Ringer is the fastest shearer leading the rest.
The bare-bellied yoe is a sheep with no wool on her belly, which makes her super-fast to shear, and therefore an advantage in the competition if you can be the one to grab her.


*can't stand it - goes a-googling*

Chorus sung after each verse

Click go the shears boys, click, click, click,
Wide is his blow and his hands move quick,
The ringer looks around and is beaten by a blow,
And curses the old snagger with the bare-bellied joe.

Verse 1
Out on the board the old shearer stands,
Grasping his shears in his thin bony hands
Fixed is his gaze on a bare-bellied yoe,
Glory if he gets her, won't he make the ringer go.

Verse 2
In the middle of the floor in his cane bottomed chair
Sits the boss of the board with his eyes everywhere,
Notes well each fleece as it comes to the screen,
Paying strict attention that it's taken off clean.

Verse 3
The colonial experience man, he is there of course,
With his shiny legging's on, just got off his horse,
Gazes all around him like a real connoisseur,
Scented soap and brilliantine and smelling like a whore.

Verse 4
The tar-boy is there waiting in demand
With his blackened tar-pot in his tarry hand,
Spies one old sheep with a cut upon its back
Hears what he's waiting for it's "Tar here Jack"


Verse 5
Now the shearing is all over, we've all got our cheques,
So roll up your swags and it's off down the trace,
The first pub we come to it's there we'll have a spree,
And everyone that comes along it's 'Have a drink on me.'

Verse 6
There we leave him standing shouting for all hands,
Whilst all around him every 'shouter' stands,
His eye is on the keg which now is lowering fast,
He works hard, he drinks hard, and goes to Hell at last.



Smelling like a whore!! Drinks hard, Goes to hell!! No wonder they didn't teach us those bits at school!!

Here's a good link:

http://folkstream.com/022.html

which tells where the tune came from, and has some other lyrics, too!