Oh, the new-chum went to the back block run,
But he should have gone there last week.
He tramped ten miles with a loaded gun,
But of turkey or duck he saw never a one,
For he should have been there last week,
They said,
There were flocks of 'em there last week.
He wended his way to a waterfall,
And he should have gone there last week.
He carried a camera, legs and all,
But the day was hot, and the stream was small.
For he should have gone there last week,
They said,
They drowned a man there last week.
He went for a drive, and he made a start,
Which should have been made last week,
For the old horse died of a broken heart;
So he footed it home and he dragged the cart--
But the horse was all right last week,
They said.
He trotted a match last week.
So he asked the bushies who came from far
To visit the town last week,
If they'd dine with him, and they said
"Hurrah !"
But there wasn't a drop in the whisky jar--
You should have been here last week,
He said,
I drank it all up last week !
--J. B. Paterson.
Notes
From the Sydney Newspaper The Freeman's Journal 23 Jun 1910 p. 4.