y separately published work icon Old Bush Songs : Composed and Sung in the Bushranging, Digging and Overlanding Days anthology   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 1905... 1905 Old Bush Songs : Composed and Sung in the Bushranging, Digging and Overlanding Days
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Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Angus and Robertson , 1905 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
The Australian Stockman "The sun peers o'er yon wooded ridge and through the forest dense," Australian Bush Ballads : No. 1 : The Stockman's Songi"The sun peers o'er the wooded ridge,", Frederick Sydney Wilson , single work poetry (p. 114-115)
The Old Bullock Drayi"Oh! the shearing is all over, and the wool is coming down,", single work poetry
The Old Bark Huti"Oh, my name is Bob the swagman, and I'll have you understand", Anonymous , single work poetry
On the Road to Gundagaii"Oh, we started down from Roto when the sheds had all cut out.", Anonymous (fl. 1905) , single work poetry
Flash Jack from Gundagaii"I've shore at Burrabogie, and I've shore at Toganmain,", Anonymous (fl. 1905) , single work poetry
Another Fall of Raini"Now the weather had been sultry for a fortnight's time or more,", John Neilson , single work poetry
Bold Jack Donahoe [Donahoo]i"In Dublin Town I was brought up, in that city of great fame,", single work poetry
The Wild Colonial Boyi"'Tis of a wild Colonial boy, Jack Doolan was his name", single work poetry

'The Wild Colonial Boy' is a traditional Irish/Australian ballad of which there are many different versions. It has been argued that the original version was really about Jack Donahoe (variously spelled Donahoo or Donahue), an Irish transport who arrived at Sydney Cove in 1825, and was subsequently convicted of highway robbery and sentenced to death. He escaped and waged a guerrilla war against the wealthy for more than two years in the country around Sydney. On September 1st 1830 he was ambushed by a police party near Cambelltown and shot dead, his companions Webber and Warmsley escaping into the bush. This version was eventually outlawed as seditious so the name of the protagonist changed.

The resulting Irish version is about a young emigrant, named Jack Duggan, who left the town of Castlemaine, County Kerry, Ireland, for Australia in the 1800s. According to the song (and in keeping with the true story of Jack Donahoe), he spent his time there 'robbing from the rich to feed the poor'. In the song, the protagonist is fatally wounded in an ambush when his heart is pierced by the bullet of Fitzroy.

The Australian version has Jack Doolan (or sometimes Jack Dowling) as the protagonist, and here Castlemaine refers to the Australian town in Victoria. In both versions variation in the wording and language occurs across different sources.

In his Old Bush Songs, Banjo Patterson wrote: "it will be noticed that the same chorus is sung to both 'The Wild Colonial Boy' and 'Bold Jack Donahoo'. Several versions of both songs were sent in, but the same chorus was always made to do duty for both songs." This chorus, included in some (not all) Australian versions is as follows:


Come, all my hearties,

we'll roam the mountains high,

Together we will plunder,

together we will die.

We'll wander over valleys,

and gallop over plains,

And we'll scorn to live in

slavery, bound down with iron chains.
John Gilbert was a Bushrangeri"John Gilbert was a bushranger", single work poetry
The Squatter's Mani"Come, all ye lads an' list to me,", single work poetry
The Stringybark Cockatooi"I'm a broken-hearted miner, who loves his cup to drain,", Anonymous (fl. 1905) , single work poetry
Jimmy Sago, Jackarooi"If you want a situation, I'll just tell you the plan", single work poetry
The Sheepwasher's Lamenti"When first I took the Western track, the year was sixty-one,", single work poetry
The Broken-Down Squatteri"Come, Stumpy, old man, we must shift while we can;", 'Anthos' , single work poetry
My Mate Billi"That's his saddle across the tie-beam, an' them's his spurs up there", Ironbark , single work poetry
The Stockmen of Australiai"The Stockmen of Australia, what rowdy boys are they,", single work poetry
The Loafers' Clubi"A club there is established here, whose name they say is Legion;", single work poetry
The Stockmani"A bright sun and a loosened rein,", Anonymous (fl. 1905) , single work poetry
Maranoa Droversi"Oh, the night is dark and stormy, and the sky is clouded o'er;", A. W. Davis , single work poetry
The Squatter of the Olden Timei"I'll sing you a fine new song, made by my blessed mate,", single work poetry satire
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