Clancy of the Overflow | |
---|---|
by Banjo Paterson | |
Written | 1889 |
First published in | The Bulletin |
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Form | Quatrain |
Meter | Trochaic octameter |
Rhyme scheme | AA–B–CC–B |
Publication date | 21 December 1889 |
Lines | 32 |
Full text | |
Clancy of the Overflow at Wikisource |
"Clancy of the Overflow" is a famous Australian poem written by Banjo Paterson and first published in The Bulletin , an Australian news magazine, on 21 December 1889. [1] The poem is typical of Paterson, offering a romantic view of rural life, and is one of his best-known works.
The poem is written in eight stanzas of four lines, lines one and three in a two-feet anapaest with a feminine internal rhyme, and lines two and four in trochaic octameter with masculine rhymes: AA–B–CC–B.
The poem is written from the point of view of a city-dweller who once met the title character, a shearer and drover, and now envies the imagined pleasures of Clancy's lifestyle, which he compares favourably to life in "the dusty, dirty city" and "the round eternal of the cashbook and the journal".
And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wond'rous glory of the everlasting stars.
The poem is possibly based on Paterson's own experience. [2] The introduction to Banjo Paterson's Images of Australia by Douglas Baglin [3] quotes Paterson as saying that he was working as a lawyer when someone asked him to send a letter to a man named Thomas Gerald Clancy, asking for a payment that had not been received. Paterson sent the letter to "The Overflow", a sheep station 100 kilometres south-west of Nyngan, and received a reply that read:
Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are.
The letter looked as though it had been written with a thumbnail dipped in tar and it is from this that Banjo Paterson found the inspiration for the poem, along with the meter.
Clancy makes a cameo appearance in another popular Banjo Paterson poem, "The Man from Snowy River", which was first published the following year.
There are claims that Clancy was based on a man called Thomas Michael MacNamara, who described the ride with the "Man from Snowy River" (his brother in law Jim Troy) in an article in The Courier-Mail in 1938 [4]
In 1897, Thomas Gerald Clancy wrote a poem in reply to "Clancy of the Overflow", entitled "Clancy's Reply", which paints a far less romantic picture of the life of a drover. [2] [5] There had also been a parody in 1892, "The Overflow of Clancy", which formed part of the Bulletin Debate.
After its original publication in The Bulletin on 21 December 1889, the poem was reprinted in numerous newspapers and magazines as well as the following anthologies and collections (among many others):
Clancy was portrayed by Jack Thompson in the movie The Man from Snowy River , and Clancy is mentioned in the musical theatre production The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular – during the recitation of the poem, Clancy is mentioned by Steve Bisley in his role of Banjo Paterson while the poem is being re-enacted in the show.
Contemporary recordings of the poem include Jack Thompson's recitation on Jack Thompson: The Bush Poems of A.B. (Banjo) Paterson (2008) [6] and Jack Thompson, Favourite Australian Poems, Fine Poets Collection, volume 5 (2010). [7]
The poem "Clancy of the Overflow" has also been set to music and recorded several times, including:
In 2004, there were plans to make a movie of "Clancy of the Overflow", a sequel to the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River, but this fell through due to financial reasons. The director was to have been Simon Wincer, who was a co-producer for The Man from Snowy River. [17] Bruce Rowland (who composed the music for both the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River and its 1988 sequel film The Man from Snowy River II , as well as composing music for The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular , was to compose the music for the film. The film was to have been funded by private investors, but the A$22 million minimum investment was not met by the deadline of June 2004, and the film has been shelved indefinitely. [18]
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author, widely considered one of the greatest writers of Australia's colonial period.
"The Man from Snowy River" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine, on 26 April 1890, and was published by Angus & Robertson in October 1895, with other poems by Paterson, in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses.
John Hadley Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and a major figure of Australian cinema, particularly Australian New Wave. He is best known for his role as a lead actor in several acclaimed Australian films, including such classics as The Club (1980), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Petersen (1974). He won Cannes and AFI acting awards for the latter film.
"The Man From Ironbark" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. It is written in the iambic heptameter.
The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, based on Banjo Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River, was a popular musical theatre production which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002. Kevin Jacobsen and David Atkins were the executive producers for the show. David Atkins and Ignatius Jones were co-directors and co-writers. Extra dialogue was written for the show by Jonathan Biggins and Phillip Scott.
The Man from Snowy River is a 1982 Australian Western drama film based on the Banjo Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River". The film stars Kirk Douglas in a dual role as the brothers Harrison and Spur, Jack Thompson as Clancy, Tom Burlinson as Jim Craig, Sigrid Thornton as Harrison's daughter Jessica, Terence Donovan as Jim's father Henry Craig, and Chris Haywood as Curly. Both Burlinson and Thornton later reprised their roles in the 1988 sequel, The Man from Snowy River II.
In Defence of the Bush is a popular poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 23 July 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, Up The Country. Paterson's rebuttal sparked the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
The City Bushman is a poem by iconic Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 6 August 1892, under the title In Answer to "Banjo", and Otherwise. It was the fourth work in the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, and others, about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
Banjo, of the Overflow is a poem by Australian poet Francis Kenna. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 27 August 1892 in reply to fellow poets Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson and Edward Dyson. This poem formed part of the Bulletin Debate, a series of works by Lawson, Paterson, and others, about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular is a musical by David Atkins and Ignatius Jones, based on the poem The Man from Snowy River, written by Banjo Paterson.
The bush ballad, bush song, or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of action and adventure, and uses language that is colourful, colloquial, and idiomatically Australian. Bush ballads range in tone from humorous to melancholic, and many explore themes of Australian folklore, including bushranging, droving, droughts, floods, life on the frontier, and relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
In Answer to Various Bards is a poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 1 October 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, In Answer to "Banjo", and Otherwise.
A Voice from the Town is a poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 20 October 1894.
Saltbush Bill is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 15 December 1894, the Christmas issue of that publication.
The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses (1895) is the first collection of poems by Australian poet Banjo Paterson. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1895, and features the poet's widely anthologised poems "The Man from Snowy River", "Clancy of the Overflow", "Saltbush Bill" and "The Man from Ironbark". It also contains the poet's first two poems that featured in The Bulletin Debate, a famous dispute in The Bulletin magazine from 1892-93 between Paterson and Henry Lawson.
A Bush Christening is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 16 December 1893, the Christmas issue of that publication. It has been called "a rollicking account of how the traditional pre-occupations, whisky and religion, come together".
The Overflow is a bounded rural locality, cadastral parish and Sheep station, 100 kilometers south of Nyngan, New South Wales. It is located at 32°12′05″S 146°38′31″E on Gunningbar Creek near the junction with the Bogan River and is in Bogan Shire and Flinders County. The locality is 32 kilometers south of the town of Nymagee, and west of Tottenham, New South Wales.
Country Classics is a 3CD greatest hits album by Australian country recording artist Slim Dusty, released through Reader's Digest. The album was separated into three periods of Dusty's career; The Early Years, The Middle Years and The Later Years. In 1999, the album was certified gold.
"A Bushman's Song" (1892) is a poem by Australian poet A. B. Paterson.
Unfinished - individual poem - Gilmore, Lawson, Harpur, Kendall, Paterson