Andy's Gone With Cattle Poem by Henry Lawson

Andy's Gone With Cattle

Rating: 3.2



Our Andy's gone to battle now
'Gainst Drought, the red marauder;
Our Andy's gone with cattle now
Across the Queensland border.

He's left us in dejection now;
Our hearts with him are roving.
It's dull on this selection now,
Since Andy went a-droving.

Who now shall wear the cheerful face
In times when things are slackest?
And who shall whistle round the place
When Fortune frowns her blackest?

Oh, who shall cheek the squatter now
When he comes round us snarling?
His tongue is growing hotter now
Since Andy cross'd the Darling.

The gates are out of order now,
In storms the `riders' rattle;
For far across the border now
Our Andy's gone with cattle.

Poor Aunty's looking thin and white;
And Uncle's cross with worry;
And poor old Blucher howls all night
Since Andy left Macquarie.

Oh, may the showers in torrents fall,
And all the tanks run over;
And may the grass grow green and tall
In pathways of the drover;

And may good angels send the rain
On desert stretches sandy;
And when the summer comes again
God grant 'twill bring us Andy.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Joey Valenzuela 27 January 2010

is it possible that ANDY signifies the FERTILITY of the soil in Australia... and CATTLE signifies the economy? ? and the title ANDY'S GONE WITH CATTLE means... the fertility of the lands of australia's gone as well as the economy's falling look at each line.... i think i made some sense...heheh PS: the melody is really good-no it's great.... i must agree with angela: GREAT WORDS AND FANTASTIC POEM...

25 41 Reply
Manonton Dalan 27 January 2012

wow! this is very nice description of queensland. i've been to brisbane on month of june it's lovely and people are very nice. i love that meat pie. no women in pubs.

23 37 Reply
Ari Ryan 27 January 2011

I really Enjoyed this poem. It makes you think.

22 36 Reply
Kevin Straw 27 January 2010

A tight piece with good scansion and excellent rhyme. Can we infer that Andy is the man of the place, and that the uncle and whoever is writing the poem are too decrepit to keep order? No one would print a poem like this nowadays from a new writer, yet it vividly describes a section of society in a memorable way that 'modern' poetry does not.

23 31 Reply
Lucas 18 August 2019

That’s bad

2 1
Mohamed Mustapha 03 March 2023

Beautifully written 👏 it's like song to my ears

1 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 29 November 2021

finally the angels come to send the rain to the desert, his poems are often in the minor key because the poet himself is not quite in full health,5 Stars full

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 29 November 2021

A rather dejected poem, yet God's blessing comes upon Andy in the end. Pretty beautiful poem, but very sad, beautiful rhyming endings,

0 0 Reply
Rose Marie Juan-austin 28 November 2021

A wonderful poem so well crafted and executed. Compelling images.

1 0 Reply
blablabla 28 November 2021

That's REALLY bad…Eeee

1 0 Reply
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Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson

Grenfell, New South Wales
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