Steady Steady

poem by: Greg Woods
Written on Jan 07, 2014

Well I've worked in a few different states,
But Queensland's hard to beat.
Where you sweat all day in the hot sunshine,
And rain is a blessing from the heat.

They know the meaning of hard yakka up there,
And everything's common sense.
Where the toughest man became the boss,
This was decided by 'over the fence'.

But through the generations they've paced themselves,
To handle the hot northern sun,
Until they had a breed of working thoroughbreds,
Who turned the work into fun.

The men are so frisky early in the mornings,
And always at the ready.
So the foremen have to mumble all day,
C'mon boys,- - - steady steady.

Take it easy, have a blow,
Steady steady mate.
We don't want you to kill yourself,
You'll bust a gut at that rate.

They go to such great lengths,
To keep their men alive.
And when they get serious,
You'll hear the yell, 'TAKE FIVE'.

It used to be 'STOP FOR A SMOKE',
In the good old smoking days.
But now it's 'take five' or 'have a blow',
Since the smokers have changed their ways.

When a cloud comes over the toiling men,
Sweating, with their muscles in pain.
They listen for the welcome cry of,- - - 
'OK, GET OUT OF THE RAIN'.

Yes the foreman up their know what it's like,
To sweat, and work till you drop.
So now they take care of their children,
Telling them when to stop.

Now and then you'll strike a brumby,
Who's never done a hard day.
But before too long he's 'over the fence',
And a thoroughbred in his place.

Yes they know what it's like to sweat up there,
And just for the basic wage.
And they don't let up at knock-off time,
Cause then it's time to rage.

They line up against the bar at night,
And pour the grog down like water.
Next day they're all up early again,
Almost like lambs at the slaughter.

But through all the sweating, drinking and fighting,
A common-sense crept through,
A steady steady, have a blow,
Aussie bloke, true blue.

 

Tags: happy, humor,

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Peter Duggan commented:
I remember all this Greg from when I was a form worker in western Australia. Only we used to call it smoko over here. Great bunch of men here in Oz always ready for a laugh. I loved your poem, my friend....peter
Rod Moffat commented:

Rod Moffat commented:
Great word picture of conditions that most "Southerners" wouldn't understand. To work through the heat and humidity needs a serious toughness. You would have to have experience and possess that toughness to write this poem... good job.

 

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