I ride no more in the Drunks' Express,
Where travellers howl and rave;
I lie no more as a nasty mess
Of scraps on the morning pave;
I don't go home in the dawn's grey light
With yells and a drunked song;
I take no part in a drunken fight,
Or anything else that's wrong.
I ride no more in the seaside train,
With chaps for a gay weekend;
I float no more through the window-pane,
Which somebody's got to mend;
My claws don't fall on the ladies' hats,
Nor my tail on someone's knee;
My innards have given up spoiling spats
Of passengers next to me.
I lie no more in splashes of beer,
'Mid splinters of broken glass;
I'm followed no more by "Johns" severe,
Nor warned by curates who pass.
I cause no rows in the Dago shops
With "blokes on a bonzer spree";
And I don't make Dagoes send for the "cops"
To settle the price of me.
I don't go home in the black coat-tails
Of gentlemen slightly tight;
And I don't affront the grim females
I used to offend at night;
I lie no more on the carpet neat,
Nor rest on the counterpane;
I do not damage the parler suite
With my claw or my ribald stain.
I've come to the end of festive night
And trips in a Drunks' Express;
I won't see any more wondrous sights
Of the midnight wickedness;
I'll be no more what I used to be,
For all it's passed away --
The early-closing of pubs, you see,
Has made me a wowser cray.
First published in The Bulletin, 26 August 1915
Author: Harold Frederick Neville Gye (1887-1967) was born in Ryde, New South Wales, and is primarily known as the illustrator of C.J. Dennis's works such as The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. Gye moved to Melbourne with his family at the age of 12 and became a law clerk before finding that he could make a living from his drawing. He produced work for many magazines such as The Bulletin, The Gadfly, Punch and The Lone Hand as well as numerous newspapers. He also wrote a number of poems and short stories, mainly published in The Bulletin. He died in Beaumaris in Victoria in 1967.
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography
Where travellers howl and rave;
I lie no more as a nasty mess
Of scraps on the morning pave;
I don't go home in the dawn's grey light
With yells and a drunked song;
I take no part in a drunken fight,
Or anything else that's wrong.
I ride no more in the seaside train,
With chaps for a gay weekend;
I float no more through the window-pane,
Which somebody's got to mend;
My claws don't fall on the ladies' hats,
Nor my tail on someone's knee;
My innards have given up spoiling spats
Of passengers next to me.
I lie no more in splashes of beer,
'Mid splinters of broken glass;
I'm followed no more by "Johns" severe,
Nor warned by curates who pass.
I cause no rows in the Dago shops
With "blokes on a bonzer spree";
And I don't make Dagoes send for the "cops"
To settle the price of me.
I don't go home in the black coat-tails
Of gentlemen slightly tight;
And I don't affront the grim females
I used to offend at night;
I lie no more on the carpet neat,
Nor rest on the counterpane;
I do not damage the parler suite
With my claw or my ribald stain.
I've come to the end of festive night
And trips in a Drunks' Express;
I won't see any more wondrous sights
Of the midnight wickedness;
I'll be no more what I used to be,
For all it's passed away --
The early-closing of pubs, you see,
Has made me a wowser cray.
First published in The Bulletin, 26 August 1915
Author: Harold Frederick Neville Gye (1887-1967) was born in Ryde, New South Wales, and is primarily known as the illustrator of C.J. Dennis's works such as The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. Gye moved to Melbourne with his family at the age of 12 and became a law clerk before finding that he could make a living from his drawing. He produced work for many magazines such as The Bulletin, The Gadfly, Punch and The Lone Hand as well as numerous newspapers. He also wrote a number of poems and short stories, mainly published in The Bulletin. He died in Beaumaris in Victoria in 1967.
Author reference sites: Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography
See also.
