Schoolmates -- me an' Billy Bates,
Sixty year ago;
Though our schoolin' was but foolin' --
Short an' sweet, ye know.
Workin' when we was but ten
(Folks was poor, ye see).
Drivin' ploughs an' mindin' cows --
Billy Bates an' me.
Shipmates -- me an' Billy Bates,
Forty year ago;
Came out 'ere in the "Boundin' Deer,"
Straight to Bendigo.
Made a pile in a little while --
Struck it rich did we;
Knocked it down when we got to town --
Billy Bates an' me.
Bedmates -- me an' Billy Bates,
Thirty year ago;
Shearin' sheep an' livin' cheap,
Up on Wareko.
Nohow never 'ad a row,
Even in a spree;
Friends we'd bin through thick an' thin --
Billy Bates an' me.
Billy Bates an' me wus mates,
Twenty year ago;
Then old Billy acted silly,
Got a girl in tow.
Men thet's wed's as good as dead,
No more use fur me;
Saw 'em started, then we parted --
Billy Bates an' me.
Room-mates -- me an' Billy Bates --
Come 'ere yesterday.
Wife is dead. The life 'e led
With 'er was cruel, they say.
Cut up rough, an' spent 'is stuff,
Acted like a brute.
So Billy Bates an' me is mates --
In the Destitute.
First published in The Critic, 2 April 1898;
and later in
Backblock Ballads and Other Verses by C.J. Dennis, 1913.
Note: this poem was also known by the title Me 'an Bates.
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
