Complete poem written in 1902 by Henry Lawson (1867 - 1922).... tune by Ade Monsbourgh , originally on Shirley Jacobs 1972 album "A Voice From The City: A Tribute To Henry Lawson".
Violin by Jessie Morgan
lyrics
Gypsy Too (1902) complete poem
by Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922)
--------------- [ V.1 ] : -----------------
If they missed my face in Farmers’ Arms
When the landlord lit the lamp,
They would grin and say in their country way,
‘ Oh! He’s down at the Gypsy camp ! ’
But they’d read of things in the Daily Mail
That the wild Australians do,
And I cared no day what the world might say,
For I came of the Gypsies too.
--------------- [ V.2 ] : -----------------
‘ Oh ! The Gypsy crowd are a mongrel lot,
‘ And a thieving lot and sly ! ’
But I’d dined on fowls in the far-off south,
And a mongrel lot was I.
‘ Oh ! The Gypsy crowd are a roving gang,
‘ And a sulky, silent crew ! ’
But they managed a smile and a word for me,
For I came of the Gypsies too
--------------- [ V.3 ] : -----------------
And the old queen looked in my palm one day—
And a shrewd old dame was she:
‘ My pretty young gent, you may say your say,
‘ You may laugh your laugh at me;
‘ But I’ll tell you the tale of your long, dead past !
And she told me all too true;
And she said that I’d die in a camp at last,
For I came of the Gypsies too
-------------------[ V.4 ] ------------------
And the young queen looked in my eyes that night,
In a nook where the hedge grew tall,
And the sky was swept and the stars were bright,
But her eyes had the sheen of all.
The spring was there, and the fields were fair,
And the world to my heart seemed new.
’ Twas, ‘A Romany lass to a Romany lad ! ’
But I came of the Gypsies too
------------------ [ V.5 ] -----------------
Now a Summer and Winter have gone between
And wide, wild oceans flow;
And they camp again by the sad old Thames,
Where the blackberry hedges grow.
’ Twas a roving star on a land afar
That proved to a maid untrue,
But we’ll meet when they gather the Gypsy souls,
For I came of the Gypsies too
==============================
The Queensland Tiger covers traditional Australian ballads mainly from 19C.: e.g. Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, Breaker
Morant, Charles Thatcher, etc…. true to the original works.
website : www.thequeenslandtiger.com or Youtube channel : The Queensland Tiger...more
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