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Cover of The Old Bush Songs

The Old Bush Songs

A. B. "Banjo" Paterson (1864–1941)

Songs (anthology) · first published 1905 · Sydney: Angus & Robertson (this text from the 1906 second impression)

Songs of the bushranging, digging and overlanding days, collected and edited by Paterson: "The Wild Colonial Boy", "The Old Bullock Dray" and more.

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About 20,899 words · roughly 1.5 hours of reading (short) · 7 sections online · In: Bush poetry, Convict and goldfields era

Why this is free

In Australia

A. B. "Banjo" Paterson (author) died in 1941. Australian copyright then lasted 50 years after the author's death, so it ended on 31 December 1991. The 2005 extension to 70 years did not revive copyright that had already expired.

Anonymous and traditional songwriters (songs (traditional)): Corporate/anonymous traditional songs, mostly from the 1830s–1880s, first collected in 1905; anonymous works are protected from publication, a term that has long expired.

In the United States

First published in 1905. In the United States, works published before 1 January 1931 are in the public domain.

Our text

Derived from the volunteer transcription published as Project Gutenberg eBook #10493 (public domain in the US). We removed that project's header, footer, licence and trademark text, producer notes and all images, then re-packaged the text. This edition is not affiliated with or endorsed by that project. Our thanks to its volunteers.

Our sectioning, cover and EPUB packaging are dedicated to the public domain (CC0 1.0).

Rights record

rights.json, checked 2026-10-19. Death dates: A. B. "Banjo" Paterson (Wikidata, ADB, catalogue). First publication: reference.

Contents

  1. THE OLD BUSH SONGS
  2. THE OLD BUSH SONGS
  3. PREFACE
  4. CONTENTS
  5. INTRODUCTION
  6. TWO ABORIGINAL SONGS
  7. I
  8. II
  9. PADDY MALONE IN AUSTRALIA
  10. THE OLD BULLOCK DRAY
  11. PADDY’S LETTER, 1857
  12. THE OLD BARK HUT
  13. THE OLD SURVEY
  14. DWELL NOT WITH ME
  15. THE BEAUTIFUL LAND OF AUSTRALIA
  16. ON THE ROAD TO GUNDAGAI
  17. FLASH JACK FROM GUNDAGAI
  18. ANOTHER FALL OF RAIN
  19. (Air: “Little Low Log Cabin in the Lane.”)
  20. BOLD JACK DONAHOO
  21. THE WILD COLONIAL BOY
  22. JOHN GILBERT (BUSHRANGER)
  23. (Air: “Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.”)
  24. IMMIGRATION
  25. (Air: “Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.”)
  26. THE SQUATTER’S MAN
  27. THE STRINGY-BARK COCKATOO
  28. THE EUMERELLA SHORE
  29. JIMMY SAGO, JACKAROO
  30. (Air: “Wearing of the Green.”)
  31. THE PLAINS OF RIVERINE
  32. THE SHEEP-WASHERS’ LAMENT
  33. (Air: “The Bonnie Irish Boy.”)
  34. THE BROKEN-DOWN SQUATTER
  35. (Air: “It’s a fine hunting day.”)
  36. THE FREE SELECTOR
  37. (A Song of 1861.)
  38. A NATIONAL SONG FOR AUSTRALIA FELIX
  39. SUNNY NEW SOUTH WALES
  40. BRINGING HOME THE COWS
  41. THE DYING STOCKMAN
  42. (Air: “The Old Stable Jacket.”)
  43. MY MATE BILL
  44. SAM HOLT
  45. (Air: “Ben Bolt.”)
  46. THE BUSHMAN
  47. (Air: “Wearing of the Green.”)
  48. HAWKING
  49. (Air: “Bow, Wow, Wow.”)
  50. COLONIAL EXPERIENCE
  51. (Air: “So Early in the Morning.”)
  52. THE STOCKMEN OF AUSTRALIA
  53. IT’S ONLY A WAY HE’S GOT
  54. (As sung by the camp fire.)
  55. THE LOAFERS’ CLUB
  56. THE OLD KEG OF RUM
  57. THE MURRUMBIDGEE SHEARER
  58. THE SWAGMAN
  59. THE STOCKMAN
  60. (Air: “A wet sheet and a flowing sea.”)
  61. THE MARANOA DROVERS
  62. (Air: “Little Sally Waters.”)
  63. RIVER BEND
  64. (Air: “Belle Mahone.”)
  65. SONG OF THE SQUATTER
  66. WALLABI JOE
  67. (Air: “The Mistletoe Bough.”)
  68. THE SQUATTER OF THE OLDEN TIME
  69. (Air: “A fine old English gentleman.”)
  70. THE STOCKMAN’S LAST BED
  71. MUSTERING SONG
  72. (Air: “So Early in the Morning.”)
  73. THE AUSTRALIAN STOCKMAN
  74. THE SHEPHERD
  75. (Air: “She Wore a Wreath of Roses.”)
  76. THE OVERLANDER
  77. A THOUSAND MILES AWAY
  78. (Air: “Ten Thousand Miles Away.”)
  79. THE FREEHOLD ON THE PLAIN
  80. (Air: “The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane.”)
  81. THE WALLABY BRIGADE
  82. MY RELIGION
  83. BOURKE’S DREAM
  84. BILLY BARLOW IN AUSTRALIA

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