Poems by Merv Webster

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thestoryteller
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Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Fri Jun 10, 2016 9:42 pm

Poetry

From Bush Verse and Lyrics since 2005

A Lifetime Full of Memories
And Then the Fight It Started
Bobbo's Wish
Cookies Do's and Don'ts
Father to Son
Good Thinking Joan
Hope It Works
Late Lectures in the Night
The Colt
The Elfresco Encounter
The Holdup at Deadman's Bend
The Oriental Cure
The Resume
The Wallet
Why Dot Won't Leave the Farm
What Has Happened To Our Postman
Why Dot Won't Leave the Farm
My Simple Point of View
The Ballad of Three Horses

From Keeping the Culture 2005

The Nellies
What Do I Tell My Children
The Stand at Stinkybark Creek
The Reluctant Boot Scooter
The Cooee-Boroo From Ireland and the Bootamurra Man
Dear, Oh Deer!
Leichhardt's in the Bush
Who Will Sing Their Praises
RBT Blues
The Yowah Addiction
The Bancroft Reunion
A Simple Word of Thanks
Blacklisted
Gerty Gribble's Dilemma
Hard Hat Heroes
An Old Man's Vows
When The Evidence Went Missing
Old Jacko in the City
Caravanning Mayhem
It's No Excise I Fear
Gran's Last Wish
Robby
When & Rang The Grey
Something For Our Stevie
A Life Line In The Bush
The Vigilante Granny
A Joyous Celebration

Excuse Me! It's the Gidyea! 2001

The Battling Little Bilby
Who Cares
The Temperance Meeting
The Ballad of a Nation
The Ballad of No Excuse
Murder! Bloody Murder!
The Interview
It's Tough To Be a Kelly
The Passing of Stumpy Shore
Excuse Me! It's the Gidyea
The Apprentice Bullocky
The Passing of Stumpy Shore
The Rainmaker Called wragge

You're Joking! Milk in Billy Tea! 2000

The Homestead
Today It Isn't So
The Park Bench Reconciliation
The Young Dog and The Roo
Catherine [Kate] Buchannan
Judge's Comments
The Ultimatum
G'day. I'm King Old Mate!
It's Not Australian
Tom Lockie - Artesian Country Tours
Botanical Jargon
The Trial at Blinkandmiss
You're Joking! Milk In Billy Tea!

From The Laughter & Tears From the Bush 1999

Let's Keep alive the Drover's Day
I'm Not Riding Sir
The Curing of Young Fred Mcphee
A Bite Beyond Belief
A Few Words
A Bushman's Love
Dan's Night Out
Bert's Will
The Old Widow Flo
The Lament of Charles E. Byrd
Sweet Madeline
The Ballad of the Blowfly
Waltzing Matilda - An Allegory
Big Bob From Splitters Creeek
Will and the Thief
Bert's Will

From A Muster of Verse & Yarns 1998

The Wife's Revenge
Reminiscing With Henry
The Market
Hungerford
The Secret's Out
For I've His Blood In Me
The Dollar Forty Chips
Silver Spur's Secret
My Mate Bert
The Understanding
The Psychedelic Stew
Piccininny Dawn
Back There
To Have Loved a Friend

From In Days Gone By 1997

The Final Victory
They Say
The Bully
Syness
Melancholy Moments
The Storm
Drought
Basher Brogan's Pride
The Bundure Brew
The Motley Crew
Basher Brogan's Pride
One In a Million
The Irishman

From Tales of Uncle Jim 1996

The Beneficial Duffing
The Wedding
The Art of Milking
Old Blackie
Uncle Jim's Cooking
Ginger's Debt
The Witnesses
The Deal
That Old Goat Smell
The Old Cow
Duck and Jump

Arts Spur

Father to Son
The Courting of Melanie Gaye
Searching for Billy
Counting Down
Thank You For the Blessings
Thank You For the Company

Lyrics

I Never Cried for Elvis But I Shed a Tear for Slim
R.M. Williams - A Man Who Had Tried
Chasing Buttons
Son Play Another Coster Song
Granddad's Crusty Damper
The Maintop Balladeer
The Bravest of the Brave
Boondooma's Balladeer
So Many roadside Epitaphs
Bluey's Reflections
Djarra Dreaming
Big Fella Sandy River
I'm Just Happy To Limp round the Block

Videos

A Loowd Conversation
Bluey's Reflections
Boondooma's Balladeer
Camfires on the Cooper
Hard Hat Heroes
I Never Cried For Elvis but I Shed a Tear for Slim
Old Jacko in the City
Robby
R. M. Williams - A Man Who Had Tried
Something For Our Stevie
Son Play Another Coster Song
The Oriental Cure
The Park Bench Reconciliation
The Payday Dilemma

Yarns

A Bite on Words
A Fishy Tale
A Pig Dog Tale
Feeding the Mob
Late For School
Last edited by thestoryteller on Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:16 am, edited 69 times in total.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

Heather

Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by Heather » Sat Jun 11, 2016 6:50 pm

That's a lot of poems Merv. It might be easier for people to find them if they were alphabetical.

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Bob Pacey
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by Bob Pacey » Sat Jun 11, 2016 7:19 pm

I don't think that you have posted them correctly Merv.

clicking on each poem should link you to the actual poem ?

as per the Forum Rules at the top.

Indexing is for ABPA Members for work accessible on this ABPA Forum only.
The purpose in life is to have fun.
After you grasp that everything else seems insignificant !!!

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Hal Pritchard
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by Hal Pritchard » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:09 am

Well Merv,
You have certainly brought a burst of vitality to the forum. It is great you are now 'officially' on board and so ultra active.
Thank you for your energy,
Brenda and Hal
Always strive for total awareness.

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thestoryteller
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:02 pm
Location: Bargara, Queensland.
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:36 am

It was good to catch up at Boondooma again, though being so busy I don't get a lot of time to chat one on one
as often as I'd like.

It's been a long journey for the ABPA since it's inception and hats off to all those who have contributed
to give it a hand.

I have the greatest respect for Ron Selby and his efforts in the early years. I've called in and see him from time to time.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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thestoryteller
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:32 am

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

I hope you enjoy this collection of tales based on real experiences of various bush characters with which I have had the privilege to share a period of my life.

All the characters have been brought together under the one whom I have called Uncle Jim and I’m sure you will relate to him and some of his animal friends.

To help bring the poems to life I was able to get a good mate to use his wonderful skill with a pencil. He has I feel captured the spirit of my poems and to Doug I wish to express my many thanks.

My thanks also goes out to my literary friends Neil McArthur from Bargara and Liz Ward from Mt Perry for their guiding counsel. Please share any poems you enjoy with others and if would like to obtain a copy, then my address is on the first page.

Merv Webster
The Goondiwindi Grey

FOREWORD

Australia’s passionate tradition of passing down history, legends and tall stories in our unique form of “Bush Verse” is one of the elements of our culture which has both mesmerised and obsessed me in recent years. I have been fortunate to both meet and perform with some of the most revered of the modern day Bush Bards.

But a bloke by the name of Merv Webster approached me not so long ago and asked my opinion of his poetry. My first reaction was that he repeated too many words too often, but then realized I was drunk. He returned next day and again asked my opinion on his poetry, so I ate the book and informed him that it needed more salt.

On the third occasion, he recited a few verses for me and I could immediately see the promise in both his writing and performing. Rarely have I come across a poet with such enthusiasm to learn how to improve his work and who accepted constructive criticism so willingly. Merv went away and threw himself into improving the weak points of his poetry until, within an amazing short period of time, he was writing and performing with such gusto and began winning awards. [Naturally I had to attack him with a thong and warn him off with a severe slapping]

“Tales of Uncle Jim” contains elements and characteristics of Australian bush life which Merv has experienced on his travels through this great continent and I sincerely believe that you will find a little of yourself within both the characters and situations encountered by Uncle Jim in the following pages.

Here is a dedicated and very talented Aussie Bush Poet on the rise, and when you read this collection of his offerings I believe you will agree. It’s an honour and a pleasure to be asked to write the foreword for Merv’s book and a darn good way to get a free copy.

Neil McArthur

Bush Poet and Inventor of the solar powered thong cooler
Bargara, Queensland, 1996.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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thestoryteller
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:35 am

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

I do hope you enjoy this collection of short stories and verse which have been based around the life of a dear old friend of mine who in 1996 reached the wonderful age of ninety.

At sixteen years of age he visited Australia House in London with his father and saw a large mural painted on the wall. It portrayed cane fields, men on horseback working stock all set under a large yellow sun and the men wore the biggest hats he’d ever seen.

He expressed to his father that was what he wanted to do. He left England in 1922 under the auspices of the then Dreadnought Schemes which sponsored young boys to take up an agricultural life in Australia. The following short stories and verse relay his many and varied adventures in this country through the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s and how he was able to fulfil his dream.

As in my previous book “Tales of Uncle Jim” I wish to thank my dear friend Doug Heathcote for his many illustrations, which help bring the book to life and also poet Liz Ward for being my literary friend. I hope you enjoy, In Days Gone By.
Merv Webster - The Goondiwindi Grey

FOREWORD

The current day resurgence of Bush Poetry began in the late nineteen eighties in Tamworth, N.S.W. As an infant group struggling to find its way in a world dominated by country music, the bush poets began performing to small crowds of interested bystanders at impromptu gatherings. With the advent of the Imperial Hotel Competition and the Longyard breakfasts, rapid expansion of both audiences and poets started this modern day snowball. Almost without exception every up and coming poet was overawed by the fantastic feeling of mateship that transpired amongst the group and each newcomer was blown away by this unheard of art called 'Performance Poetry.'

This was the era when cult 'legends' were being made. Popularity of hero status was being piled on those performers who had that special 'something' that the ever-hungry audiences were craving. One in a hundred poets would be admitted to this elite group.

It was also a time of learning and those that didn't or wouldn't strive to perfect this new trade were soon swept aside. I first met Merv some fifteen months ago at a bush poetry function in Bundaberg. He quietly asked me for an opinion on his performance and gave me a book of his verse about a character called 'Uncle Jim.' I passed on some pointers and was pleased to see an immediate attempt to incorporate these suggestions into his act. Merv has an unquenchable thirst for improvement and his ability to use constructive criticism to his advantage is admirable indeed. An avid student at writing workshops, Merv's natural talent is only too evident in his book, 'In Days Gone By' which I thoroughly recommend to all lovers of genuine, from the heart, Australia.

One in a hundred! Merv welcome aboard.
Bob 'The Larrikin' Miller
Poets Corner
Mungar Qld.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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thestoryteller
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:40 am

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

“What’s the Bundy Mob’s Bush Poets Muster?” I asked Bundy mob member Neil McArthur in March 1996. You see I had been trying my hand at writing verse and wanted to share it with someone. Neil suggested I should go along and enter the competition. This was my introduction to bush poetry.

I met so many interesting characters who, in their own particular style, bought the Australian way of life alive in the incredible performances. They either made you laugh or they made you cry. Yes, this performance poetry was something I could relate to and decided there and then I wanted in.

Searching one’s heart and soul for material to write about is a very rewarding experience and this great land we live in lends itself abundantly to subject matter. The contents of this book are a collection of my experiences with life and since writing them I have been able to travel extensively and share them with interested folk at various festivals, competitions, concerts, campfires and pubs.

The Australian way of life and the spirit of mateship has been my inspiration and I would like to thank all the many bush poets who have so kindly shared that spirit with me and given me so much encouragement. A special thank you to the many folk who, though not writers themselves, share that same spirit and have taken the time to sit and listen to my work. Many have asked me for copies of my poems and yarns and at long last I have mustered them together.

My hope is that through bush verse we can carry on the tradition of Lawson, Paterson, Ogilvie and others who sought to preserve the Aussie spirit and to borrow Banjo’s sentiments, “To call back from the buried past the old Australian ways.”

Merv Webster
The Goondiwindi Grey

FOREWORD

It has always amazed me how in almost every facet of life, a chosen few have the limelight shone squarely on them. They achieve, for what it’s worth, their second of fame, while others quietly go about their business with the style of the true craftsman, steadily building their reputations and gaining respect among their peers.

The current resurgence in the popularity of Bush Poetry is no exception, and despite an impressive list of awards, ‘The Goondiwindi Grey’ fits easily into the second category.

In this, his third and most polished book, we see a writer who has married his genuine love of the Australian way of life with a heartfelt passion that can often leave the reader searching out their own emotions, or having a silent chuckle over typically dry bush humour.

Like all true craftsmen, ‘The Grey’ has learnt from experience and honed his skills. While there is still a very personal side to his work he has managed to deliver this in a style that has more universal appeal than his earlier works. The result should see a much larger pool of readers share the enjoyment that ‘The Grey’ obviously had in ‘mustering’ this selection of verse and yarns.

Poetry’s not merely words – but what sets it apart?
It’s knowing that the writer, has given of his heart.


Gary Fogarty
Millmerran, Qld.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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thestoryteller
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:43 am

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

Over the past twelve months my wife Christine, my father Merv Webster Snr. and myself have had the immense pleasure of touring outback Queensland and Northern New South Wales, performing our show ‘Laughter and Tears from the Bush” before appreciative crowds. We convey, between the three of us, the laughter and tears of life through bush verse and yarns. It is a wonderful feeling to stand before an audience and watch the reactions as you bring to life the characters of your stories, whether it be the humorous setting or a serious one.

To hear their laughter or see the tears run down their cheeks gives you a sense of satisfaction that you have told the story and told it well. There are of course always some faces among the crowd which seem to convey no expression at all. That is until after the show when they come up and express how much they enjoyed it.
“We have never heard anything like this before,” is the usual explanation.
“We don’t have anything like this where we come from,” and many friendships have been formed as a result.

Of course what makes it possible is this wonderful country that we call home, Australia. It lends itself to such diverse material, allowing the bush poets to capture its many moods and characters in their stories. The selection of verse you are about to read are the result of the many yarns and true stories told to me or I have experienced and then taken the challenge to tell them in verse. They reveal what I see as the laughter and tears of the bush. The good old Aussie humour we’ve all come to be well known for, though at the same time there are the sad and tragic stories that happen in life. They too give us time to reflect and feel compassion, showing that we care what happens to others. The battlers in life. For surely life has shown us that the laughter and tears go hand in hand.

Merv Webster
The Goondiwindi Grey

FOREWORD

A white haired, rusty faced sort of a bloke approached me with warm eyes and a shy grin and in his hands were a few sheets of paper. Merv Webster introduced himself and commented that, like me, he loved writing poetry. We spoke briefly before I had a squiz at some of his poems ... 'not bloody bad' I thought.

That was in Bundaberg, 1996. Since then Merv has published several books. This feat in itself pays testament to his dedication to the craft of poetry.

Merv is not just a poet, he's a travelling minstrel. Together with his wife Chris and Merv Snr. their good natured and mostly humorous bush poetry shows have introduced many people throughout Australia to this unique craft for the first time. He's a fine yarn spinner too, I might add!

The poems you will enjoy in this book vary in location and mood. On one page you will be entertained by the dry impatient Sundown Sam in 'A Few Words,' and later soothed by the emotive 'The Rose from the Garden.' I also find Merv's notes from the author, informal and welcoming for the reader.

Merv is a genuine bloke with many miles behind him. This book contains many souvenirs from his travels, and I am delighted to invite you all to celebrate the Bush, and enjoy the 'Laughter and the Tears' with The Goondiwindi Grey, Merv Webster.

Mark Gliori
Warwick , Qld.
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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thestoryteller
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Re: Poems by Merv Webster

Post by thestoryteller » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:48 am

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

Since releasing Laughter and Tears from the Bush in mid-1999, both facets have continued to touch our lives. The place we have enjoyed performing our verse and yarns most has been the Homestead Caravan Park on the Matilda Highway at Barcaldine [Barcy].

In earlier years Chris and I would do a tour out west, which included Miles, Roma, Charleville, Barcaldine, Winton, Kynuna, Cloncurry, Mt Isa and Camooweal and enjoyed it tremendously. Then in 1998 the Homestead changed hands and we found the new owners, Kingsley and Dawn Head, really enjoyed our show. So much so Kingsley asked me if we would consider doing it there on a regular basis. He figured that following billy tea and damper at 5.30 p.m. and some good old bush style tucker at 6.30 p.m., our show would go down well with the tourists.

That was the beginning of our friendship with some wonderful characters, one in particular being Tom Lockie. Tom has lived and worked in the Barcaldine district for years and would join us around a fire of gidyea coals to tell folk all about his Artesian Country Tours. He left the park most mornings for an incredible day out, packed full of ridgy didge Aussie history along the 300 kilometres of track north east of Aramac. Tom is a natural and loves sharing the odd tale of bush verse and throws in the odd yarn.

In September 1999 we went out to Windorah to perform our show on the banks of Coopers Creek, where a reunion was being held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the building of the bridge. Sadly on our arrival at the pub, we were given a message to ring Barcaldine as soon as possible. Upon doing so we found that Kingsley had suffered a fatal heart attack. Only months later, word came that Tom’s twenty-three year old daughter, who had just recently driven a horse and dray single headedly from Beachmere up to Barcaldine, was diagnosed with cancer. Then in April 2000 came news that Dawn had to give up the park. I would like to thank Dawn for bringing the verses and yarns to life with her illustrations and dedicate this book to the memory of the good times we shared with both Kingsley and Jenny, who would whimsically question folk as they asked for milk in their tea. You’re Joking! Milk in billy tea!

Merv Webster
The Goondiwindi Grey


FOREWORD

When I was asked to write this foreword I recalled the words of the late family friend and poet, Dame Mary Gilmore, who said it is the responsibility of every young nation to preserve its stories in prose, verse or song. The passage of time has added romance to yesteryear’s bush verse depicting the everyday lives of our nation builders. The days of wild scrub riding and rushing mobs of cattle are gone, but there will always be a place for the songs and verse, which have come down to us from the pioneering days. They are folklore.

For bush poetry to survive and grow it must leap into the twenty first century to record and preserve the stories of life experienced in the bush here and now. Today’s backpackers and caravaners are our 'modern day swaggies'. Some are looking for work or a new place to call home, but all are looking for meaningful outback experiences that will enrich their lives by bringing them in touch with their Australian heritage.

Merv Webster, alias 'The Goondiwindi Grey', a prolific and dedicated bush poet and a master of performance poetry provides that experience. I first met him at the Camooweal Drovers Reunion in 1997, where he delighted the audience with his work and captivated them with his performance. He does his fair share of touring; particularly in outback Queensland and those lucky enough to cross his tracks in their travels will be richly rewarded.

You’re Joking! Milk in Billy Tea, offers a selection of contemporary verse and yarns that will entertain the reader. There are some wonderful real life characters, laughter and tears and lessons in life. I am particularly touched by Merv’s tribute to my great-grandmother, Catherine [Kate] Buchanan. Her story is that of many unsung, pioneering outback women who waited patiently at the sliprails for their men to return.

It is heart-warming to see today’s dedicated bush poets writing contemporary verse and polishing up their acts to popularise and maintain the art and heritage of Australian Bush Poetry. The Goondiwindi Grey has received many accolades for his work but I am sure sharing our history, folklore and everyday happenings with his fellow Australians is his greatest reward. Like his namesake he is a winner.


Bobbie Buchanan
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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