ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Where the pulse is taken - Publican, Lachie Ford

In most every country town by the station or the street
Theres a local pub that still is standing tall
And even if these towns are fading, people need to meet
And these places are essential to us all
So as long as there’s a building and publican, and a bar
the community can somehow stay unshaken
and if community’s are living things as I believe they are
Then the local pub where the pulse is taken

We may see them as a friend or a means to an end
We may find that they merely fill a need
We may find that they are someone who will try to comprehend
The ideas to which others disagreed
But as long as theres a beer and a man to lend an ear
Theres a place to be believed or be mistaken
And we gravitate towards it because the evidence is clear
That the local pub is where the pulse is taken

When the people who do business will gather at your place
And discuss their daily workings with a meal
And the lonely ones will search the crowded room for your face
To tell you how they are and how they feel
When the versions of the day have been sorted into facts
While your confidence has never been forsaken
Then both publican and patron have kept faith with their pacts
That the local pub is where the pulse is taken

The stories will be told where the beer is bought and sold
And the secrets will be safely put away
Because a bourdon that is lifted may not ever need unfold
and we may not always mean the things we say
And if you need a bed, once you’ve been watered and fed
Then you can fix it up when you awaken
And if there’s more you need to hear, or more needs to be said
Then go back - to where the pulse is taken

h

That's a good ballad style. The repeats tie it together nicely.

In Bourke wouldn't that have to be the RSL ( which used to double as the movie house ) or the Bowling Club, which was known as The Pub in the Park.

Singleton has eight pubs, so I'm afraid they would have to wonder at your poem.

G'day Hully,

Love to see more work here about typical country life. Specific towns and places would be great. The people too.

I hope the savy ones here can point out the finer points of ballad writing.


PHIL

I reckon Phil that if anybody wants to get a handle on the finer points of ballads that the best way is to do it, is to do a lot of reading. There is a book, Australian Bush Ballads,
( Axion Publishing) which is a bush poetry anthology. Poetry of Henry Lawson or Banjo Paterson will present the style of bush ballads. Also C.J. Dennis wrote Backblock Ballads, some say inspired by Kipling's Barrack Room Ballads. All good stuff for the bush balladist.

In my limited knowledge I don't think there is one particular rule or format that makes a ballad, it is a matter of the feel for the sound of that tradition. It seemed to me that Hully's verse had that ' flavour' to it and I suspect that he intends it to be that way. So he's done well I think.

G'day Neville,

To be honest I started to question this poem from a format point of view. My basic knowledge of a ballad, it is a verse that depicted themes which one was familiar with. In some cases it could be a song; sung while sit'n at the campfire. So when I read this I find its a long very descriptive verse. I do notice there are some repetitive lead-in's on some stanzas, but it may be that is the intention of the writer. I do believe he gets his point across.

Yet, the more I look at it - it looks like a long poem, maybe in the "EPIC" format. I kind of like that fit more then a ballad. So what you think?

PHIL

Ps I'm not a poem nazi ........I believe we write for the passion of a picture in the verse. Its as simple as that.

Love it Hully - I hear the music. The repetition works well and the local pub is more often than not the heartbeat of small country towns so great capture of that concept here. All in all IMO very nicely done. Very nice indeed.

Last verse line 3 - was that a burden or a bourbon or a combination of both that you made a word up for that you intended lifting.

Cheers

Maureen

LongMan wrote:. My basic knowledge of a ballad, it is a verse that depicted themes which one was familiar with. In some cases it could be a song; sung while sit'n at the campfire.

Indeed. And I think Hully's poem is just that.

I think the ballad lines are traditionally a line of four stresses followed by a line of three stresses.

de DA de DA de Da de DA
de DA de DA de DA.
etc.

Hully's seems to follow this format more or less.

Thanks Maureen - Bourdon is just my bad spelling - one of those words that is and will forever be confused in my brain...

Neville and Phil, thanks for your kind words - the piece was written as a 'bridging' piece to tie together an interview I did with the Publican of the Port of Bourke Hotel (formerly the 'Royal') - so it is, in my opinion, a bit disjointed as a stand alone piece - the individual stanzas are actually supposed to stand alone and relate to what has been said before and after them in the piece....I will post it up here today so you can see - www.hullyjoe.com (the 'IYKB' denotes that it is a piece form my 'If You Know Bourke' project...

As far as ballads go, I am not much for labels, but I thought a ballad was a narrative tale - so it would generally feature a character or characters and would depict and event either true or legendary.....but that is just my take...

cha

h

FYI - I have just added 5 more to the web page - they include 'Where the Pulse is Take' and 'Wetting A Line'
www.hullyjoe.com

h