I'm The Man

[Bob Pacey]

I had this version and got Franks permission to recite but I believe there is a version with a few extra verses thrown in ? did frank have it in a book that anyone has to verify that I have the right words ?


I’m The Man.

per Kind Permission
Frank Daniel,Canowindra,NSW.©1979
I’m the man they talk about, "The Man From Snowy River".
The one who did those daring deeds that made old Clancy shiver.
It’s true I had a skinny horse an he wasn’t all that hot,
But in times gone by one had to do with what he’d got.

I came from Snowy River down Kosciusko’s side.
As a lad I had no saddle and that’s how I learnt to ride.
I heard about the escapee, the colt from old Regret,
And always one for a bit of fun, I joined up for a bet.

I turned up at the homestead with that wild and woolly lot,
And the old man said I’d never do - couldn’t keep up at a trot.
So then my old friend Clancy stood up for me with a grin.
And the old man never argued ‘cause he knew he’d never win.

We galloped off into those hills, my horse was pulling madly,
Whenever we had company that horse would go so badly.
We found a mob of brumbies and the colt was with them too.
As the old man gave his orders off into the scrub they flew.

The stockmen rode to wheel them, Clancy raced along their wing,
And my young heart beat so rapidly as I heard the stockwhips sing.
When we reached the mountain’s summit even Clancy pulled his steed,
But the yang that I was riding had no mouth and would not heed.

They say I swung my stockwhip ‘round. They say I gave a cheer,
But I was struggling with my nag, Those cheers were yells of fear!
It was only fear that saved me, fear had glued me to my seat,
And I never ever dared deny my confidence in that feat.

When I finally reached the bottom of that terrible decent,
I saw a whisp of dust to tell which way the brumbies went.
I found them in a dead-ender in a gully walled with stone,
And that’s how I came to turn them back, how I did it on my own.

I know I haven’t got the right to stake my claim to fame,
So, having set the record straight - I’ll just leave out my name….

[Cropduster]

I will never view The Man from Snowy River quite the same ever again

[Peely]

G'day Bob

I have looked in the book of Frank's that I have here at home and have accessed the version that used to be up on his bushpoetry.com.au website on the web (archive.org is a wonderful tool for doing that). Apart from a few minor variations (the book was slightly different to the website which is slightly different to what you have here), they are basically the same as what you have above.

To quote from Frank's book, "My poem was printed in The Land a week after writing, however it contained one more verse than is used these days. This, the last verse, is printed in this publication." The final two lines that you have here make up the final stanza that is mentioned in the quote.

Regards


John

[Bob Pacey]

Thanks John I will investigate further.

Bob