“The Castlereagh River”

Description

"I'm travelling down the Castlereigh, and I'm a stationhand...." The singer mentions all the stops he's made, and all his reasons for leaving (non-union Chinese workers, an arrogant boss, etc.). He advises, "So shift, boys, shift...."

Notes

Paterson's title for this was "A Bushman's Song" -- but it is perhaps noteworthy that few traditional singers knew it by that title.... Joe Cashmere, when he supplied a version of the song to John Meredith, believed he learned it before Paterson published the song. But, as Paterson/Fahey/Seal note, it's hard to prove it predated Paterson. - RBW

Recordings

  • John Greenway, "The Castlereagh River" (on JGreenway01)

References

  1. Meredith/Anderson, pp. 45-46, 83-84, "The Old Jig-Jog"; p. 57, "Travelling Down the Castlereagh; pp. 210-211, "A Bushman's Song" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
  2. Fahey-Eureka, pp. 132-133, "Travelling Down the Castlereigh" (1 text, 1 tune)
  3. Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 290-293, "A Bushman's Song" (1 text)
  4. Manifold-PASB, pp. 158-159, "Travelling Down the Castlereigh" (1 text, 1 tune)
  5. DT, CSTLREAG
  6. Roud #8399
  7. BI, MA045

About

Author: claimed by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
Earliest date: 1892 (The _Bulletin_)
Keywords: Australia work travel
Found in: Australia