Click go the Shears

By Abbey

Click go the shears

• Click go the shears is a traditional old Australian bush ballad, dating back to the 19th century when shearing was un-mechanised and shearers used hand shears, sometimes referred to as 'the tongs', which resemble garden secateurs. Some of the words heard in the song are still valid today, while others have "gone out with the blades" – an Aussie bush expression that is doubly relevant in this instance.

Chorus

Click go the shears boys, click, click, click,Wide is his blow and his hands move quick,

The ringer looks around and is beaten by a blow,And he curses the old snagger with the bare-bellied

joe.

This chorus is about a Shearer who is shearing his sheep.

A ringer is the fastest Shearer in the shed

First verse

Out on the board the old shearer stands Grasping his shears in his long bony hands Fixed is his gaze on a bare-bellied "Joe" Glory if he gets her, won't he make the ringer go

This verse is about an old shearer holding his shears with his hands he has his eyes on a sheep stomach and a ringer is the fastest person to shear a sheep

Second verse

In the middle of the floor in his cane-bottomed chair Is the boss of the board, with eyes everywhere Notes well each fleece as it comes to the screen Paying strict attention if it's taken off clean

According to James parson There is a supervisor, possibly the shed contractor, who

oversees the work. "The Board" is the length of shed where the shearers are lined up working. the "screen" is another

term for the skirting table, where the finished fleece is thrown and the scrappy bits taken off the edges.

Third verseThe tar boy is there, awaiting his demand With his blackened tar pot in his tarry hand,Notes one old sheep with a cut upon her back, Here is what he's waiting for – it's "Tar here, Jack!“The tar boy was assigned to a task to watch the shearer shear the sheep and help him when he needs anything

Verse 4

Now the shearing is all over, we've all got our cheques,So roll up your swags and it's off down the trace,The first pub we come to it's there we'll have a spree,And everyone that comes along it's 'Have a drink on me.'

• According to James parson Most shearers in the early days of the colony were itinerant workers who walked between sheds, carrying a bedroll or "swag". Often, with little else to do, shearers would spend most of their earnings in the pub (bar) in a drinking spree. The most famous swagman song is, of course, Waltzing Matildas.

Thank you for

watching