In the Days When the World Was Wide, and Other Verses


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.6 stars; 4 reviews)

This is a volume of poetry by Henry Lawson, the well-known Australian poet. Some of the poems in this collection are still widely taught in school, some others are not widely known at this time. All of them, however, paint vivid images of Australia around the turn of the last century. As The Academy put it in 1909, "These ballads (for such they mostly are) abound in spirit and manhood, in the colour and smell of Australian soil. They deserve the popularity which they have won in Australia, and which, we trust, this edition will now give them in England." - Summary by Carolin (2 hr 59 min)

Chapters

To an Old Mate 2:01 Read by Larry Wilson
In the Days When the World was Wide 5:45 Read by Larry Wilson
Faces in the Street 6:35 Read by Kathleen Flanary
The Roaring Days 3:44 Read by Kathleen Flanary
'For'ard' 5:09 Read by Michael Conway
The Drover's Sweetheart 2:24 Read by Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
Out Back 4:05 Read by Son of the Exiles
The Free-Selector's Daughter 1:32 Read by Dru Conway
'Sez You' 2:44 Read by Michael Conway
Andy's Gone With Cattle 1:33 Read by Carol Bedell
Jack Dunn of Nevertire 5:24 Read by Mark F. Smith
Trooper Campbell 5:07 Read by Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
The Sliprails and the Spur 2:06 Read by Michael Conway
Past Carin' 2:39 Read by Dru Conway
The Glass on the Bar 2:24 Read by Jack Albert
The Shanty on the Rise 3:55 Read by Kalynda
The Vagabond 5:11 Read by Larry Wilson
Sweeney 4:53 Read by Dru Conway
Middleton's Rouseabout 1:17 Read by Michael Conway
The Ballad of the Drover 3:29 Read by Dru Conway
Taking His Chance 2:40 Read by Carol Bedell
When the 'Army' Prays for Watty 2:12 Read by Dru Conway
The Wreck of the 'Derry Castle' 2:10 Read by mtamburr
Ben Duggan 3:20 Read by Michael Conway
The Star of Australasia 6:33 Read by Kalynda
The Great Grey Plain 3:11 Read by Dru Conway
The Song of Old Joe Swallow 3:28 Read by Michael Conway
Corny Bill 2:36 Read by Larry Wilson
Cherry-Tree Inn 2:51 Read by mtamburr
Up the Country 4:27 Read by Dru Conway
Knocked Up 2:32 Read by Dru Conway
The Blue Mountains 1:28 Read by Larry Wilson
The City Bushman 8:21 Read by Dru Conway
Eurunderee 2:10 Read by Mark F. Smith
Mount Bukaroo 2:34 Read by Mark F. Smith
The Fire at Ross's Farm 5:28 Read by mtamburr
The Teams 1:58 Read by Michael Conway
Cameron's Heart 3:38 Read by Michael Conway
The Shame of Going Back 2:04 Read by Dru Conway
Since Then 3:31 Read by Michael Conway
Peter Anderson and Co. 8:25 Read by Michael Conway
When the Children Come Home 1:47 Read by Carol Bedell
Dan, the Wreck 3:11 Read by Michael Conway
A Prouder Man Than You 1:48 Read by Dru Conway
The Song and the Sigh 0:58 Read by Michael Conway
The Cambaroora Star 9:08 Read by Dru Conway
After All 2:10 Read by Esraa El-Brawany
Marshall's Mate 4:53 Read by Michael Conway
The Poets of the Tomb 2:31 Read by Larry Wilson
Australian Bards and Bush Reviewers 1:30 Read by Dru Conway
The Ghost 4:21 Read by Larry Wilson

Reviews

The Ballad of the Drover-to be brutally honest...


(3.5 stars)

This is the one I started with. Mainly bc it's the very prose & verse that shot Mr Lawson to the very peak of his fame. And it's all been let down by an upper Cornwall accent! (if I'm mistaken with the county of London, tsk tsk me & look over your glasses disparingly through me asap!) Please, I don't mean any grudge or offence to the narrator...I'm a volunteer myself & I know that I'll get nasty & stinging remarks from the public. Your voice IS wonderful, full of zest & vitality. Nevertheless, most of Mr Lawson's prose requires an Australian accent. The author's penmanship is perfect...a detailed description of what happens on a typical farmyard within the aussie outback to this day. 😏