Song About A Shearer

*giggles* Twiiiiiiisssssssssssssster, I got you a present!!!

Out on the board the old shearer stands,
Graspin' his shears in his thin bony hands,
His bleary eyes are fixed on a blue-bellied ewe,
Sayin', “If I get you, gal, I'll make the ringer go.”

Chorus (after each verse):
Click go the shears, boys, click, click, click.
Wild is his blow and his hands are movin' quick
,And the ringer looks around and he's beaten by a blow
And he curses that old snagger with the blue-bellied ewe.

In the middle of the floor in his cane-bellied chair
Sits the boss of the board with his eyes everywhere.
He notes every fleece as it comes to the screen,
Paying close attention that it's took off clean.

The colonial-experience man, he is there, of course,
With his shiny leggins, just off his horse;
Castin' round his eyes like a real connossoor,
Brilliantine and scented soap and smelling like a whoor (Who said that?)

The tar-boy is there and waiting on demand
With his old tar-pot and in his tarry hand.
Sees an old ewe with a cut upon her back,
This is what he's waitin' for: “Tar here, Jack!”

First you take the belly-wool and niggle out the crutch,
Go up the neck, for the rules they are such,
Clean around the horns and the first shoulder down,
A long blow up the back and turn her around.

Chorus:
Click, click, click, that's how the shearin' goes.
Click, clicketty click, oh my boys it isn't slow.
A fellow pulls out a sheep and it lands him a kick,
And still you hear the shears a-goin': Click, click, click.

Now the shearin's over and we've all got our cheque,
Roll up your swags and we're off along the track.
The first pub we'll come to it's there we'll have a spree
And to everyone that comes along it's: “Have a drink on me!”

Down by the bar the late shearer stands,
Graspin' his glass in his thin bony hands,
His eyes are on the barrel which now is lowerin' fast,
He works hard, he drinks hard, and goes to hell at last!

In case you need it, this came with the lyrics on the website ...

Glossary
board - shearing-floor
blue-bellied ewe - a ewe with fleece to thin that her skin shows through on her belly
blow - swathe cut by the shears
snagger - a clumsy shearer
screen - a table on which each fleece is spread, as it is shorn, for the wool-classers to determine its quality
tar-boy - youngster with the job of dabbing antiseptic Stockholm tar on sheep cut by the shears
swag - bundle of belongings and camping-gear, usually rolled in a blanket, and hung from the shoulder - also called “bluey”, “drum”, and more rarely “matilda”
blade-shearer - one who used hand-shears, not machine-shears