“The Broken-Down Squatter”

Description

"For the banks are all broken they say, And the merchants are all up a tree, When the bigwigs are brought to the bankruptcy court, what chance for a squatter like me?" Tales of a (bankrupt and now wandering) squatter's life in depression times

Notes

Meredith and Anderson date this to a period of economic downturn between 1891 and 1893. The Penguin Book of Australian Folksongs dates it to the 1880s. Patterson/Fahey/Seal says that Flower was driven off his property by the economic troubles of the 1880s, so perhaps that is the most likely date. - RBW

References

1. Meredith/Anderson, pp. 42-43, 236-237, "The Broken-Down Squatter" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
2. Manifold-PASB, pp. 154-155, "The Broken-Down Squatter" (1 text, 1 tune)
3. Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 115-118, "The Broken-Down Squatter" (1 text)
4. DT, BRKSQUAT*
5. Roud #8392
6. BI, MA042