Author: Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton)

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A Political Ballad by our Bolshevik Bard


There's a dashin' sort of boy
Which they call his Party's Joy,
And his smile-that-won't-come-off would quite disarm ye;
And he played the leadin' hand
In the Helter-Skelter Band,
Known as Jimmy Dooley's Circulating Army.
When the rank and file they found,
They were marchin' round and round,
They one and all began to act unruly;
And the letter that he wrote,
Sure it got the Labor goat,
So we set ourselves to deal with Captain Dooley.

Chorus

Whill-il-loo. High Ho!
We'll all be there you know,
The repartees and ructions they will charm ye;
And we'll see which we prefer,
Is it Dooley or McGirr,
To take command of Jimmy Dooley's Army.

When we're marchin' to the poll,
And we're under his control,
We sometimes feel a trifle unsalubrious;
For by one and all 'twas said
That if our objective's Red,
To call it claret-coloured makes us dubious.
Sure, the Fat Men one fine day
They chanced to come our way,
And we thought that we should bate them well and trooly;
But we let them pass us by
And not half a brick did fly,
'Twas then we tore our tickets up on Dooley.

Chorus

Whill-il-loo. High Ho!
We'll all be there you know,
The repartees and ructions they will charm ye;
And we'll see which we prefer,
Is it Dooley or McGirr,
To take command of Jimmy Dooley's Army.

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Type of Poem: Ballad

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem offers a satirical commentary on political maneuverings, specifically those within a party or movement, represented by the 'Helter-Skelter Band', or 'Jimmy Dooley's Circulating Army.' The central characters are two different leaders, Dooley and McGirr, whose contrasting leadership styles reflect the tensions in real-life political leadership. The poem's playful and often sarcastic tone, conveyed through its casual language and colloquial expressions, is used to highlight the absurdity of political infighting and the fickleness of popular opinion.

The poem's structure, with stanzas of varying lengths interspersed with a repeated chorus, mimics the structure of a ballad, a form traditionally used to tell stories. This form underscores the narrative nature of political movements, at the same time lending a touch of humor through its use in a context far removed from the romantic or tragic tales typically associated with ballads. Notable literary devices include the use of colorful, evocative language, such as 'claret-coloured' as an euphemism for 'red', which serves both to mock political euphemism and to highlight the ideological underpinnings of the disputes described. The repeated phrase 'Whill-il-loo. High Ho!' in the chorus serves as a playful, nonsensical rallying cry, again emphasizing the satire. The poem, in its entirety, provides a wry, insightful look at the dynamics of political movements and the characters that propel them.