“I hope to rescue these rough bush ballads from oblivion.” — Banjo Paterson | V2Melody

“I hope to rescue these rough bush ballads from oblivion.”

Defining his mission to preserve Australia's disappearing folk tradition · Introduction to Old Bush Songs, 1905

About Banjo Paterson

Banjo Paterson

17 February 1864–5 February 1941

Andrew Barton Paterson, known to generations of readers as “Banjo” Paterson, was born on 17 February 1864 at Narrambla station, near Orange in New South Wales. He died in Sydney on 5 February 1941, twelve days short of his seventy-seventh birthday. Between those dates he became one of the most familiar literary voices…

More by Banjo Paterson

Poems by Banjo Paterson

More remarks by Banjo Paterson

“I am very dissatisfied with the thing; and am afraid I will have to do it over again to make it readable. The style is so stiff.”

Showing his willingness to judge his own prose severely and revise it · Letter to George Robertson, 15 December 1919

Art
Truth

“I meet all sorts of people from Field Marshals to buffalo shooters and I would like to try getting interviews with them and working in as much information as possible about their lives.”

Expressing his fascination with lives and experiences drawn from every level of society · Letter to Major W. T. Conder, 17 November 1934

“I am very particular about my work. It is not enough for me that a line scans correctly, or that it even contains a thought, it must satisfy me.”

Revealing the exacting craftsmanship behind his apparently effortless verse · Interview with Bernard Espinasse, Table Talk, 31 January 1896

Art
Poetry