Poem by Andrew Barton Paterson

Frogs in chorus

The chorus frogs in the big lagoon 
Would sing their songs to the silvery moon. 
Tenor singers were out of place, 
For every frog was a double bass. 
But never a human chorus yet 
Could beat the accurate time they set. 
The solo singer began the joke; 
He sang, ”As long as I live I’ll croak, 
Croak, I’ll croak,” 
And the chorus followed him: ”Croak, croak, croak!” 

The poet frog, in his plaintive tone, 
Sang of a sorrow was all his own; 
”How shall I win to my heart’s desire? 
How shall I feel my spirit’s fire?” 
And the solo frog in his deepest croak, 
”To fire your spirit,” he sang, ”eat coke, 
Coke, eat coke,” 
And the chorus followed him: ”Coke, coke, coke!” 

The green frog sat in a swampy spot 
And he sang the song of he knew not what. 
”The world is rotten, oh cursed plight, 
That I am the frog that must set it right. 
How shall I scatter the shades that lurk?” 
And the old man bullfrog sang, ”Get work, 
Work, get work,” 
And the chorus followed him: ”Work, work, work!” 

The soaring spirits that fain would fly 
On wings of hope to the starry sky 
Must face the snarls of the jealous dogs, 
For the world is ruled by its chorus frogs.

1. A Grain of Desert Sand
2. That Half-Crown Sweep
3. Under the Shadow of Kiley’s Hill
4. White Cockatoos
5. The Geebung Polo Club

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