On the Swag

DESCRIPTION: "His body doubled under the pack that sprawls untidily on his old back, the cold wet deadbeat plods up the track." The cook curses upon seeing him. The cook is urged to bring him in -- "for this is Christ"
AUTHOR: R. A. K. Mason (1905-?) source: Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ)
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Mason, "No New Thing," according to Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ)
KEYWORDS: travel clothes hardtimes cook religious
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ, p. 160, "On the Swag" (1 text, 1 modern tune)
ADDITIONAL: J. C. Reid, _A Book of New Zealand_ (Collins National Anthologies), Collins, 1964, pp. 273-274, "On the Swag" (1 text)

NOTES [79 words]: This appears to be an allusion to Matthew's parable of the Sheep and the Goats, where Jesus promises a reward to those who were kind to the poor, but punishment for those who were not. Matt. 25:35 reads, "for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me." The blessed say they never helped Jesus, but in 25:40, Jesus says, "'Truly I tell you, just as you to the least of these my brothers, so you did to me.'" - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: BaRo160

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.