Life of a High-Country Shepherd, The

DESCRIPTION: "Oh the life of a high-country shepherd Is worse than the life of a dog; In summer you frizzle in sunshine And in winter you freeze like a log." The singer's only companions are the dogs and sheep -- and the pay is lousy. He hopes for a government job
AUTHOR: unknown (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1969 (collected by Phil Garland, according to Cleveland-NZ-GreatNewZealandSongbook)
KEYWORDS: sheep dog hardtimes work
FOUND IN: New Zealand
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Cleveland-NZ-GreatNewZealandSongbook, p. 47, "The Life of a High-Country Shepherd" (1 text, 1 tune)
Garland-FacesInTheFirelight-NZ, pp. 25-26, "(The Life of the High Country Shepherd)" (1 text plus an excerpt of another; tune referenced)
NOTES [64 words]: Apparently there are two tunes to this, both collected by Phil Garland. The first, from Alf Woods, has no chorus; the second, from Colin and Jean MacNicol, has a chorus and is sung to "Wrap Me Up in My Tarpaulin Jacket." Colin MacNicol claimed that his grandfather wrote the text in the 1920s. But Garland doesn't even give that grandfather's name, let alone proof of authorship. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.3
File: Clev047

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