''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' is a
verse novel
A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voice ...
by Australian poet and journalist
C. J. Dennis
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915). Alongside ...
. Portions of the work appeared in ''
The Bulletin'' between 1909 and 1915, the year the verse novel was completed and published by
Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...
. Written in the rough and comical
Australian slang
Australian English is a major variety of the English language spoken throughout Australia. Most of the vocabulary of Australian English is shared with British English, though there are notable differences. The vocabulary of Australia is drawn ...
that was Dennis' signature style, the work became immensely popular in Australia, selling over 60,000 copies in nine editions within the first year of publication.
[Bellanta, Melissa (2014).]
A Masculine Romance: The Sentimental Bloke and Australian Culture in the War- and Early Interwar Years
. ''Journal of Popular Romance Studies''. 4 (2).
''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' tells the story of Bill, a member of a
larrikin
Larrikin is an Australian English term meaning "a mischievous young person, an uncultivated, rowdy but good hearted person", or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions".
In the 19th and early 20th centuri ...
push
Push may refer to:
Music
* Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push
Albums
* ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988
* ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992
* ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010
Songs
* "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
(or gang) in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's
Little Lon red-light district, who encounters Doreen, a young woman "of some social aspiration", in a local market. Narrated by Bill, the poems chronicle their courtship and marriage, detailing his transformation from a violence-prone gang member to a contented husband and father.
It has been adapted into many works across a variety of media, including
Raymond Longford
Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...
and
Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the ...
's ''
The Sentimental Bloke
''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie L ...
'' (1918), widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
s. Though the novel's popularity peaked during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, it remains a classic of
Australian literature
Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such, ...
and the best-selling book of poetry ever produced in the country. Dennis subsequently became known as the 'laureate of the larrikin', as well as 'the
Anzac
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
laureate', with many
diggers owning and cherishing pocket editions while serving in World War I.
[
]
Contents
# ''A Spring Song'' — Bill is discontent but he doesn't know why. He attributes it to the season. He sees a girl whom he describes as his ideal partner.
# ''The Intro'' — Bill attempts to talk to the girl, Doreen, but she rebuffs him because he is a stranger. Bill finds out that she works in a pickle factory, and arranges for a man he knows who works there to introduce them. They talk, and later arrange a date.
# ''The Stoush O' Day'' — Bill reflects on how time has flown since he met Doreen.
# ''Doreen'' — Bill promises Doreen that he'll give up drinking.
# ''The Play'' — Bill takes Doreen to see ''Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''.
# ''The Stror 'at Coot'' — A man who wears a boater hat
__NOTOC__
A boater (also straw boater, basher, skimmer, The English Panama, cady, katie, canotier, somer, sennit hat, or in Japan, can-can hat, suruken) is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and ear ...
hangs around Doreen. Bill takes offence and fights him. Doreen breaks things off with Bill.
# ''The Siren'' — Bill goes to a party and Doreen is there. She sings a song about unrequited love which affects Bill. He follows her outside, and they make up.
# ''Mar'' — Bill meets Doreen's mother, who calls Bill "Willy", as her future son-in-law must be respectable. She and Bill begin talking about wedding plans, and Bill's job.
# ''Pilot Cove'' — Doreen and Bill go to see the priest to talk about the gravity of marriage.
# ''Hitched'' — Doreen and Bill's wedding ceremony. They set off on their honeymoon.
# ''Beef Tea'' — Ginger Mick encourages Bill to drink and gamble, and Doreen's feelings are hurt. Bill takes himself outside for a long time, and comes back in, feeling sick. He falls asleep and wakes up to Doreen feeding him beef tea - a staple of invalid cooking - and Bill is astonished that she has forgiven him.
# ''Uncle Jim''
# ''The Kid''
# ''The Mooch o' Life''
Publication details
The first portion of the novel, ''The Stoush O' Day'', was originally published in '' The Bulletin'' on 1 April 1909. All bar two of the remaining chapters were also published in that magazine between 1909 and 1915.
The completed work was first published in book form in Sydney on 9 October 1915.
;Publication details
Notes
The book is dedicated "To Mr and Mrs J.G. Roberts". John Garibaldi Roberts was a book-loving public servant working with the Melbourne Tramways Company when he was introduced to C. J. Dennis by R. H. Croll
Robert Henderson (Bob) Croll (5 January 1869 – 18 October 1947) was an Australian writer, poet, bushwalker, and public servant. in 1906. He was later to provide much material and emotional support to Dennis during the writing of this work. Dennis later took to calling them "Dad" and "Mum".
The verse novel's first edition includes a foreword by bush poet
The bush ballad, bush song or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of a ...
Henry Lawson
Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...
, who writes that ''The Sentimental Blokes original appearance in '' The Bulletin'' "brightened up many dark days for me", and that, in Bill, Dennis had created a character "more perfect than any alleged 'larrikin' or Bottle-O character I have ever attempted to sketch". The first edition also featured a glossary of words, compiled by Dennis, "for the use of those unacquainted with the 'Australian language'".
Dennis went on to publish three sequels to this verse novel: ''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' (1916), ''Doreen'' (1917) and ''Rose of Spadgers'' (1924). ''The Moods of Ginger Mick'' told the story of Bill's mate, Ginger Mick, who went to fight at Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
. Like its predecessor, it was also very successful, and it earned Dennis the title of "the laureate of the Anzac
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
".
The illustrations of the bloke, cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
-like and "whimsical", were provided by Hal Gye
Harold Frederick Neville Gye (22 May 1887 — 25 November 1967), who published under the name Hal Gye, was an author of cartoons, illustrations and articles for early Australian newspapers and journals. Gye provided the artwork for ''The Songs of ...
.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Two film versions of ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' have been produced: ''The Sentimental Bloke
''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie L ...
'', a silent version, in 1918, written and directed by Raymond Longford
Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...
, and which starred Arthur Tauchert
Arthur Michael Tauchert (pronounced "Torcher") (21 August 1877 – 27 November 1933) was an Australian acrobatic comedian, dancer, singer, film actor, and star of the Australian silent movie, ''The Sentimental Bloke'' (1919).
Biography
Born in ...
as Bill and Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the ...
as Doreen; and a "talkie" version in 1932, directed by F. W. Thring
Francis William Thring (2 December 1882 – 1 July 1936), better known as F. W. Thring, was an Australian film director, film producer, producer, and film exhibitor, exhibitor. He has been credited with the invention of the clapperboard.
Early ...
and based on a screenplay by C. J. Dennis.
A three-act stage adaptation of ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by Bert Bailey
Albert Edward Bailey (11 June 1868 – 30 March 1953), better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born Australian playwright, theatrical manager and stage and screen actor best known for playing Dad Rudd, in both mediums, the character from ...
, titled ''The Sentimental Bloke'', premiered at the King's Theatre, Melbourne
The King's Theatre was a theatre in Melbourne, Australia, located at 133 Russell Street between Bourke Street and Little Collins Street.
Opening in 1908, the theatre was designed by William Pitt for the theatrical entrepreneur William Anderso ...
on 7 October 1922.
In 1961, a musical called ''The Sentimental Bloke
''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie L ...
'' was produced in Canberra, and later in Melbourne and other cities. The music was by Albert Arlen
Albert Arlen AM (10 January 190524 March 1993) was a Turkish Australian pianist, composer, actor and playwright. He is best known for his musical ''The Sentimental Bloke'' (to the poetry of C. J. Dennis), the "Alamein Concerto", and his setting ...
, with lyrics by Arlen, Nancy Brown and Lloyd Thomson.
The ''Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1963 Australian television film. It was a half-hour ballet aired on ABC.
A television adaptation of the musical appeared in 1976, written and directed by Alan Burke and featuring Graeme Blundell
Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer
Early life
Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in Melbourne; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated a ...
as Bill.
A ballet version was choreographed by Robert Ray, with Albert Arlen's music freely arranged by John Lanchbery
John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...
. This was presented by The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
in 1985 and on its tour of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
A second musical theatre version was written by Graeme Blundell with music by George Dreyfus
George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer.
Early life and orchestral career
Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany. He was the younger of two sons ...
premiered by the Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...
at the Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...
on 12 December 1985. This musical was subsequently produced in Perth (Western Australian Theatre Company 1986), Darwin (State Theatre Company of Northern Territory, 1987) and Brisbane ( Royal Queensland Theatre Company, 1988).
Another theatrical production of The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke was staged at Eltham Little Theatre, Melbourne, in 2021.
Recorded versions
In 2009 Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to:
Sports
*Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City
*Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...
released an album of C. J. Dennis's poems entitled '' The Sentimental Bloke, The Poems of C.J. Dennis''.
References
External links
Middlemiss.org
Gutenberg text
*
* The songs of a sentimental bloke / by C.J. Dennis, with illustrations by Hal Gye, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1917. digitised versio
available online
at State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Songs Of A Sentimental Bloke
1915 Australian novels
1915 in Australia
Novels set in Melbourne
Verse novels
Australian novels adapted into films
Poems adapted into films
Poetry by C. J. Dennis
Angus & Robertson books
Works originally published in The Bulletin (Australian periodical)