Meaning of the Poem of Henry Lawson's Roaring Days

The Roaring Days by Henry Lawson

The night too quickly passes
And we are growing old,
So let us fill our glasses
And toast the Days of Gold;
When finds of wondrous treasure
Set all the South ablaze,
And you and I were faithful mates
All through the roaring days!

Then stately ships came sailing
From every harbour's mouth,
And sought the land of promise
That beaconed in the South;
Then southward streamed their streamers
And swelled their canvas full
To speed the wildest dreamers
E'er borne in vessel's hull.

Their shining Eldorado,
Beneath the southern skies,
Was day and night for ever
Before their eager eyes.
The brooding bush, awakened,
Was stirred in wild unrest,
And all the year a human stream
Went pouring to the West.

The rough bush roads re-echoed
The bar-room's noisy din,
When troops of stalwart horsemen
Dismounted at the inn.
And oft the hearty greetings
And hearty clasp of hands
Would tell of sudden meetings
Of friends from other lands;
When, puzzled long, the new-chum
Would recognise at last,
Behind a bronzed and bearded skin,
A comrade of the past.

And when the cheery camp-fire
Explored the bush with gleams,
The camping-grounds were crowded
With caravans of teams;
Then home the jests were driven,
And good old songs were sung,
And choruses were given
The strength of heart and lung.
Oh, they were lion-hearted
Who gave our country birth!
Oh, they were of the stoutest sons
From all the lands on earth!

Oft when the camps were dreaming,
And fires began to pale,
Through rugged ranges gleaming
Would come the Royal Mail.
Behind six foaming horses,
And lit by flashing lamps,
Old `Cobb and Co.'s', in royal state,
Went dashing past the camps.

Oh, who would paint a goldfield,
And limn the picture right,
As we have often seen it
In early morning's light;
The yellow mounds of mullock
With spots of red and white,
The scattered quartz that glistened
Like diamonds in light;
The azure line of ridges,
The bush of darkest green,
The little homes of calico
That dotted all the scene.

I hear the fall of timber
From distant flats and fells,
The pealing of the anvils
As clear as little bells,
The rattle of the cradle,
The clack of windlass-boles,
The flutter of the crimson flags
Above the golden holes.

. . . . .

Ah, then our hearts were bolder,
And if Dame Fortune frowned
Our swags we'd lightly shoulder
And tramp to other ground.
But golden days are vanished,
And altered is the scene;
The diggings are deserted,
The camping-grounds are green;
The flaunting flag of progress
Is in the West unfurled,
The mighty bush with iron rails
Is tethered to the world. 

Remember the Glory

Before give an account of the meaning of a poem by Henry Lawson's Roaring Days, it is important to describe the meaning of some stanzas. The first stanza states about the speaker feeling toward the Gold  Rush Era. The speaker is a gold digger. It can be known through his speech toward his faithful friend whom he proposes a toast to celebrate the finding of gold in the land. The speaker considers the finding, which is gold, as a very valuable treasure since the expensive price of gold. In the third stanza, the speaker’s eagerness about the gold finding can be seen through the comparison between the gold in the land with the remarkable legendary ‘Lost City of Gold’, Eldorado. When it is revealed that the land contains gold, many newcomers and immigrants come into the land to dig the gold for free. Due to the reason, there are many gold diggers build tents near the gold field that can be found in the fifth stanza.     

Then in the last stanza, it is stated in the first line, ‘the golden days are vanished’. It means that the glorious days for the gold diggers have passed. The stanza also states about the camping grounds which are green. It means that there are no longer any gold digger lives around the gold field. This situation is very different from the first time gold is founded in the land. From the last stanza, it can be seen that now those who dig the gold is no longer amateur miners, but professional one, such as big mining companies. The last line of the stanza, ‘the mighty bush with iron rails is tethered to the world’, describes the iron rails which are built to easily transport the gold from the mine. So, it can be concluded that now the gold is not for free anymore.     

Therefore, from those stanzas, it can be concluded that roaring days mean glorious and happy days that were experienced by the former gold diggers in the Gold Rush Era since the finding of gold in the land significantly increased their living. Unfortunately, those glorious days have passed because now gold mining is done by big mining companies since they have large capital to use expensive tools to dig gold in deeper ground. The poem is about the speaker’s yearning feeling for the glorious and happy days when he worked as gold digger and was still young and had faithful friends. He tries to recall those glorious moments that is no longer exist now.