Ken Boddie

7 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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She'll Be Right, Mate!

She'll Be Right, Mate!

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"She'll be right, mate, she'll be right!" 

Is this optimism calling? 

"She'll be right, mate, she'll be right!"

Or mere apathetic stalling? 

-------------------------------------------

I forget how many times I've heard this Aussie adage,

Meant to raise one's spirits, not intended to disparage.

When all hell breaks loose, and there's no real end in sight,

Nothing left to say but simply, "yes mate, she'll be right".

-------------------------------------------

When you're down and out and life has left you in the poo,

Lost your job, the wife's gone tropo, don't know what to do,

Can't go down the pub, because you're owing too much money,

Hard to laugh it off this time, because it just ain't funny.

--------------------------------------------

This is when you find out who your best friends really are,

They've been there before and wear the memory like a scar,

They may not be able to completely solve your plight,

But at least you know they care when they say, "she'll be right".

---------------------------------------------

In your gut you know that it'll be right in the end,

And that it's not yet the end, if things aren't on the mend,

Don't throw in the towel, when you've got a chance to fight, 

Tunnels all have exit lights, "yes mate, she'll be right".

----------------------------------------------

"She'll be right, mate, she'll be right!"

We know you're no tool.

"She'll be right, mate, she'll be right!"

Life is still brim full.

-----------------------------------------------

[Australians have a great resilience and positive attitude that is infectious. This optimism seems to surface time and again when the chips are down and life is full of challenges, with no obvious solutions on the horizon. That's when "she'll be right, mate" comes rolling off the tongue and seems to instill an almost instant cocky confidence back into the most distraught soul.  This expression represents the spirit of the ANZACS and is like a battle cry to re-invigorate the most pessimistic.  Every time I hear "she'll be right, mate" I'm proud of my adopted land and how this simple expression epitomises our Ocka Aussie behaviour, expressions and metaphors.]


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b257b393.jpgWhen not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.


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Comments

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #33

#38
Amazing story, Dean-san. And I thought the only way to unleash the instant 'Kilted Killer' was to add whiskey.😡 Now I know the best way is to say how pretty he looks in his 'skirt'. 😡😡😡

Dean Owen

7 years ago #32

#37
Beware the man in the skirt! - http://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/man-set-europa-ablaze-skirt.html

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #31

#36
and I always thought the Gay Gordon was a dance. 🤔

Dean Owen

7 years ago #30

#35
Always thought it was about a lass, and I don't mean a prince dressed as a lass like you Scots like to do!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #29

#34
I'll swear on a stack of haggis, Dean-san, that this time Mr Google is on the money! All part of the Scots heritage with which I was dragged up.

Dean Owen

7 years ago #28

#33
The original. First time thinking of that song for, well, decades. A quick consultation with Mr Google tells me the song could be about the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charles at the Battle of Culloden. Fascinating what they get innocent children to sing....

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #27

#32
The original version, I hope, and not the technicolor yawn version? 😂

Dean Owen

7 years ago #26

#30
Giving me nightmare recollections. I used to sing My Bonnie at restaurants when I was five.....

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #25

#27
All bonza, Gert, and Aurorasa Sima. The last one reminds me of a distorted version of the old ballad (originally Scots) reportedly as sung by sea-sick sailors, as follows: My breakfast lies over the ocean, My dinner lies over the sea, My stomach's in such a commotion, Oh bring back my doctor to me. 😝

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #24

#28
LOL, Aurorasa. Too true, Blue!

Gert Scholtz

7 years ago #23

Ken Boddie Apparently, these sayings all come from the land where She'll Be Right Mate: -May as well be here we are as where we are -Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once -If you catch a man, throw him back! - My Boddie lies over the ocean.... Cheers Ken!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #22

#24
Hope that rabbit hole didn't engulf you, Lisa. Remember that rabbit burrows always have more than one way out. There's always light at the end of the tunnel, but, as Aurorasa Sima forewarned in her #1, here's hoping that light isn't a train. She'll be right, Sheila! Sorry, I mean Lisa. 😂

Gert Scholtz

7 years ago #21

Ken Boddie Apparently, these sayings all come from the land where She'll be Right Mate: -May as well be here we are as where we are -Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once -The bigger the hat, the smaller the property -If you catch a man, throw him back! - My Boddie lies over the ocean...

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #20

Wow, good timing! Stepped into the rabbit hole, a bit stuck. I have faith there is a way out, this just lit a fire beneath me! She'll be right mate! Love the Aussie spirit. Thanks for sharing Ken Boddie!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #19

Thanks for the share John White, MBA Bonza, mate. 👍

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #18

#19
Your caution is well founded, as too much alcohol will get you pickled, whereas too many Aussies will at least get you happily pickled. She'll be right, Kev.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #17

#18
No doubt you're referring to the last Sheila in the queue, Pascal, as in "She'll be left"? 😂

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #16

#16
The use of 'Sheila', Manjit, is fast disappearing, as is much of that great and often indecipherable language, Aussie Strine. It seems to be dissipating into a melting point of more modern usage, adopted by younger generations from television, texting and SM, no doubt. There was a time when you would hear Strine commonly used by taxi drivers in our cities, but these days many taxi drivers are more likely to be relatively recent immigrants who have a diverse range of language such as Punjabi, Greek, Vietnamese, Somali, Arabic, to mention a few.

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #15

If I'm in a pickle (a bad situation) I want to be there with an Aussie. If I'm going out to the pub, I stay away from Aussies. I have learned this from experience.

Pascal Derrien

7 years ago #14

great to hear she ' ll be right .... mate :-) the opposite would have been worrying :-) mate

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #13

#12
Ah! I stand corrected Dean Owen @ https://www.bebee.com/content/1039145/976898 provided a link to "can't kill sponge" which featured this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N462jZFr13k so I said to her "The sponge reaggregation video brings us back to @Dean Owen because he mentioned Richard Attenborough in his buzz " Now David Attenborough's name has popped up again, good time to correct that faux pas because Dean mentioned David not Richard ! I must remember in future that Richard is the Jurassic Park guy and David is the one who taught us how Kangaroo's box and mate (he was always good at that kind of thing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiTG6T9pTcM - I must give a Viewers Discretion Advisory : Kangaroo's are engage in physical violence in this clip, but explicit Kangaroo mating is not shown. BTW A nice buzz from Ken Boddie I enjoyed the positive ode to Aussie and optimistic poetry. Do Australian men still call woman in Australia "Sheila?" - here is an interesting piece on that http://andc.anu.edu.au/ozwords/December%202001/Sheila.html

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #12

#14
What????? DLE from T&T, Wants to move across the sea? Seems a great idea to me! You'll be in good company! 😂

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #11

#12
I'm a cruiser not a bruiser, Dean-san. Besides ..... Daddy Cool doesn't fool with a roo as a rule! 😎

Dean Owen

7 years ago #10

#11
Was watching a follow up documentary by David Attenborough, some of these Joeys are 8ft tall! You ever been in a fight with one?

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #9

#10
Yes, great video, Dean. A few of us were commenting on it recently. The dog owner did the right thing by moving well back after hitting the big buck roo. Large male roos are known for using their small arms to hook around an attacker's neck while bringing their powerful back legs and claws down in one motion to disembowel the unsuspecting opponent. 😝 Have you had your dinner, yet?

Dean Owen

7 years ago #8

#9
Did you see how this guy dealt with Skippy? -https://youtu.be/FIRT7lf8byw

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #7

#7
#8 Old mates, John Cleese et al, would doubtless be 'cross' and would "Think your comments too mean, Dean" when it comes to lassoing kangaroos. After all, how much can a koala bear or a wallaby watch at an Aussie rodeo?

Dean Owen

7 years ago #6

Or in the immortal words of Brian, always look on the bright side of life, dudu, dudududududu.

Dean Owen

7 years ago #5

Tie me kangaroo down sport! No wait, I'm not dying. Sheila be right mate! Shiela be right!

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #4

#3
But wait, Aurorasa! There's more! When he gets to the top of the hill and he's on the way down, he extols with glee "I knew I could, I knew I could!" Who says Cartoons are for kids?

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #3

No worries, Gert. She'll be right! 😁

Gert Scholtz

7 years ago #2

Ken Boddie I guess sometime this is all one needs to hear from a friend: She'll be right, mate! A few words but enough said. Your poem as beautifully direct as the adage - thanks Ken.

Ken Boddie

7 years ago #1

#1
Your train comment reminds me of that old kids TV prog, Aurorasa (probably before your time), called "Thomas the Tank Engine". Thomas was always positive and I remember him reciting "I think I can! I think I can!" as his little blue toy steam engine body puffed his way up the long steep hill. Happy days!

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