Woolly Footy Jumpers
Didn’t they itch, didn’t they scratch?
woollen jumpers on our backs
they shrunk to nothing and the colours ran
and smelled like buggery in the property van
the collars chaffed and the numbers tore
wash ’em again and they shrunk some more
.
stitched up sashes, hoops and stripes
and monograms for the posher types
The colours came in every hue
not recognised by ram or ewe
from whom the raw material came
to keep us warm at every game
the footy teams kept the farmers going
the need for wool was ever growing
then some smart arse academic
developed jumpers of synthetic
and in a matter of a generation
Un-wool jumpers swept the nation
no more itchy scratchy wool
and the farmers left with three bags full
as easily laundered, comfy fit
replaced the awful woollen kit.
Farmers all gone down the drain
no more producing ball or skein
If they planted fields of polyesters
they’d be as rich as their ancestors
no longer need for them to shear
to provide the players with comfy gear.
© The Rhymer 2018
We’d love to see you at the launch of the 2018 Women’s Footy Almanac on 4 September
I hear it as a ballad in 3/4 time.