Henry Lawson

As Good as New

As Good as New - meaning Summary

Renewal Through Mateship

Lawson’s poem is a celebratory, consoling song about renewal, forgiveness, and enduring comradeship. Addressing old friends, foes, lovers, outcasts and battlers around the campfire, the speaker affirms that faded loyalties and broken lives can be restored “as good as new.” The voice is inclusive and plainspoken, valuing resilience, shared memory and a moral code of sticking by one another until a hopeful, ultimate renewal beyond life itself.

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Oh, this is a song of the old lights, that came to my heart like a hymn; And this is a song for the old lights the lights that we thought grew dim, That came to my heart to comfort me, and I pass it along to you; And here is a hand to the good old friend who turns up as good as new. And this is a song for the camp-fire out west where the stars shine bright Oh, this is a song for the camp-fire where the old mates yarn to-night; Where the old mates yarn of the old days, and their numbers are all too few, And this is a song for the good old times that will turn up as good as new. Oh, this is a song for the old foe we have both grown wiser now, And this is a song for the old foe, and we’re sorry we had that row; And this is a song for the old love the love that we thought untrue Oh, this is a song of the dear old love that comes back as good as new. Oh, this is a song for the black sheep, for the black sheep that fled from town, And this is a song for the brave heart, for the brave heart that lived it down; And this is a song for the battler, for the battler who sees it through And this is a song for the broken heart that turns up as good as new. Ah, this is a song for the brave mate, be he Bushman, Scot, or Russ, A song for the mates we will stick to for the mates who have stuck to us; And this is a song for the old creed, to do as a man should do, Till the Lord takes us all to a wider world where we’ll turn up as good as new.

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