| The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke | |
| Author: | C. J. Dennis |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Verse novel |
| Publisher: | Angus & Robertson |
| Release Date: | 1915 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages: | 113, plus 14 pages of Glossary |
| Isbn: | 0-207-14366-8 |
| Oclc: | 29006080 |
| Preceded By: | Backblock Ballads and Other Verses |
| Followed By: | The Moods of Ginger Mick |
| Wikisource: | The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke |
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a verse novel by Australian poet and journalist C. J. Dennis. Portions of the work appeared in The Bulletin between 1909 and 1915, the year the verse novel was completed and published by Angus & Robertson. Written in the rough and comical Australian slang 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.[1]
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke tells the story of Bill, a member of a larrikin push (or gang) in Melbourne'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 and Lottie Lyell's The Sentimental Bloke (1918), widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest silent films. Though the novel's popularity peaked during World War I and the interwar period, it remains a classic of Australian literature and the best-selling book of poetry ever produced in the country. Dennis subsequently became known as the 'laureate of the larrikin',[2] as well as 'the Anzac laureate', with many diggers owning and cherishing pocket editions while serving in World War I.[1]
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.
| First Edition | Sydney | 9 October 1915 | 2,500 copies | |
| Second impression | Sydney | 2 November 1915 | 5,000 copies | |
| Third impression | Sydney | 6 December | 5,000 copies | |
| Fourth impression | Sydney | 25 January 1916 | 5,000 copies | |
| Fifth impression | Sydney | 22 February 1916 | 7,000 copies | |
| Sixth impression | Sydney | 1 April 1916 | 5,500 copies | |
| Seventh impression | Sydney | 30 May 1916 | 11,000 copies | |
| Eighth impression | Sydney | 1 April 1916 | 5,000 copies | |
| Pocket edition | Sydney | 25 September 1916 | 10,000 copies | |
| Tenth impression | Sydney | 7 October 1916 | 8,000 copies | |
| Eleventh impression | Sydney | 24 October 1916 | 5,000 copies | |
| Twelfth impression | Sydney | 17 November 1916 | 5,000 copies | |
| Thirteenth impression | Sydney | 2 May 1917 | 5,000 copies | |
| Fourteenth impression | London | 1 July 1917 | 5,000 copies | |
| Fifteenth impression | Sydney | 1 August 1917 | 5,000 copies | |
| Sixteenth impression | London | 21 May 1918 | 5,000 copies | |
| Seventeenth impression | Sydney | 14 June 1919 | 3,000 copies | |
| Eighteenth impression | Sydney | 31 August 1919 | 3,000 copies | |
| Nineteenth impression | Sydney | 20 April 1920 | 3,000 copies | |
| Twentieth impression | Sydney | 31 August 1920 | 3,000 copies |
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 in 1906. He was later to provide much material and emotional support to Dennis during the writing of this work.[4] Dennis later took to calling them "Dad" and "Mum".[5]
The verse novel's first edition includes a foreword by bush poet Henry Lawson, 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".[6] 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. Like its predecessor, it was also very successful, and it earned Dennis the title of "the laureate of the Anzac".[2]
The illustrations of the bloke, cupid-like and "whimsical", were provided by Hal Gye.[7]
Two film versions of The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke have been produced: The Sentimental Bloke, a silent version, in 1918, written and directed by Raymond Longford, and which starred Arthur Tauchert as Bill and Lottie Lyell as Doreen; and a "talkie" version in 1932, directed by F. W. Thring and based on a screenplay by C. J. Dennis.
A three-act stage adaptation of The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by Bert Bailey, titled The Sentimental Bloke, premiered at the King's Theatre, Melbourne on 7 October 1922.[8]
In 1961, a musical called The Sentimental Bloke was produced in Canberra,[9] and later in Melbourne and other cities. The music was by Albert Arlen, with lyrics by Arlen, Nancy Brown and Lloyd Thomson.[10]
The Sentimental Bloke is a 1963 Australian television film.[11] It was a half-hour ballet aired on ABC Television.[12]
A television adaptation of the musical appeared in 1976, written and directed by Alan Burke and featuring Graeme Blundell as Bill.
A ballet version was choreographed by Robert Ray, with Albert Arlen's music freely arranged by John Lanchbery. This was presented by The Australian Ballet in 1985 and on its tour of the Soviet Union.[13]
A second musical theatre version was written by Graeme Blundell with music by George Dreyfus premiered by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre 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.[14]
In 2009 Jack Thompson released an album of C. J. Dennis's poems entitled The Sentimental Bloke, The Poems of C.J. Dennis.