My Religion
By Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton)
Let Romanists all at the Confessional kneel,
Let the Jew with disgust turn from it,
Let the mighty Crown Prelate in Church pander zeal,
Let the Mussulman worship Mahomet.
From all these I differtruly wise is my plan,
With my doctrine, perhaps, youll agree,
To be upright and downright and act like a man,
Thats the religion for me.
I will go to no Church and to no house of Prayer
To see a white shirt on a preacher.
And in no Courthouse on a book will I swear
To injure a poor fellow-creature.
For parsons and preachers are all a mere joke,
Their hands must be greased by a fee;
But with the poor toiler to share your last toke*
Thats the religion for me.
[Footnote: Toke is a slang word for bread.]
Let Psalm-singing Churchmen and Lutheran sing,
They cant deceive God with their blarney;
They might just as well dance the Highland Fling,
Or sing the fair fame of Kate Kearney.
But let man unto man like brethren act,
My doctrine this suits to a T,
The heart that can feel for the woes of another,
Oh, thats the religion for me.