I need to know the author (and original publishing source, if
possible; not a requirement) of the following poem:
"The doggies held a party; they came from near and far.
Some came by motorcycle, some came by motor car.
As each dog passed the entrance, each doggie signed the book.
And then each dog removed his ass and hung it on a hook.
But one dog was not invited and it sorely raised his ire.
He ran into the meeting place and loudly bellowed, "Fire!"
Well, there was much confusion and without another look
Each dog removed another's ass from off another hook.
And that's the reason why, sir, when walking down the street,
And that's the reason why, sir, when e'er you chance to meet,
And that's the reason why, sir, on land or sea or foam,
Each dog will smell another's ass to see if it's his own."

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 18 Feb 2004 19:51 PST

From what I can tell, the author is unknown.  

The poem was apparently popularized as a song in the 1960s by various
folk singers, but none of them claimed authorship. Would you be
interested in the names of those folk singers?

---

Clarification of Question by tvmichelle-ga on 19 Feb 2004 14:21 PST

Yes, I would be interested in knowing who the folksingers are.  Thank you!

Hello.

Folk singers Matt McGinn and Tom Paxton sang this song in the 1960s. 

From a discussion thread archived by Google Groups:

"Matt McGinn says about it in his autobiography
   '...it was an old soldiers' song which I had heard as a boy but of
which I had forgotten the words until my memory of them was refreshed
by Tom Paxton who had heard the same song in the States...'"
source: Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=9847%40purr.demon.co.uk&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D9847%2540purr.demon.co.uk


Also see another discussion thread archived by Google Groups:
"I remember hearing Tom Paxton sing it in the early 60s (to "The
Church is One Foundation" tune) - but even he didn't claim
authorship."
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=uwC8BBA0E4e9Ew60%40burslem.demon.co.uk&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3DuwC8BBA0E4e9Ew60%2540burslem.demon.co.uk

Also see: 
MattMcGinn.info
http://www.mattmcginn.info/The%20Dogs%20Party2.html

The origins of the song/poem are unclear.  Some folks have credited it
to Australian poet Henry Lawson, but others disagree.

From the book "Folk Songs of Australia and the men and women who sang
them", John Meredith and Hugh Anderson, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1967:

"Several elderly people have told John Meredith that Henry Lawson
wrote 'The Dogs' Meeting' as well as the well-known 'Shearer's
Lament'. When John was taking part in a concert at Mudgee, some time
ago, an old man told him he was with Lawson when he wrote it. They
were sitting, the old chap said, on a seat outside one of the local
pubs watching the dogs do what dogs do when they meet, and afterwards,
in the bar, Henry wrote out the ballad and read it aloud. There are
certainly a lot of dogs about Mudgee streets even today and Lawson
certainly knew his dogs (see, for example, 'The Shearing of the Cook's
Dog', 'That There Dog of Mine', 'The Loaded Dog'. or 'Two Dogs and a
Fence'), but whether he actually wrote these verses has been doubted
by several reputable authorities..."
source: Mudcat.org: Song re dogs sniffing rear ends 
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6474

Also see another discussion of the origins of the song on the same site:
Mudcat.org: Subject: RE: Great Australian Folk Song
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11992

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

search strategy:
"land or sea or foam", dog
"dogs party", mcginn

Thanks, TVMichelle.

And thanks to my friend and colleague Pinkfreud-ga for research
assistance with this question.

I hope this helps!

Very thorough research and very quickly done!  Thanks!

Thank you for the tip.
-juggler