Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:52 AM WHY CAN'T WE GIVE REFUGE TO A REFUGEE? © Bernard Carney 2002 We are the lucky country we have hearts enough to care We can speak our minds in freedom we have boundless plains to share We don't deny our mateship regardless of the cost And our doors are always open to the lonely and the lost Well that was how it once was we were proud to make the claim But a darkening of spirit now has crept across our name For the way we treat our weakest is what the world will see When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee This world's known so much chaos there's a shadow through the lands I search the stars for answers but I just don't understand When broken souls in need of help cried out for us to hear We could have offered hope and love instead we offered fear The fear of drab detention locked like dingos in a pound The fear of no horizon on this so called Christian ground And every rule our country makes reflects on you and me When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee And the sharp eyes of the world can see just what we're coming to We who have so much but cannot share it with the few Reacting to the symptoms never thinking of the cause When hunger and injustice are the enemies of us all For the faceless wounded spirits locked behind the razor wire We rally for their freedom with our consciences on fire And our hearts become the harder and we harbour bigotry When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee And I fly no flag of Jesus speak no politicians creed But sing the song of human beings crying out in need And I'll sing it ever louder until all the wounds are healed Til they know our hearts are open even though their lips are sealed For we are the lucky country and we have hearts enough to care We can speak our minds in freedom we have boundless plains to share And we've always known compassion and rejoiced in being free But we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Unions in Australia have been active in the campaign to change the country's treatment of refugees particularly those the government labels "Illegal Immigrants", and locks up in purpose built privately run jails they call "Detention Camps". These camps are made inaccessible to relatives, lawyers and even politicians. The government describes it's treatment of the refugees as "A Deterent to people smugglers". It narrowly won the 2001 Federal Election by whipping up hysteria on the issue, spreading lies like children being thrown overboard by their parents. Audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:48 AM or this one by Kevin McCarthy, coordinator of the Denis O'Keeffe Memorial Australian Songs Session @ The National? BATTLE FOR BENELONG, © Kevin McCarthy 2007 It was on a bleak November day John Howard came undone the day he took for granted the people of Bennelong consumed with pride and vanity convinced he had it won dismissed the polls and he backed himself in the Battle for Bennelong When Maxine McKew raised her hand to run in Bennelong Howard scoffed: is this a joke? the nerve of this woman but she campaigned long and she campaigned hard she set her sights on John Maxine had come to give her all in the Battle for Bennelong To Australia’s ultra neo-cons John Howard was their man his economic miracle put wealth into their hand but eleven years of fear and hate had roused the Aussie mob and the battlers rose and had their say that day in Bennelong yeh the battlers rose and they had their say in the battle for Bennelong Now on polling day it soon emerged the contest would be tight Labor prayed whileLiberals choked those numbers can’t be right neck and neck, too close to call but when the count was done by a short half head, Maxine had won the Battle for Bennelong [CHEER] Now Maxine McKew has won a place in Australian history the reporter from the ABC brought Howard to his knees with Buckleys chance, and against the odds she took the bastard on and Maxine McKew claimed victory in the Battle for Bennelong yes Maxine McKew made history that day in Bennelong Notes Many thanks to Kevin "Blarney" McCarthy editor of the Blarney Bulletin at http://www.blarneybulletin.com/ for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Find more of Kevin's work in this collection Journalist Maxine McKew was Labor candidate in Sydney seat of Bennelong, a seat Prime Minister John Howard had held for 33 years. Her victory was the icing on the cake of the Labor win on 24 Novembr 2007, a win that decimated John Howard's Liberal party and installed the Labor Federal Government of Kevin Rudd. Audio My folk club met that night & I was lucky enough to get some great photos as one of the audience kept popping outside to listen to the counts. When she interrupted to tell us Labor had won - faces went from shock to cheers but the exhausted bloke in the Union t-shirt who was slumped down in the front row barely raised an eyelid. Unfortunately I didn't publish any of those photos. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:31 AM I've been looking in Union songs & saw lots of songs we've missed! how could we leave this out? DON'T BE TOO POLITE, GIRLS, © Glen Tomasetti 1969 Tune "All Among The Wool" We're really on the way, girls, really on the way, Hooray for equal pay, girls, hooray for equal pay, They're going to give it to most of us, in spite of all their fears But do they really need to make us wait three years. Chorus Don't be too polite girls, don't be too polite, Show a little fight girls, show a little fight, Don't be fearful of offending, in case you get the sack Just recognise your value and we won't look back. I sew up shirts and trousers in the clothing trade, Since men don't do the job I can't ask to be better paid The people at the top rarely offer something more Unless the people underneath are walking out the door. They say a man needs more to feed his children and his wife, Well, what are the needs of a woman who leads a double working life? When the whistle blows for knock-off it's not her time for fun She goes home to start the job that's not paid and never done. Don't be too afraid girls, don't be too afraid, We're clearly underpaid girls, clearly underpaid, Tho' equal pay in principle is every woman's right To turn that into practice, we must show a little fight. We can't afford to pay you, say the masters in their wrath But woman says "Just cut your coat according to the cloth" If the economy won't stand then here's the answer boys, "Cut out the wild extravagance on the new war toys". All among the bull girls, all among the bull, Keep your hearts full girls, keep your hearts full What good is a man as a doormat, or following at heel? It's not their balls we're after, it's a fair square deal. Notes Many thanks to Choir Choir Pants On Fire from New Zealand for permission to add their version of this song to the Union Songs collection. The song was written by Glen Tomasetti who was a well know Melbourne folk singer, writer and political activist. The song is still in use in demonstrations in Australia and has been widely used in films and as a theme song for women's radio and International Women's Day celebrations. It was first sung on Channel 7 television in the current affairs program "This Week". In the introduction to 'Songs From A Seat In The Carriage', a folio of her songs published in 1970, Glen wrote: 'In Charles Dickens 'A Tale of Two Cities' the Marquis St Evremonde rides through the streets of Paris in his carriage. It runs down a child and as the father crouches in the mud, howling like a wild animal over the body of his son, the Marquis dispenses two coins and gives the order, DRIVE ON'. Australia's traditional image identifies us with the poor from whom we are mostly descended. In world society today, however, Australia is part of the old regime, which protects and enlarges its riches at any cost to other people. Occasionally we throw out our loose change and drive on. These songs were written from a seat in that carriage'." Audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:21 AM source - Australian Society for the Study of Labour History To mark the centenary of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, we include in this issue of The Hummer two songs about teachers and the challenges of working in the NSW State education system Twenty-nine kids, Lyrics by Sydney Trade Union Choir (2012), based on Sixteen Tons (Merle Travis 1947) and The Teacher’s Lament (Anon, 1950s) Now, some people say a teacher’s made out of steel, But a teacher’s made of stuff that can think and feel. A mind and a body with a heart and soul, An ability to teach the shy and the bold. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter don’t you call me to that Heavenly Gate, I owe my soul to the youth of this state. I woke this morning, it was cloudy and cool, I picked up my briefcase and I drove to the school. The copier’s jammed; I just can’t win And there’s playground duty before the bell rings. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter, don’t you call me to that Celestial Shore, I got 29 kids and they’re sending me more. There’s a kid in every seat from wall to wall, Any more that come will have to stand in the hall. They’re breathing down my neck; they’re walking on my toes, They’re telling me their joys and I’m sharing (all) their woes. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Younger in heart and nothing to regret. St Peter, don’t you call me, I can’t leave here; I’ll have 29 students again next year. The bell rings at three but I’m not through, With marking and assessments and reports to do. The pressure is on, I have to flee, ‘Cause I’ve got to get back for the P & C. Chorus I teach 29 kids, I’m putting them first, But education’s goin’ from bad to worse ! Devolution’s a con – it just ain’t right, So we have to stick together and win this fight. And win this fight, and win this fight Yes, we have to stick together and win this fight! no video or audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:17 AM another of Maurie's songs source - Australian Society for the Study of Labour History To mark the centenary of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, we include in this issue of The Hummer two songs about teachers and the challenges of working in the NSW State education system. I’m Changing our Name to Grammar Words & Music by Maurie Mulheron (2001) Oh, the cost of education makes me flinch As public schools start to feel the pinch. From each dollar we have gained Little has remained; No, our economic future is no cinch. But amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray If we can make State Aid come back our way, So, I’ve devised a plan of action, Worked it out to the last fraction, And I’m going into action here today. Chorus I’m changing our name to Grammar, And I’m heading down to Canberra you see I’ll tell those bureaucrats What they did for St Ignats Will be perfectly acceptable to me. I’m changing our name to Grammar, And I’m heading for that great receiving line So, when they hand a million grand out I’ll be standing with my hand out, Yes, I’ll get mine! When the P&C are screaming “Where’s the dough?” I’ll be proud to tell them all where they can go They won’t have to scream or holler, They’ll get ev’ry last dollar From where endless streams of money seem to flow I’ll be proud to tell them all what they can do It’s a matter of a simple form or two, ‘Cause for private education, there’s so much remuneration In Canberra the cheque waits for you. Chorus Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime, We’ve been struggling in an unrelenting climb; We were hardly up and walking Before money started talking And subsidies were an awful crime. Now it’s been that way for a millennium or two Now it seems there is a different point of view If you’re enrolling at St Joey’s No need to spend your dough ‘Cause Canberra will pay the fees for you! Chorus (with last 3 lines repeated) lyrics, no audio Based on I'm Changing My Name to Chrysler (Words and music by Tom Paxton, copyright Pax Music, ASCAP) Used by permission. Additional words by Maurie Mulheron no wonder I can remember the tune! |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:09 AM 3 days & no songs????? Four Strong Women © Maurie Mulheron 1996 Chorus: It took a hammer, an act of love To turn that jet Hawk into a dove It took some courage, it took some strength To stop that fighter from dealing death Into the hangar, into the plane Now use your hammer to stop the pain There's steady breathing as your work starts Four strong women, four beating hearts You sang of justice, you rang the bell You drove your hammer through Timor's hell You won your freedom but you won more You stopped a death plane from making war Four strong women with hammers high Beating ploughshares for a peaceful sky They know the struggle, they know the cause Whoever profits keeps making wars Coda: Four strong women, four beating hearts Notes Many thanks to Maurie Mulheron for permission to add this song to the Union Songs site. Maurie writes: This song celebrates the actions of four British women, Andrea Needham, Joanna Wilson, Lotta Kronlid and Angie Zeltner, who are members of the peace group, Ploughshares. In January 1996, they broke into the high security hangar owned by British Aerospace in Lancashire. Their purpose was to disarm one of the newly built Hawk jets. These jets were due for delivery to the Indonesian Government who use the jet Hawk against the villagers of East Timor. The four women had researched the plane well, learning its control panel layout and serial number. Months were spent monitoring the security and general operations of the British aerospace site at Warton until they were sure that they had located the exact plane destined for Indonesia. Once they had made a positive identification, Jet ZH 955, they made their last minute preparations. They quit their flats, said their farewells, bought some tools - bolt-cutters, crowbars and small hammers, and made their way to the airfield. After an agonising period waiting for the right moment, the four women broke into the hangar and set about destroying the war machine. They developed a steady rhythm, once they realised that the security was not coming. Over a period of about an hour the women methodically destroyed the plane's weapons system with their hammers. As Andrea Needham explains, "I have to admit I thought it might be a kind of religious experience but it felt like work - a job. It was like, here is a weapon that will hurt people, so this is what we have to do to stop it." When they finished, they placed banners and streamers over the plane, sang songs of peace and dropped small seeds (of hope) everywhere. As well, they placed a video in the cockpit of John Pilger's documentary on East Timor which has footage of eyewitness accounts of the planes in action. Eventually they were arrested and charged. They faced heavy prison sentences. At their trial they argued from a difficult position: that their crime was justified because its intent was to prevent a larger crime, genocide, from occurring. As the John Pilger documentary had been found at the scene of the crime, the women were able to show the video to the jury. On the sixth day of the trial, the jury turned in a majority verdict of not guilty. Their defence had been accepted. British Aerospace were stunned. On the steps of the courthouse, crowded with supporters, journalists and photographers, a company representative stepped forward to serve an injunction ordering the women not to trespass on the company's property. Angie Zeltner took the papers and, grinning broadly, promptly tore them up. Four strong women! For more information, see the article "If I Had a Hammer" by Jane Wheatley in HQ magazine, (September/October 1996) and pages 313-322 of John Pilger's "Hidden Agendas" (Vintage, 1998). Ploughshares has a web site: http://tridentploughshares.org/ no video or audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Feb 21 - 07:52 PM Fred Smith has a particular interest in the USA, having worked there for a year in 2006-2007. Here is a recent song about the election of Joe Biden, written before the invasion of the Capitol. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honour or dishonour, to the latest generation. Abraham Lincoln, December 1, 1862. LONG RUN WILMINGTON JOE (Fred Smith) Wasn’t such a long time ago… November 2020 Three weeks before the snow fell upon the land of plenty Couple thousand people a day were succumbing to infection, Health workers tired and frayed, I was watching the election The primaries were anyone’s show, Joe talked reconciliation Clyburn had lived through Jim Crow, helped Joe win the nomination The President still put on his shows in the midst of the pandemic 30,000 people would go, guess his crowd ain’t academics TikTok and Twitter, the broken and the bitter listen in to orange man blow Each to their own bubbles making up their troubles in their own reality show Tuesday came around soon, boarded windows braced for violence In the end it went pretty smooth, millions voted there in silence Florida was quick to succumb then went Texas and Ohio Lots of people start to feel numb, is the red mirage a lie though? Michigan the first to turn blue, mail-in counting, Donald scolding Minnesota, Wisconsin too, you could feel the blue wall holding Nevada started tipping, Georgia started flipping for the first time since ’92 Even Arizona, Joe won Maricopa and the Goldwater state slid in blue They just kept on counting in Allegheny County on a Pittsburgh factory floor Out in Philadelphia things are looking healthier and they still kept counting some more Officials looking weary, it's turning blue in Erie, even Fox News says it is so Folks all went insane and, when Joe won Pennsylvania, the champagne started to flow Long run Wilmington Joe, now you’re feeling presidential, Plant the seeds and let ‘em all grow, feeling healing is essential Instrumental break Long run Wilmington Joe, coming in to Union Station Riding on a sliver of hope, to the coming generation There is a beaut video of the song on YT. Fred explained the genesis of the song: In early November, I was confined to my room for two weeks COVID isolation when a colleague tested positive. I figured out how to make my television work and watched the US elections unfold. I was inspired to see election officials and ordinary citizens working to make the democratic process work in the face of background noise. Sound governance and due process are boring, but better than the alternative. Here is an offering for my friends in America… He was yet to see 'the alternative' occur. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 10 Feb 21 - 07:05 PM The Land of Bright Gold John Thompson I will go to the land of bright gold A place of peace and plenty Where everyone's story is told And grief and sorrow can't find me I will enter the palace of dreams A place of peace and plenty Where magic is just as it seems And grief and sorrow can't find me I will walk through the towering trees A place of peace and plenty Where the leaves sing the song of the breeze And grief and sorrow can't find me I will go to the cave of the King A place of peace and plenty And we'll sit there together and sing And grief and sorrow can't find me I will dance in the garden of love A place of peace and plenty Where our souls can soar high up above And grief and sorrow can't find me I will climb to the mountains of peace A place of peace and plenty The place where all anger will cease And grief and sorrow can't find me I will sleep in the warmth of the sun A place of peace and plenty Where all who are gone will be one And grief and sorrow can't find me I will go to the land of bright gold A place of peace and plenty Where everyone's story is told And grief and sorrow can't find me -------------------------------------------------- Track 13 on the Cloudstreet CD, The Land of Bright Gold. From the liner notes: "John wrote this piece while thinking of the hopes that people carry for the 'other place' that they imagine will be better. It is this type of dreaming that drives us to believe in the next world, or to travel to the far side of the globe in search of new lives." Recording here. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 10 Feb 21 - 06:55 PM Homeless Beaver (to the tune of Drunken Sailor) John Thompson In '48 in Idaho For houses the animals had to go. They turned for help to a man named Elmo, Fish and Game employee Chorus: What shall we do with a homeless beaver? x3 Throw him from an airplane! Beavers, they move way too slow. From Payette Lake they had to go. Their leader was called Geronimo. He was fine and brave and furry. Elmo Heter was the man. Elmo had a cunning plan. I will do what no one else can, Transplant all the beavers! The beavers their demise were facin'. They had to get to Chamberlain Basin. Against the clock Elmo was racin'. We must save the beavers! He thought of parachutes, we don't know why, To take the beavers through the sky. A dumb idea, but worth a try. A load of airborne beavers! Elmo put them into boxes, Boxes with automatic locks as Would open when they hit the rockses. Freedom for the beavers! The beavers live there to this day, They tell their tales, they have their say. It is to Elmo that they pray, The sky-god of the beavers! --------------------------------------------------- I'm not sure about the end of the second and start of the third lines in the next-to-last verse. Track 12 on the Cloudstreet CD "Clouded House". From the liner notes: "The headline said, 'In 1948, Idaho airlifted 76 beavers to a new habitat, dropping them via parachute.' A splendidly true story." Recording here. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 09 Feb 21 - 08:30 PM JOHN SMITH A.B. (w. D.H. Rogers attrib/m. N.Colquhoun) When the southern gale is blowing hard And the watch are all on topsail yard When five come down where six went up There’s one less to share the bite and sup Chorus Instead of the stone and the carven verse This is his epitaph curt and terse John Smith A.B. drowned in latitude fifty-three A heavy gale and a following’ sea A name is missed when the roll they call A hand the less for the mainsail haul They steal his rags and his bags and bed Little it matters to him who’s dead Chorus We’ve lost the way to the open sea We’ve missed the doom we hoped to free For the big ships runnin’ their eastin’ down Are far from the din of Sydney town Chorus Sailing ships began to visit New Zealand around the 1790s, a few on the lookout for tall timbers but most hunting for whale. At this time whalebone was used for strength and flexibility where steel is now used and whale oil kept the cotton- and woollen-mill machinery lubricated. The tall straight kauri could be used for masts and spars and flax made excellent rope - for these were the great days of sail, the "impressed" sailor, the "run-away-to-sea" and the able-bodied Jack Smith. 'Song of a Young Country' p6. Youtube clip Here's a link to information re 'Soon may the wellerman come' on the NZ folk song site. I meant to post it when I posted the lyrics: Click --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 07:55 AM Continuing the Nullarbor theme : Stewie posted Kasey Chambers’ “Nullarbor Song” on Nov 1st last year, but here is a later composition : NULLARBOR, THE BIGGEST BACKYARD Kasey Chambers When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world It went on for miles and miles as wide as it was high Down to the horizon all the way up to the sky And every now and then I heard a Mile Tree cry my name, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world Covered up with red dirt, as far as I could see I shared it with the railway and the aborigines Southwest of Ooldea all the way down to the sea - and back, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world The sun would shine until the day I asked for it to rain Counting down the sleeps until the “Tea and Sugar” train Ten cents on the track for days before it ever came - and went, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world Sitting 'round the campfire that started from a spark Rolling down the Gunbarrel Highway in the dark Making sure that I had all the room here in my heart - for the Nullarbor, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world ……. c.2010 Kasey at Tamworth in 2011 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMNdLzYluY0 R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 07:22 AM TEA AND SUGAR Helen Henderson Out here, there’s nothing for miles No trees, no water, just an endless sky Out where the only sound of people Is the news on the radio at suppertime. Red sun rising and the river bed’s dry Light up a cigarette, watch the world roll by I got one cold beer and my throat is burning Gonna wash away all this trouble and strife. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” Somewhere out on the Nullarbor Plain I said me a prayer for my only daughter I bought me a ticket on the gravy train. I got some dreams and my grandfather’s bible A picture of you, an old paper sack A bottle of whiskey and some tea and sugar I’m bound for nowhere down this railroad track. Once upon a time this desert was an ocean Of fishes in the water, swimming for their lives Now there’s nothing but this blue horizon A trail of tears in an indigo sky. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” …………. I’m weary of the world and everything in it I’m tired of living; I’m chilled to the bone I’ll buy me a ticket on the “Tea & Sugar” I’ll ride that train to the end of the line. I’ll take me away from the people and places I’ll take me away from the worry and pain Bleach my bones clean and white In the sun, in the sand, of the Nullarbor Plain I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” Somewhere out on the Nullarbor Plain Said me a prayer for my only daughter I bought her a ticket on the gravy train. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar”…………….. ……. Said me a prayer; bought me a ticket ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlL0SrcXxts Helen Henderson (NZ) and band BIO - https://www.muzic.net.nz/artists/3794/helen-henderson and https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/82430540/kiwi-singer-helen-henderson-comes-full-circle Here are a couple of the mini docos on YT on this famous train, the “Tea & Sugar”, that ran weekly from 1917 to 1996 between Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia (some 1051 miles), to service the remote settlements of fettlers (rail workers) and others : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vAh-p0-cPA This CFU doco from 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOlNnLN8i08 This Yank doco from 1986 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyu9g8k7RwY This FAC doco from 1925 : Shows construction of the line (including hand ploughing using a Camel Team!) The digging/ploughing of the numerous covered dams for the engine, which used 280 tons of water per trip. (however, the dam water ended up being mostly too brackish for steam engine use!) The telegraph line all the way alongside the track. 2+ 1/2 Million sleepers used for the rail (now that’s a lotta old growth forest …..) and More. But all-in-all, a bloody hard slog! (and no one wears gloves! Bet all their backs were Fkd!) R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Feb 21 - 06:19 AM 4 songs listed, no. 3 has comment "BULLETBELT (NZ) – perhaps only press play if you enjoy the effects of thrash-death metal" Years ago I was on a CBD bus when 4 classical students from the Conservatorium got on (violins, viola & cello!) & entertained us. Alas they didn't bring along their double bass, my favourite instrument, but it really wouldn't have fitted. They said another group - heavy Metal students - were on another bus - driver & passengers were glad we were not on that bus. I must ask my friend who teaches at The Con if they still send students out on buses (pre-covid of course!) sandra |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 02:50 AM A Few Songs About MINNIE DEAN “The Magdalene Laundry” and other such films and reports, have brought to light many sad tales of infant/child/mother mistreatment and mortality, particularly in Ireland and the US, with many babies and children lost to mothers, not only from a weak constitution or disease, but through institutional neglect (some deliberate), and some from perhaps even outright killing? - with the potentially “lucky” ones on-sold to well-heeled buyers. Events perpetrated by Govt and Religious institutions which, rather than “caring” for, were seemingly intent on punishing mothers who were unmarried and/or poor, and were therefore apparently grossly distasteful and immoral, particularly to many of those “great minds and small hearts” of the Victorian era. This NZ song refers to the only woman hanged in NZ (in 1895) and who, it seems, was someone who lovingly took care of the evidence of your daughter’s shame, or the mother with far too many mouths to feed, and who thus enabled families to continue to live in polite society. Minnie (born Williamina McCulloch, in Scotland), is still the sad but interesting subject of books and conjecture – was she a monster, was she a long-time sufferer of post-partum depression – was she some sort of public service for assauging society’s guilty moral attitudes – or was she, as she claimed standing on the hangman’s trapdoor - Innocent? Trial by media is not a modern thing, by any means. Interestingly (to me!), Minnie Dean of Winton (north of Invercargill), was allegedly “plying her trade of baby-farming” around the time and place my GGGrandfather was rearing his family in South Island, post his goldmining exploits and now a nearby Waianiwa farmer and Invercargill pub-owner. As a publican, he no doubt heard much gossip and many a tale concerning this local woman! There is much to read on-line. But try these : https://adventure.nunn.nz/2019/10/30/the-strange-sad-case-of-minnie-dean/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/minnie_dean.shtml https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/black-sheep/story/2018761597/baby-farmer-the-story-of-minnie-dean https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2d7/dean-williamina THE BALLAD OF MINNIE DEAN [1] Helen Henderson [ Helen was brought up in Invercargill. "Minnie was like the bogeyman of our town when I was a kid," she says. "If you were giving cheek to your mum or being naughty it was like: 'You better watch or I'll send you off to Minnie Dean's farm and you'll never be heard of again.' http://www.folksong.org.nz/minniedean/index.html ] Chorus Minnie Dean, Minnie Dean, she's gonna ge'cha And take you away on the afternoon train. Oh, you'd better be good, coz Minnie Dean's gonna ge'cha And you'll never, ever, be heard of again. 1. She dressed in black and she carried a hat in a hat box when early to the station she came, And on her way back, she'd always wear the hat Invercargill to Winton, on the 5 o'clock train. 2. She was so sweet and gracious to the girls and the ladies A home for their babies she said she'd provide, It was all done in private and money was provided As she wrapped up their little ones and took them away. Bridge: Here lie the children nobody wanted Minnie died for her sins and the people they cried They cried for themselves and they cried for their children They cried for Minnie and for closing their eyes. 3. She dressed in black and she carried a hat in a hat box when early to the courthouse she came, "Judge, I'm innocent" she said, "They just disappeared" (“They got lost in the garden” “They crawled under the bed”) But they hanged her from the gallows until she was dead. . . . No, you'll never be heard of again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLvvllCWH4 Helen Henderson Other songs about Minnie Dean : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r64jMxUacYw Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders (who would be recognisable to ABC viewers from his musical appearances in “The Beauiful Lie” drama, in 2015) THE BALLAD OF MINNIE DEAN [2] Marlon Williams Minnie was a mother to a hundred or more In Winton town Red-faced mamas coming knocking on her door With a whole ten pounds Winter in the south makes the heart beat slow But hearts beat slower in the garden below. Then three went missing and the men start digging in the ground (ground) Men start digging in the ground (three found) Bring poor Minnie downtown But a woman won't hang in Winton town. Hundreds in the room when Minnie stood trial Many more outside Oh Minnie, you're accused of a serious crime: Infanticide The crowd all cheered as the gavel rang But have mercy on the soul of the women you hang. Then they carried her away and the crowd all followed her down (down) The crowd all followed her down (three found) Everybody gathered round To see a woman hang in Winton town Oh see a woman hang in Winton town. MINNIE DEAN [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqj9UUvdf5Y – BULLETBELT (NZ) – perhaps only press play if you enjoy the effects of thrash-death metal :) MINNIE DEAN [4] “….. written by Marylyn Hayes and Brendon Fairbairn. It is on the Passing time CD, Invercargill, N.Z. 2000, by New Zealand celtic folk music group Run the Cutter.” Which I haven’t yet found on-line …… R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 07 Feb 21 - 12:54 AM BUDDY BREATHING Mike Harding Buddy-Breathing, sharing air Deep-sea diving, taking care Just make one mistake and you’ll be drowned, Behind the mask, below the surface Diving through uncharted waters Going where no footprints can be found. Choose the surface, play it safe Or take a chance beneath the waves The ripples spread and fade where you went down. Buddy-Breathing, brave the water Make no assumptions, trust your partner When words don’t work, you’ll learn to read the signs, Conditions change, the tide advances Never take this life for granted From far below you won’t know sea from sky. Declare intentions when you dive Indifferent water will drown your cries Buddy-Breathing, share that vital line. Buddy-Breathing, sharing air Deep-sea diving, taking care Just make one mistake and you’ll be drowned, Diving deep down into love No marker on the sea above Going where no footprints can be found The ripples spread and fade where you went down The ripples spread and fade …………… My new favourite song, from the singing of Kiwis, Mike Harding and Chris Priestley! :) Listen here to Mike, with Chris on harmony, from April, 2011 in NZ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6JQvH0n2to I like these guys and here is a compilation of some of their songs from that 2011 tour of South Island, called “Kiwi Connections” where they showcased EnZed songwriters : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqf0gObvyA [As regards scuba diving, I enjoyed this activity when young and fit but gave it up after my first (daytime) dive with a group in Darwin Harbour – where I could not see my hand in front of me : JEEEZUZ. Not sure whether the dive companies still do that, considering the increases in the croc populations ….. But just before I arrived, in 1983, Tim Proctor’s Fannie Bay Dive Shop team attempted a Guinness Book of Records, record-breaking attempt of an underwater crossing from Darwin to Mandorah – driving a Toyota Landcruiser : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-18/how-a-car-drove-across-darwin-harbour-35-years-ago/10009608 ] R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 06 Feb 21 - 10:04 PM This parody of 'Soon may the Wellerman come' turned up recently on the NZ Folk Song site. THE NEEDLEMAN I’ll tell you how this all began A jungle virus in Wuhan First it went from bat to man Then round the world it flew. The tourists flocked here, more and more, And down on us the Covid bore Jacinta roused her team and swore To lay that virus low. Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go . . . FOR A COFFEE! YEAHHH! The world’s upturned, so much disorder We’re now locked down inside our border. An' I've became a loo roll hoarder 'Cause I still have to go! It's 40 weeks or even more Since I kissed my sweet Elenore The frustration's now at Level Four We're ready to explode! Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go... AN’ MAKE LOVE AGAIN! As far as I know, the fight’s still on We still need masks, the bug’s not gone The Needleman's not yet made his call To jab our oldies, sick, and all. Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go... ANYWHERE WE WANT TO! YEAHHH! --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 06 Feb 21 - 05:07 AM R-J, my apologies for not answering your query re Priestley and Harding - I have been busy with stuff in the real world. I do not have any of their albums. As you say, there's some great NZ music and, like Canada, NZ punches above its weight in terms of producing some first-rate singer/songwriters. It is pertinent to point out that today is the anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. A Maori song related to the treaty: Click Wiki entry: Treaty of Waitangi A lighter piece: T of W in the office And this one that was possibly inspired by Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson's infamous 'Living next door to Alan': Living next door to Maoris> --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Feb 21 - 10:46 PM We have posted a number of songs in this thread either written or performed, by John Thompson (& Nicole Murray) of CLOUDSREET. Please post in John's OBIT thread if you are so moved : /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=169289&messages=4 This recent thread also has info : /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=168955&messages=8 Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Feb 21 - 08:15 AM TEDDY SHEEAN - FOREVER EIGHTEEN Garth Porter & Lee Kernaghan & Colin Buchanan The bow cut the swell on a course set for Timor The Armidale plowed through the waves The enemy found us, sent bombs and torpedoes Out-gunned and out-numbered we prayed Abandon the ship! came the call through the chaos Jump for your lives, the ship’s going down, And I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. The blood and the oil coated men in the water The stern rose and then disappeared We clung to the wreckage and still they came at us Till the silence of evening drew near We floated two whalers and a raft from the flotsam We hung on and waited for help to arrive, I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. The men who survived owe their lives to the lad The boy who stood strong and held on and fought on till the end I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QCP8xX6Mmw Lee Kernaghan sings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z1DxP2YtOU Teddy’s final service that helped save fellow sailors on the sinking corvette, HMAS Armidale, under Japanese bomber and fighter airfire, in the Timor Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon the AA gun Teddy strapped himself into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Sheean Teddy’s Story - and Govt Denials for almost 80 years Teddy was posthumously awarded the VC in August 2020, for his heroic deeds in 1942. (I note that it took some 78 years for this award to be finally approved, after years of vigorous campaigning. And yet, just recently, an Australian sporting star (born the same year Teddy Sheean died), was awarded yet another gong (an AC - she already had an MBE and an AO, plus other numerous accolades for her well-deserved tennis prowess). After retiring in 1977 from being a champion ball-belter, she eventually became a happy-clappy preacher of the same persuasion as our current prime minister and well-known for her outspoken racist and homophobic views. One can only presume that she is now being rewarded for this ‘christian’? behaviour. Strange, our societal priorities. And they wonder why so many of us have scant respect for ‘The Authorities’ .....) Spirit of the Anzacs is an album by Australian country singer, Lee Kernaghan. It was released in Australia in 2015. The deluxe 2017 edition contained 20 songs and I note that we have so far featured 6 of those songs in our Mudcat thread! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqFDN1WdxI&list=OLAK5uy_lCulVvQDuF2H7-NXFx2im4QcjvQroSZH4 “Teddy Sheean 0003” a song by Greg Wells : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2b1-mIdTzE R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Feb 21 - 07:09 AM Really appreciate all the EnZed songs you've posted, Stewie! As I think I've said before, I don't know much past Phil Garland and Martin Curtis and I own only one CD from Kiwi land!! Sure wish I had been there; seems a bit too late now ..... (this is despite my Lancashire GG-Grandfather rearing his family on the various South Island goldfields from 1860s to 1900s, so I must have distant rellies there somewhere!!) Anyways, I came across a coupla tracks by Chris Priestley and Mike Harding - "Buddy Breathing" and "Rainbird in the Teatree" - and a medley from their 2011 Kiwi Songcatchers Tour on YT - there's obviously some really great material I've missed out on!!! Do you have stuff from them??? Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 03 Feb 21 - 05:50 PM SCRUB AND BLACKBERRY (Paul Bond) Refrain. Here's to the home I've left so long Far in the back country Hidden in the rushes, the scrub and the blackberry Muddy paths and potholes Tractor tracks and postholes Mossy battens dangling there on the wire And the open fire Six-inch nails and hay bales Warratahs and sliprails Dogs and children yapping away in your ear And the air so clear Refrain Days of chipping thistles Curses and dog whistles Crutching in the yard with a flash of the shears As the evening nears, Talking round the table Loud guffaws and babble Families now split up and splintered like kindling wood But the life was good Refrain Youtube clip This song was the winner of the NZ Folk Federation songwriting competition in 1981. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 02 Feb 21 - 07:11 PM LENTILS (Kath Tait) Life was cheap, our thoughts were deep We did not wash for forty weeks We ate the brown rice and the lentils We thought we were so existential We did not weep, we took a leap To the bottom of the social heap The view was clearer than from the top Our wisdom flourished, our wealth did not The social ladder it was too steep We watched our friends climb up so high And we watched them wave bye bye Disappearing in the sky We smoked a pipe, we grew a beard The neighbours thought that we were weird Yes, we were weird but we were not glum Our youth was too much fun We were not dense, we lived in tents To cut down on bills and rent Under umbrellas, we ate the lentils We thought that we were so environmental We did not mope, we bought the dope With the money that we saved on soap We made our choices and there was time So when things went wrong we could change our mind The social ladder it was too steep We watched our friends climb up so high And we watched them wave bye bye Disappearing in the sky We smoked a pipe, we grew a beard The neighbours thought that we were weird Yes, we were weird but we were not glum Our youth was too much fun Was it uncouth to spend our youth Throwing parties on the roof Our new friends were not respectable Our old friends became aloof We wrote a poem like Leonard Cohen About not knowing where we were going So we stumbled through the years Chasing a stream of peculiar ideas While the mice, the ticks and lice The weevils thrived in the brown rice The days went round, our lives did go The price of lentils stayed reasonably low And we’ve no regrets about the debts Or the savings we did not collect We’ll spend our old age eating lentils With no spare cash for non-essentials There’ll be no trips on luxury ships No new false teeth or plastic hips And as for choices they’ve nothing left But to become Buddhist nuns, I guess Another good'un from the wonderful Kath Tait. The above is my transcription from the video. I have no idea of the original stanza structure. Corrections welcomed. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 02 Feb 21 - 08:43 AM THE LOVE I LEAVE BEHIND Allan Caswell & Drew McAlister The worth of the man isn’t measured in minutes, it’s a journey that’s measured in years And it doesn’t matter where you begin, as long as it brings you here You learn more from getting it wrong than you ever do getting it right And you tell your life story with the love you leave behind, Before my time comes I’m gonna leave some sign that I was here Won’t be what I own, a fancy home, a car, or my career If I’ve lived and loved too hard and made good use of my time I’ll make the world a better place with the love I leave behind. The worth of a man isn’t measured in things, it’s secret and silent and strong It’s in the pride you take in your name and the children who carry it on You can live on this planet for eighty-odd years but it’s only a moment in time And you tell your life story with the love you leave behind, Before my time comes I’m gonna leave some sign that I was here Won’t be what I own, a fancy home, a car, or my career If I’ve lived and loved too hard and made good use of my time I’ll make the world a better place with the love I leave behind. Before my time comes I’m gonna leave some sign that I was here Won’t be what I own, a fancy home, a car, or my career If I’ve lived and loved too hard and made good use of my time I’ll make the world a better place, I’ll make this world a better place With the love I leave behind. Graeme Connors : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYdFkbsPsOs Co-written by country performer, Alan Caswell - who is apparently “…… Australia’s most recorded songwriter, with well over 750 of his songs being released around the world by artists of high calibre, like …… “ http://www.allancaswell.com/ R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 02 Feb 21 - 01:50 AM In the very early days of the Bush Music Club (est.Oct 1954), one of the first bush bands was the Spraggers, based in Lithgow - minutes Oct 54-March 55 The names of the first 4 bush bands established during these months are written on the front cover. Bushwhackers Spraggers Rousers (Rouseabouts) Drovers Bill Crossdale interview, Rob & Olya Willis folklore collection |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 02 Feb 21 - 12:10 AM THE DYING SPRAGGER (Anon) A handsome young spragger lay dying With a miner supporting his head When he raised himself up on his elbow And then to his workmates he said Wrap me up with my pit lamp and tallow And stow my poor body below Where the ? and the blowflies can’t find me In some dark and cool tunnel below Take my old crib can and bottle Place one at my head and my toe Then scratch out my name at the pay box And tell them I’m sleeping below There’s some tea in the black dixie ? tin Line your dip tins up in a row And let’s drink to our next joyful meeting In the sky where all good workers go I can hear the big wheel on the popper And the cage as it moves down the toe For it sounds the death knell of a spragger Goodbye my good friends I must go Pay the piper to pipe me a solo Ask the union to sing me a song Have the priests ring out the old church bell So the whole town will know that I’m gone Oh if I had the wings of a bell bird Right over the town I would fly And I’d fly to the home of my loved ones But alas, my dear cobbers, I die Wrap me up with my pit lamp and tallow And stow my poor body below Where the ? and the blowflies can’t find me In some dark and cool tunnel below This coal mining parody of 'The Dying Stockman' is from Alan Musgrove and His Watsaname Band's 'Behind the Times' CD - no label or number but available via Trad&Now. A beaut album. There is no lyric booklet with the CD - the above transcription is mine. I was unable to decipher the insect (or whatever) accompanying blowflies in the third line of the repeated stanza. It sounds like 'pie-whys'. There is a piwi gene in some insects, but I doubt that is it. I also couldn't make sense of the reference to a dixie mess tin because it sounds like 'black dixie fountain'. I hope someone can supply the correct words. Note by Alan Musgrove: It was learnt from the singing of Bill Crossdale who in turn learnt it from Jack Marsden, a miner at Bellbird Colliery in the Hunter Valley of NSW. In coal mining parlance a spragger is a worker who stops coal skips by inserting a piece of timber (a sprig) between the wheel spokes as the skips have no braking system of their own. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 31 Jan 21 - 08:38 PM AS THE BLACK BILLY BOILS (Anon) As the black billy boils At the end of the whare I remember the time When I lived in a hurry With my hand on a line Tied to a bundle of money And I was a very young new chum As the black billy boils At the end of the whare I look back on the days And how they seem so very funny Now i've mended my ways And I never have a worry And it's thanks to the kauri gum Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 31 Jan 21 - 08:18 PM Sorry for that question mark in Chloe's name! Mudcat obviously didn't like my attempts at an "umlaut" (or whatever it is called in this case .....) St Brigid will forgive me! :) R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 31 Jan 21 - 08:09 PM I love love love this performance/interpretation by Chlo? and Jason!!!! :) THE WATCH ON THE KERB Henry Lawson, 1888 / Chloe & Jason Roweth, 2017 Night-lights are falling; Girl of the street, Go to your calling If you would eat. Lamplight and starlight And moonlight superb, Bright hope is a farlight, So watch on the kerb. Watch on the kerb, Watch on the kerb; Hope is a farlight; Then watch on the kerb. Comes a man: call him — Gone! he is vext; Curses befall him, Wait for the next! Fair world and bright world, Life still is sweet — Girl of the night-world, Watch on the street. Dreary the watch is: Moon sinks from sight, Gas only blotches Darkness with light; Never, Oh, never Let courage go down; Keep from the river, Oh, Girl of the Town! The Bulletin, 19 April 1888 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQfUhhVs5YA 'The Watch on the Kerb' (1888) Words: Henry Lawson, Music: Chloe & Jason Roweth (2017). ['The Day Before I Die' (1907) Words: Henry Lawson. ] Chloe Roweth: Voice, Tenor Banjo / Jason Roweth: Voice, Guitar / Liz Frencham: Bass [ Music recorded live at Silver Hill, Cygnet, Tasmania - Jan 16, 2018. / Video recorded at Silver Hill - Jan 19, 2018. / Music and film recorded, mixed and edited by Michael Gissing. ] “The Soul of The Poet : Songs and Poems of Henry Lawson (2018)” CD “Chloë and Jason Roweth mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry Lawson with a selection of his finest poems in song and spoken word. Their work includes original musical settings, and evocative use of dance music from Lawson’s (and the Roweths') home country - central-west NSW. The Roweths have found great inspiration in Henry's words, learning his poetry, and setting many lesser known poems to music. The poems that resonate with Chloe and Jason are those of a more complex and personal nature; verses that reveal Henry Lawson as a flawed genius, a creative artist, a revolutionary and a humanist.” "I can love him because he stands above us all. Because his fun and friendship, his troubled, tragic spirit, his rugged ways, the vision that he never lost, the hopes that were broken, his kindness and despair, his heart and soul poured out, everything he thought and everything he wrote for our great heritage, were as much a part of him as his drinking. And I am like him, and I understand." : From Henry Lawson’s daughter, Bertha Lawson [Jago], unpublished notes. As reprinted in ‘A Wife’s Heart - The Untold Story of Bertha and Henry Lawson’ by Kerrie Davies, first published 2017 by University of Queensland Press. https://www.rowethmusic.com.au/the-soul-of-a-poet R-J PS Down Under it is already Feb 1st (and our last month of Summer) - but UP NORF it is St Brigid’s Day and that means IMBOLC and Spring - and the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. “Brigid encompasses the stories of two women, Brigid the saint who is considered a patron saint of Ireland and the goddess Brigid a powerful woman and the patroness of healing, arts, fertility, poetry/music, prophecy and agriculture. Her feast day on the 1st February marks the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere and it is the season when we CELEBRATE HOPE and new life on earth” https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/holidays/ireland/imbolc So Happy Bridie’s Day to you all :) |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Jan 21 - 10:25 PM A song of a digger leaving the west coast of New Zealand for the Palmer River gold rush in North Queensland. THE DIGGER'S FAREWELL (Anon) Well it's just as you say sir, I'm off once more To the Palmer River, that's my way I landed here in sixty-four That's ten years' struggle along the Grey Ten long years since I landed here In a trackless land of wet and cold Some of our lives were pretty severe But who lacks hardship looking for gold? Latterly gold has been hard to find I've enough to carry me, none to spend I'm going away and leaving behind Not one deserving the name of friend Now the gold was pretty near tuckered out When Bill - that's me mate - he says to me There's gold on the Palmer beyond all doubt So here's for sailing out over the sea There's the whistle - a drink before we part 'A step to the corner', I hear you say? My last on the coast - with all my heart A brandy straight and then I'm away Here's a long farewell to the old West Coast With a heart prepared for whatever I find 'Success to the Palmer' - is that your toast? Mine's 'here's to the land I leave behind!' The above version is as recorded by Phil Garland: Youtube clip Alan Musgrave recorded a slightly different version on his 'Behind The Times' album. Ron Edwards collected a short song of this title from Frank Evans of North Queensland. In that one, the miner is leaving Bendigo. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 30 Jan 21 - 03:07 AM Gerry, my ukulele group does Bob the Kelpie......living in a rural area as we do, it's always popular and fun. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 30 Jan 21 - 01:07 AM The years 1915 to 1919 saw a huge explosion of working class militancy in response to the First World War which brought Britain almost to the brink of revolution. One of the most important centres of struggle was Glasgow and the Clyde. 'Red Clydeside', a CD written and performed by Alistair Hulett, celebrates its foremost protagonist, John Maclean, and the men and women who contributed to this often neglected period of our history. The song Don’t Sign Up For War’ is based on one of John McLean’s famous quotes during the lead up to the First World War when he encouraged young men to defer from signing up. Don't Sign Up For War Alsitair Hulett See thon Arthur Henderson, heid bummer o' the workin, men (1) When war broke oot he pressed his suit an' ran tae catch the train He signed a deal in London, nae mair strikes until the fightin's done In Glesga toon the word went roon'. Tak tent o' John Maclean. (2) He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. When they turned him oot o' Langside Hall, John stood up at the fountain Whit he said was tailor-made tae magnify the friction Ye patriots can roar and bawl, it's nought but braggarts fiction The only war worth fightin' for is war against oppression. He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. The polis wheeched him oot o' there and doon tae Queens Park station (3) They telt him plain offend again an' we'll mak' ye rue the day, son (4) But Johnny didnae turn a hair, he ca'd for a demonstration A mighty thrang ten thoosan strang turned oot against conscription (5) He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. The next time that they came for him, John kent they meant the business (6) He didnae plea for mercy, he said gi'e me British justice (7) The justice that he ca'd for stunned many intae silence (8) When oot o' hell the hammer fell, three years was the sentence. He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. The clamour tae release Maclean reached fever pitch and mair, man (9) In a year an a' hauf they they ca'd it aff, but Christ it taxed him sair man (10) He came back auld afore his time, but he didnae seem tae care. Man Dae a' ye can, I'm still the wan wha'll cause ye tae beware, man. He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. The last time that they jailed Maclean he came gey close tae scunnert (11) Wi' a rubber hose pit up his nose they kept him swap suppert (12) Let him oot or keep him in, Red Clyde was ower blaistert (13) Ilk wey they turnt the Government was weel and brawly gouthart. (14) (15) He said a bayonet, that's a weapon wi' a working man at either end Betray your country, serve your class. Don't sign up for war my friend Don't sign up for war. Notes: 1) heid bummer = leader 2) tak tent o' = pay heed to 3) wheeched = rushed 4) telt = told 5) thrang ten thoosan strang = crowd ten thousand strong 6) kent = knew 7) gi'e = give 8) ca'd = called 9) mair = more 10) sair = sore 11) gey close tae scunnert = to the brink of collapse 12) swap suppert = forcibly fed 13) ower blaistart = in an uproar 14) Ilk wey = whichever way 15) weel an' brawly gouthart = in a quandary ---------------------------------------------------------- Recorded by Alistair Hulett and Dave Swarbrick. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 30 Jan 21 - 12:59 AM Since Then Henry Lawson, 1895 I met Jack Ellis in town to-day — Jack Ellis — my old mate, Jack — Ten years ago, from the Castlereagh, We carried our swags together away To the Never-Again, Out Back. But times have altered since those old days, And the times have changed the men. Ah, well! there's little to blame or praise — Jack Ellis and I have tramped long ways On different tracks since then. His hat was battered, his coat was green, The toes of his boots were through, But the pride was his! It was I felt mean — I wished that my collar was not so clean, Nor the clothes I wore so new. He saw me first, and he knew 'twas I — The holiday swell he met. Why have we no faith in each other? Ah, why? — He made as though he would pass me by, For he thought that I might forget. He ought to have known me better than that, By the tracks we tramped far out — The sweltering scrub and the blazing flat, When the heat came down through each old felt hat In the hell-born western drought. The cheques we made and the shanty sprees, The camps in the great blind scrub, The long wet tramps when the plains were seas, And the oracles worked in days like these For rum and tobacco and grub. Could I forget how we struck 'the same Old tale' in the nearer West, When the first great test of our friendship came — But — well, there's little to praise or blame If our mateship stood the test. 'Heads!' he laughed (but his face was stern) — 'Tails!' and a friendly oath; We loved her fair, we had much to learn — And each was stabbed to the heart in turn By the girl who — loved us both. Or the last day lost on the lignum plain, When I staggered, half-blind, half-dead, With a burning throat and a tortured brain; And the tank when we came to the track again Was seventeen miles ahead. Then life seemed finished — then death began As down in the dust I sank, But he stuck to his mate as a bushman can, Till I heard him saying, 'Bear up, old man!' In the shade by the mulga tank. He took my hand in a distant way (I thought how we parted last), And we seemed like men who have nought to say And who meet — 'Good-day', and who part — 'Good-day', Who never have shared the past. I asked him in for a drink with me — Jack Ellis — my old mate, Jack — But his manner no longer was careless and free, He followed, but not with the grin that he Wore always in days Out Back. I tried to live in the past once more — Or the present and past combine, But the days between I could not ignore — I couldn't help notice the clothes he wore, And he couldn't but notice mine. He placed his glass on the polished bar, And he wouldn't fill up again; For he is prouder than most men are — Jack Ellis and I have tramped too far On different tracks since then. He said that he had a mate to meet, And 'I'll see you again,' said he, Then he hurried away through the crowded street And the rattle of buses and scrape of feet Seemed suddenly loud to me. And I almost wished that the time were come When less will be left to Fate — When boys will start on the track from home With equal chances, and no old chum Have more or less than his mate. ------------------------------------------------------- Above, the full 16 verses. Slim Dusty set it to music and recorded it, but he only sang seven verses: 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, and a mash-up over stanzas 14 and 15. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 30 Jan 21 - 12:51 AM The Drover's Sweetheart Lawson, Henry (1867 - 1922) An hour before the sun goes down Behind the ragged boughs, I go across the little run To bring the dusty cows; And once I used to sit and rest Beneath the fading dome, For there was one that I loved best Who'd bring the cattle home. Our yard is fixed with double bails, Round one the grass is green, The bush is growing through the rails, The spike is rusted in; It was from there his freckled face Would turn and smile at me -- For he'd milk seven in a race While I was milking three. He kissed me twice and once again And rode across the hill, The pint-pots and the hobble-chain I hear them jingling still; About the hut the sunlight fails the fire shines through the cracks, I climb the broken stockyard rails And watch the bridle-tracks. And he is coming back again, He wrote from Evatt's Rock A flood was in the Darling then -- And foot-rot in the flock The sheep were falling thick and fast, A hundred miles from town, And when he reached the line at last He trucked the remnant down. And so he'll have to stand the cost, His luck was always bad, Instead of making more, he lost The money that he had; And how he'll manage, heaven knows (My eyes are getting dim) He says -- he says -- he don't -- suppose I'll want -- to -- marry -- him. As if I wouldn't take his hand Without a golden glove; Oh! Jack -- you men won't understand How much a girl can love. I long to see his face once more -- Jack's dog! thank God, it's Jack! -- (I never thought I'd faint before) He's coming -- up -- the track. x2 Notes drover: someone who herds droves of livestock. run: "range of pasture- or grazing-land; a sheep station", pastoral holding (OED "run" n1, 22; courtesy of Eric Sharpham). dome: the firmament (the sky's concave vault). bails: stakes, fence-posts. pint-pots: bells, shaped like small beer pots. the hobble-chain: a small loose chain around the hind fetlocks, preventing cattle from running. Darling-River: the longest river in Australia, flowing from Queensland to join the Murray River at Wentworth in New South Wales and continuing on through South Australia to empty into the Great Australian Bight (courtesy of Eric Sharpham). bankers: full up to their banks. Bourke: in the centre of the Australian outback, once the largest inland port on the Darling River. Set to music and recorded by Priscilla Herdman. The lyrics given here match what she sings, which is a modification of what Lawson wrote. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 30 Jan 21 - 12:40 AM Wife to a Cocky Farmer Richard Keam I am the one who has carried the can since time before time began, Or that's the way that it's often seemed since I married a dairying man. We've had our times, and we've had our strife. It's a good but an awful hard, hard life, And the one thing sure is you'll pay the price when you're wed to a cocky farmer. I was the one got the bookwork done when the kids were in bed at night, And up every morn before the dawn when the winter frosts would bite, And I swapped me good clothes long ago for gum boots and an overcoat, And a lifetime bailing a sinking boat for the sake of a cocky farmer, And the sound of the scenes in me very dreams is the sound of the milk can lids, And I never knew how we'd get through but we managed to raise four kids, And the time that we spent away from here was less than a month in twenty years. Now the kids have gone but they shed no tears for the life of a cocky farmer. And the price we get never keeps in step with the prices that we pay, But you can't tell cows that they're out on strike. You're a slave to them night and day, And we've seen the neighbours all around toss it in and move to the local town, But you talk of this and he only frowns. He'll die a cocky farmer, And they used to say that i wore the pants in the days when they said such things, But I was a one when I was young for a bit of a wild old fling. Saturday nights at the Shire Hall dance, stars in me eyes and a head for a romance, And sometimes I think that I'm still young Nance, not the wife of a cocky farmer. Sometimes in me dreams I'm still young Nance, not the wife of a cocky farmer. Recorded by Judy Small. Also by Margaret Walters, but I don't think Marg's recording is online. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 30 Jan 21 - 12:29 AM BOB THE KELPIE Don Spencer/Allan Caswell CHORUS Sheep are cute, sheep are beaut, sheep are soft and curly. But when I take them into town, I have to start off early, ‘Cause they never go the way I want, so I need someone to help me - I just give a whistle, and I call for Bob the Kelpie. Bob the Kelpie he’s my dog, and though he’s not too pretty. He’s worth more than all those fancy dogs up in the city. He works hard in the yard to show the sheep who’s boss, I guess they’ve learned by now it doesn’t pay to make Bob cross. CHORUS X 2 Bob the Kelpie he’s my mate, he never lets me down. He loves to ride in the back of the Ute when we go into town. And we never have to lock it up, with Bob there for protection, ‘Cause he will bark at anything that comes in his direction. CHORUS X 2 Yes I just give a whistle… I just give a whistle, And I call for Bob the Kelpie. Recording by Don Spencer here. ------------------------------------------------------------- Trivia: Don Spencer is Russell Crowe's father-in-law. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Jan 21 - 06:43 PM A kiwi kids' song: RAILWAY BILL (Anon) Way down the line At any time Who is sittin' on the railway line Why there is poor old Bill Chorus Railway Bill, oh Railway Bill He won't work and he never will They'll fire old railway Bill We'll bang and strike This steel spike Nobody works like good old Mike But never poor old Bill Chorus Go toot the peeper Go press the beeper Bill, he's a railway sleeper Go wake up poor old Bill Youtube clip Neil Colquhoun commented: I don't know who Railway Bill was, but to us kids he seemed some kind of hero , defying foremen, inspectors and perhaps even holding up the express to remain sitting on the line. 'Song of a young country' p57. For the joy that's in it, here is a fine rendition of a version of the traditional song from which the song derives. Beaut! Railrosd Bill --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 28 Jan 21 - 06:47 PM THE NEVER NEVER LAND (H.Lawson/I.MacDougall) By homestead, hut, and shearing-shed, By railroad, coach, and track — By lonely graves of our brave dead, Up-Country and Out-Back: To where 'neath glorious the clustered stars The dreamy plains expand — My home lies wide a thousand miles In the Never-Never Land. It lies beyond the farming belt, Wide wastes of scrub and plain, A blazing desert in the drought, A lake-land after rain; To the sky-line sweeps the waving grass, Or whirls the scorching sand — A phantom land, a mystic land! The Never-Never Land. Where lone Mount Desolation lies, Mounts Dreadful and Despair — 'Tis lost beneath the rainless skies In hopeless deserts there; It spreads nor'-west by No-Man's-Land — Where clouds are seldom seen — To where the cattle-stations lie Three hundred miles between. The drovers of the Great Stock Routes The strange Gulf country know — Where, travelling from the southern drought The big lean bullocks go; And camped by night where plains lie wide, Like some old ocean's bed, The watchmen in the starlight ride Round fifteen hundred head. And west of named and numbered days The shearers walk and ride — Jack Cornstalk and the Ne'er-do-well And the grey-beard side by side; They veil their eyes — from moon and stars, And slumber on the sand — Sad memories steep as years go round In Never-Never Land. By lonely huts north-west of Bourke, Through years of flood and drought, The best of English black-sheep work Their own salvation out: Wild fresh-faced boys grown gaunt and brown — Stiff-lipped and haggard-eyed — They live the Dead Past grimly down! Where boundary-riders ride. The College Wreck who sank beneath, Then rose above his shame, Tramps west in mateship with the man Who cannot write his name. 'Tis there where on the barren track No last half-crust's begrudged — Where saint and sinner, side by side, Judge not, and are not judged. Oh rebels to society! The Outcasts of the West — Oh hopeless eyes that smile for me, And broken hearts that jest! The pluck to face a thousand miles — The grit to see it through! The communion perfected! — And — I am proud of you! The Arab to true desert sand, The Finn to fields of snow, The Flax-stick turns to Maoriland, While the seasons come and go; And this old fact comes home to me — And will not let me rest — However barren it may be, Your own land is the best! And, lest at ease I should forget True mateship after all, My water-bag and billy yet Are hanging on the wall; And if my fate should show the sign I'd tramp to sunsets grand With gaunt and stern-eyed mates of mine In the Never-Never Land. The above is the complete poem as published in 1901 with the title 'The Never-Never Country'. Loaded Dog recorded an edited version with a tune by Ian MacDougall on their 'dusty gravel road' album. You can listen to it on this page: Click Another edited version with MacDougall tune: Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 27 Jan 21 - 07:02 PM ALTERED DAYS (w. John Barr attrib/m. Anon) When to New Zealand first I cam’ Poor and duddy, poor and duddy It was a happy day, sirs For I was fed on parritch thin My taes they stickit thro’ my shoon I ruggit at the pouken pin But could’ mak’ it pay, sirs Baith nicht and day upon the board Ruggin’ at it, tuggin’ at it I strived to please a paper lord Wha once had been a weaver But he got up and I got down I wandered idly thro’ the town A tattered bonnet on my croon And wasna worth a steever Nae mair the laird comes for his rent For his rent, for his rent When I hae nocht to pay, sirs Nae mair he’ll take me aff the loom Wi’ hangin’ lip and pouches toom To touch my hat and boo to him The like was never kent, sirs But now it’s altered days, I trow A weel a wat, a weel a wat The beef is tumblin’ in the pat And I’m baith fat and fu’, sirs At my door cheeks there’s bread and cheese I work or no’ just as I please I’m fairly settled at my ease And that’s the way o’t noo, sirs Youtube clip Scots in NZ --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 27 Jan 21 - 04:50 AM As well as being a songwriter par excellence, John Hospodaryk was a really nice bloke. I have his CD of railway songs. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 04:00 AM another of the late John Hospodaryk's excellent songs Black Armband, a song by John Hospodaryk ©2002 Hey there Johnny this song it is for you It's not behind the razor wire hidden from our view That's why I'm wearing a black armband A black armband to demonstrate my stand White picket financial security Leafy suburban nuclear family The benifits of a growing economy Middle class utopia where the market's so free But I got a better term for all this inequity It's not incentivation Menzies nor prosperity Not back to the future to 1953 It's myopia which means that you can barely see Balacava guards rottweillers and alsatians Such is the face of your industrial relations Anti-union tyranny right across the nation On the waterfront and down the mines you're proud of your creation You've got the gall to call it reforms in the workplace When waging war on workers is a retrograde disgrace You want us cap in hand to crawl you're smug and mean and base You want our rights and hard earned gains to sink without a trace And hey now Peter this song's aiming at you too You're mean of spirit you and all your crew And that's why I'm wearing a black armband A black armband to demonstrate my stand A hundred and twenty years of public education Is being destroyed by your discrimination In favour of the rich or some denomination You call that a fair go it's an abomination There's now freedom of choice in our schooling so you say Who do you think you are fooling when most of us can't pay Then if funding the elite with our taxes is OK Then this nation will fall like a dingo stricken prey And hey there Johnny this song it is for you I see rack and ruin in all the things you do You can tell 'cause I'm wearing a black arm band For all those stolen generations you can't understand Well here's your report card you dont get many marks On greenhouse emissions and logging national parks At reconciliation you've chained up all our hearts You score a zero just a naught you get a buggery of arts Of liberty equality fraternity I didn't know Ownership of shares is democracy the way to go But on a privatised planet I guess it must be so Where any soul is bought and sold your marks are very low Well I know what you stand for will shrivel up and die We'll throw it overboard and that wont be a lie But until that day I wear a black armband In mourning for what you are doing right across the land But until that day I wear a black armband In mourning for what you are doing right across this right across this right across this right across this land Notes Thanks to John Hospodaryk for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Black Armband was one of nearly 100 songs entered in Wobbly Radio's 2002 union song competition and is on the MayDay MayDay CD John writes: "This is my homage to John Howard. When you said selling Telstra would make Australia the "world’s greatest share-owning democracy", you disenfranchised a large section of the population. When you set about to replace unions with Opposition of showing "the politics of envy" in its frankly lily-livered criticism of your nation-destroying education policy, you insulted the 70% of parents who send their children to public schools. When you criticised those historians (myself included) as having a "black armband view" because we choose to explore the oppression of the Aboriginal people, you offended the suffering of those people. This song, then, is an attempt to throw your remark right back in your face" (1) "Razor wire": type of wire used to surround detention centres for asylum seekers. (2) "Black armband": First coined by historian Geoffrey Blainey, and adopted by John Howard, this is a criticism of those historians who mention events and conditions like impoverishment, oppression and genocide as having occurred at some stage in Australia's past. Things that are just not nice. Things that fail to mention the achievements of great men. Things that fail to paint a rosy picture of life under conservative governments. To Howard, the "black armband" view of history is very ungrateful because conservatives , after all, were born to rule and know what is good for us. (3) "White picket financial security/Nuclear suburban nuclear family": Metaphoric reference to an 80s Federal election campaign by the Liberals which included a poster depicting a white middle class family standing in front of a prestigious heritage home...as if that was the typical Australian family! (4) "Incentivation": Campaign catchphrase used by John Howard in a federal election back in the 80s. You won't find the word in a dictionary, either! (5) "Peter": Howard's Treasurer, Peter Costello. It could just as easily be the disgraced former Defence Minister and Industrial Relations Minister, Peter Reith. (6) "you've chained up all our hearts": reference to Howard's use of Joe Cocker's song "Unchain My Heart" as a taxpayer-funded propaganda weapon to sell the GST to the electorate. (7) "I didn't know/Ownership of shares is democracy": When he suggested he would sell off Telstra, Howard asserted that it would make Australia "the greatest share-owning democracy in the world", thus disenfranchising, at least in spirit, not only any citizen who doesn't own shares, but also any citizen whose shares really don't add up to much. This is real pocket borough mentality! (8) "We'll throw it overboard and that won't be a lie": reference to the "children overboard" lie. John sings the song on the MUA Centenary CD "With These Arms" Audio I really do need to other things, but it's great fun mining "With These Arms" & Mark Gregory's Union songs. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 03:54 AM Bucket O’ Rust © John Hospodaryk 2002 Well hey ho you landlubbers here’s a tale of a ship of shame A leaky tub that’s manned by slaves and the Bucket O’ Rust is her name Bucket O’ Rust is her name The flag of convenience she flies the Jolly Roger of today With laundered money contraband and drugs and a crew that gets no pay A crew that gets no pay Well the Bucket O’ Rust is a grimy heap it’s a wonder that she can float And if she sinks you can’t escape you can’t launch the safety boats Launch her safety boats Her urinals are full of slime and scum but what’s even worse than that Is the rancid food in the galley must be shared with the roach and the rat You got to share it with the roach and the rat Well the Bucket O’ Rust is a great success she’s welcome in our ports She undercuts our local ships with her cheapness and her rorts Cheapness and her rorts Deregulated industry is her blood her life line You can be substandard and be a sweatshop and the government don’t mind No the government don’t mind Well sad to say the Bucket O’ Rust could this have been God’s will? On the Great Barrier Reef she ran aground with two crew members killed Two crew members killed And it took them twelve days to blast her away and free her from the reef And all through the time the oil she spilled it brought the sea to grief You know it brought the sea to grief It’s hard to believe that this story ends well and this great heap of shit The Minister of Transport saved the day when he issued a new permit (Spoken) – John Anderson was his name it’s a true story Our shipping must be competitive he said in the world economy So the Bucket O’ Rust continues to crawl like a coffin on the sea A coffin on the sea Yeah the Bucket O’ Rust continues to crawl Upon the grimy the sea Notes Many thanks to John Hospodaryk for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. This song won first prize in the 2002 MUA song competition. It is on the MUA centenary CD "With These Arms" Audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 03:50 AM The Pig-Iron Song, a song by Clem Parkinson ©1964 aka Pig Iron Bob on MUA Centenary CD "With These Arms" Did you ever stop to wonder why the fellows on the job Refer to Robert Menzies by the nickname Pig-Iron Bob? It's a fascinating tale though it happened long ago It's a part of our tradition every worker ought to know Chorus We wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan Despite intimidation we refused to lift the ban With democracy at stake the struggle must be won We had to beat the menace of the fascist Rising Sun It was 1937 and aggressive Japanese Attacked the Chinese people tried to bring them to their knees Poorly armed and ill equipped the peasants bravely fought While Australian water siders rallied round to lend support Attorney General Menzies said the ship would have to sail "If the men refuse to load it we will throw them into jail" But our unity was strong - we were solid to a man And we wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan For the Judas politicians we would pay a heavy price The jungles of New Guinea saw a costly sacrifice There's a lesson to be learned that we've got to understand Peace can only be secured when the people lend a hand Notes Many thanks to Clem Parkinson for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Clem sings the song on the MUA Centenary CD "With These Arms" Audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 03:46 AM Right That Time, A song by Maurie Mulheron ©1998 They speak about it proudly, it's now union folklore How wharfies wouldn't load any pig-iron for war Japan was a threat so they walked off the job They wouldn't help the fascists for old Pig-iron Bob Chorus: They were right that time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods Indonesia's young and fighting to be free But the Dutch had different plans for their former colony When the people rose up with freedom on their lips The wharfies stopped loading any Dutch bound ships Chorus: They were right that time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods Korea was in trouble, overrun by the Yanks Wharfies told to load rifles, guns and tanks Why get involved in this bloody civil war? We're not gonna ship any weapons anymore! Chorus: They were right that time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods Pig-iron Bob's back, says we're off to Vietnam Tugging his forelocks for good old Uncle Sam The seamen wouldn't work on the war ship 'Boonaroo' And the wharfies held the line when they sacked the ship's crew Chorus: They were right that time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods The struggle's moved on, mass sackings overnight The union's survival is the heart of the fight We'll defy your threats, your thugs and court We're standing united, no wharfie can be bought! Chorus: They were right that time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods History's on our side, we'll see this battle through There's too much at stake for the profits of the few Our fathers, before us, stood on every picket line Keep their mem'ries alive and we'll win every time. Last Chorus: They've been right ev'ry time and they're right again now But the strength of one isn't much of a power So united they stand against all odds Fighting for us all against the little tin gods Notes Maurie Mullheron emailed this song as the Wharfies were mobilising for a battle to defend their right to organise. Today (Feb 9th 1998), the attempt by the National Farmers Federation and its Federal Government backers to set up a non union wharf at Web Dock in Melbourne is the main front of the battle. Maurie's song is a timely reminder of how far back the battle extends. Maurie sings this song on the MUA Centenary CD "With These Arms" which I have, & there are lots of good songs on it. Audio |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 03:39 AM Green Bans Forever, A song by Mick Fowler ©1979 Mick Fowler, Tune: Waltzing Matilda Once some jolly squatters camped in Victoria Street There they lived for months on end They fought and struggled for the own community The rights of the tenants to defend Green Bans forever Green Bans Forever Green Bans forever in Victoria Street We sang as we hopped from chimney top to chimney top Green Bans forever in Victoria Street Down come the coppers mounted on their rescue vans Up come the thugs vans one two three We laughed as we struggled down behind the barricades You'll never drive us away said we Out come the squatters carried by the constables Into the wagon one two three The thugs with their crow bars smashed all the premises They cost 'em dough but the coppers come free Up jumped a squatter high into the chimney pot You'll have some trouble to get me said he His voice could be heard as the moon shone on the chimney top Green Bans forever in Victoria Street People of Sydney fighting for Victoria Street Should keep a watch by the Sycamore trees (spoken: they are Sycamores you know folks) And the Green Bans will stay on Bellows and their property Green Bans forever in Victoria Street ... Kings Cross the top of William Victoria Street forever hooray! Notes - This song was released as side 2 of a 45rpm 7" record in 1979 With Mick Fowler on vocals and a jazz band called Green Ban'd. Mick was a jazz musician and member of the SUA (Seamen's Union of Australia) who lived in Victoria Street Sydney. He was the last tenant to leave in 1979. correction - he left in 1976, & died in 1979 Mick Fowler monument, Butler Stairs, Victoria St inscription - Memorial plaque to Mick Flower Seaman, Musician & Green Ban Activist For his gallant stand against demolition of workers homes with the Builders Labourers Federation Green Bans They were hard old days, they were battling days, they were cruel times - but then In spite of it all Victoria Street will see low income housing for workers again. From his friends. I haven't walked down Victoria St for a few years, but when I did, I always smiled at that last line - low income housing didn't last in Victoria St or the Potts Point/Kings Cross area. There is a fair bit down the bottom of Butler Stairs in Wooloomooloo but it is mainly richer folk in the wider area. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Jan 21 - 03:06 AM THE TWO-STAR HOTEL Geoff Francis & Peter Hicks ©2006 "Dark as the dungeon" they sing in the song Where the miners alone know what really goes on On that day the earth shook and the mighty rocks fell One brave man was taken, two trapped there in hell. Above ground the families they wait and they wait In fear and in hope for some news of their fate The five longest days and nights ever passed by Till a voice shouted out, "Todd and Brant they're alive!" For day after day, they kept calm and stayed cool With jokes and bold laughter, oft playing the fool Two bravest of miners in that holiest of hell Union men bunkered in the "Two Star Hotel". Their rescuers ne'er faltered by day and by night Their own lives they risked with just one goal in sight The rocks that they fought were the hardest on earth All as one put their comrades before their own worth. There was no room to move, trapped down there in their cage Where each day that passed it seemed more like an age, Then an air hole gave food, a few comforts as well Country songs and Foo Fighters rang out in their cell. There's no flat screen TV there or in-house video And there's no satin sheets in that pit down below But you never could buy what they had in that cell That's the guts and mateship of the "Two Star Hotel". Seemed the Earth was determined to not let them go But these Tasmanian men had a few tricks to show The rescuers held firm, would not yield from their task And each one he gave more than could ever be asked. At the end of two weeks they stepped out and walked tall With a wave they clocked off, into lovin' arms to fall And to pay their respects to their comrade who fell So rejoice for the tenants of the "Two Star Hotel" Yes rejoice for the heroes of the "Two Star Hotel". There's no flat screen TV there or in-house video And there's no satin sheets in that pit down below But you never could buy what they had in that cell That's the guts and mateship of the "Two Star Hotel" That's the guts and mateship of the "Two Star Hotel". http://unionsong.com/u363.html audio link and lyrics from Mark Gregory’s excellent “Union Songs” website. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaconsfield_Mine_collapse details of the 2006 Tasmanian goldmine disaster, 40kms NW of Launceston, and a kilometre below the surface, caused by an earthquake-induced rockfall. ABC reports of Beaconsfield mining rescue “8 May - Late at night, a test probe is sent through the last metre of rock separating the men from their rescuers. The men say they can see the probe, and workers begin the final push. 9 May - 4:47am AEST - rescue workers use a hydraulic rock splitter, and finally break through to the two trapped men. They are brought to a crib at the 375-metre mark, where they prepare to reach the surface. At 6:00am AEST, Brant Webb and Todd Russell walk out of the mine and move their miners' tags to the 'safe' side of the board after their two-week ordeal.” R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 27 Jan 21 - 01:55 AM The F-111 by Lyell Sayer, Traditional (Johnny Lad) Now, Mr Robert Menzies was walking down the street, And thinking of our airforce which was mostly obsolete; "Our Canberra bombers are getting old as hell, I'd better call up Uncle Sam and see what he can sell." Chorus: Oh, the F-one-double one it is a lovely plane, It flies at twice the speed of sound and scatters bombs like rain, It's wings go back and forward, it's the latest thing around, It's a pity that it isn't safe to take it off the ground. He said to Uncle Sammy, "We want to buy a plane To save our lovely country from going down the drain; We want to scare some Asians, so see what you can do." The answer was, "Bob, buddy, we've got just the thing for you." Bob said, "We'll take two dozen." The plane they had to make, And soon they had one ready, its first flight for to take, It whistled down the runway with a dreadful roaring sound, And then broke up in little bits and fell back on the ground. They sent six off to Vietnam, the country to defend, To wipe out all the Viet Cong and cause the war to end, But Ho Chi Min said, "Comrades, don't waste our precious shells, These brand-new planes the Yankees have all fall down by themselves." Now years have come and years have gone, and we all still depend On our nice old Canberra bombers our country to defend; The plane's prices double every time one takes a spill, And if Sir Robert was still here, we'd make him pay the bill. And when they are all ready, and we have paid the fee, Our Generous Uncle Sammy will make delivery, But I doubt if it will be much good to him or you or I, At the present rate of accidents we've got a week's supply. notes - The General Dynamics F-111C was a controversial aircraft purchased by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1963. Problems began with a 10-year delay in delivery. For more, see Wikipedia video bio of Lyell Sayer - with pic of Martyn Wyndham Reed! with Collette & JohnH in the background, probably taken at the 2016 Bush Traditions Gathering the year Lyell also attended. I have a photo of a bloke who could be Lyell, for my own satisfaction I'll ask a friend who knew him in his younger days. extract from Warren Fahey's website re 60's revival - Lyell Sayer started singing and playing in public after attending the Emerald Hill concerts, and consciously patterned his style after Martyn Wyndham-Read. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 26 Jan 21 - 09:02 PM More Moondyne Joe songs! In 1969 the Bush Music Club received 2 songsheets from a West Wustralian member Moondyne Joe and other Sandgroper Ballads (1969) by L.G. Montgomery see images 9a & 9b for the lyrics & tune ... a variant of Johnny goes down to Hilo - I loved this shanty tune - above all others - as a boy out on Blackadder Creek, in Moondyne country. I remember singing 'the bathing beauty with the seaboots on' ... I contacted friends in WA but no-one knew Sandgroper, & he was not related to Roger, who wasn't aware of his songs when Mucky Duck sang about Moondyne Joe. sandra |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 26 Jan 21 - 08:09 PM Great stuff, R-J. You have been busy. I am fond of this one by Joe Daly. See Sandra's post with comments and links re Joe Daly on 30 October last year. I GUESS YOU HAVE (Joe Daly) I guess you've sat down in a strange pub in town And the locals are holdin' the floor The barman walks up with a ‘How are ya mate? I've never seen you here before Are you just travelling through, what work do you do?’ He takes in all what you can give, ‘Have you come very far, are you driving your car What's the name of the town where you live?’ As you drink the first glass he'll be certain to ask The highway or track that you took He heard on the news that there's thousands of roos And he tells me the potholes are crook The questions come strong, ‘Are you stayin' for long Are you married or just on the court Have you been to the war, what's that scar on your jaw?’ Then he asks of the team you support When the questions have rolled and your life story's told A new barman arrives on the shift You think it's all rosy but he's just as nosey And starts on the same lousy drift I head you know where for a breath of fresh air But find a new menace and strife, The bloke there beside me starts in how to guide me Away from the pitfalls of life So if ever in town and just looking around For a friend then there's likely as not Just slip into the pub, give the elbow a rub Of the barman, he'll tell you the lot Wherever you travel the barman unravels Your history in town or the scrub Some barmen need trimmin’, they talk worse than women Most rumours are born in the pub Oh, I guess you've sat down in a strange pub in town And the locals are holdin' the floor The barman walks up with a ‘How are ya mate? I've never seen you here before Are you just travelling through, what work do you do?" He takes in all what you can give Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 26 Jan 21 - 09:21 AM Two bushranging songs from Western Australia about one John Bolitho Johns: MOONDYNE JOE [1] Jenny Gaunt, c.2018 Joseph Johns (or “Moondyne Joe”) came on the ‘Pyrenees’ From Wales to West Australia in 1853 10 years for stealing food, his hungry mouth to feed The judge was tough who sentenced him: “A lesson to his breed” . CHORUS : Said Moondyne Joe: “You may be the boss, my friend, but you’re not the boss of me” ‘Cos all men want to be free. Joseph worked hard on the land with good behaviour true ‘Cos when you do that, they will hand a ticket of leave to you ‘Ticket of leave!’ he cried aloud, ‘I’m free again’ he sang ‘I’ll head inland to Toodyay and work as a bushman’. CH : Said Moondyne Joe …… Being good can be difficult when opportunity calls And unmarked cattle would be tempting to you all Arrested time and time again, the governor declared ‘If Joe escapes this gaol again, I swear he will be spared!’ CH : Said Moondyne Joe …… To be free of shackles, to live at liberty; Said all men want to be free Locked in Freo Gaol again, he just unscrewed the door And stole the judge’s thoroughbred, by god that man was sore Two years on the run and captured at an inn The promise stood and Joe was soon escaping once again. CH : Said Moondyne Joe …… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok_ReCWZar4 Jenny Gaunt A Perth, WA, singer-songwriter, Jenny is joined here by musicians Ash Wheeler (double bass, piano accordian), Alex Kent (percussion), Dan Walsh (banjo). MOONDYNE JOE [2] Roger Montgomery, c.1980 Come all you convicts bold and true and listen to my tale, Of a transportee who did refuse to stay in Fremantle Gaol Ten years was his sentence long, for the stealing he was taken, Of two cheeses and two loaves of bread and a piece of old chewed bacon. For serving ten years Joe was freed and he moved out of town, But only to be harmed by them who try to drag us down Arrested and then gaoled on suspicion of bush ranging, Joe says “Me boys, I’ll not stay here for another ten year’s caging”. CHORUS : “Away, Away, Moondyne Joe’s Away!” – the convicts smile, the screws they roar, “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” The traps they then took after Joe and brought him back to town, Sentenced him to full three years : “We’ll keep this bastard down!” But no evidence of bush ranging could those police find to charge him, Three years was the lesson, me boys, for trying to escape them. Again Joe served his time then left the gaol, the bars, and locks, Once again bold Joe was caught for the stealing of an ox Ten more years they sentenced him, he swore he would not stay, Four months later, hear the cry : “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” CH: “Away, Away, Moondyne Joe’s Away!” – the convicts smile, the screws they roar, “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” Again those traps they follow Joe; he’s got to finish time, Eleven years in gaol and one in irons, that magistrate did sign Moondyne Joe wrote out his case, pleading false arrest, That judge agreed, took off four years, but made him serve the rest. They built a special cell for him with a ring set in the floor, Ten bars upon the window, ten bolts upon the door Joe tried to escape again : “We’ll have him till he dies!”, He dug a hole just like a mole – and once again they cried : CH: “Away, Away, Moondyne Joe’s Away!” – the convicts smile, the screws they roar, “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” This time Joe took to bush ranging and “Bail Up!” was his call, For two short months he rode the bush until the traps did pall The bullets flew, a man went down, the police were armed too well, Once again bold Joe was caught and thrown back into gaol. He took a job in prison, lads, in the carpenter’s workshop, The warders caught him making a key for the front door lock Six more months in irons he got, in his special prison cell, In solitary confinement there, but his spirits never fell. An averter it was written out in Moondyne Joe’s own hand, Delivered to the Governor, seated in his house so grand Joe tells his own story and owned the law’s delay, The Governor’s written a pardon and it’s “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” CH: “Away, Away, Moondyne Joe’s Away!” – the convicts smile, the screws they roar, “Moondyne Joe’s Away!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mjq9dbT0hQ MUCKY DUCK BUSH BAND, 1980 [from “At Last! The Mucky Duck Album” The lineup at that time was : Davey Browne / Roger Montgomery (Composer) / Butch Hooper / Rob Kay / Jerry Everard] I note that the “Moondyne Joe” song and its Reprise, both written by Roger Montgomery (Music Roy Abbott), for the 1982 Perth musical-play of the same name, are not the same as that above. (I also note that a copy of the musical’s program/libretto is currently going on EBay for close to US$70 - Well, I still have my copy!!!) There are more songs about Moondyne Joe on YT by, for instance, Russell Morris, Johnny Ashcroft, Renegade, Ashlea Reale, et al. Plus there are some anonymous historical verses on some websites. e.g. Anonymous – sung by the public at the time of his 1867 escape[15] WIKI : The Governor's son has got the pip, The Governor's got the measles. For Moondyne Joe has give 'em the slip, Pop goes the weasel. See the history (and photo) of WA’s bushranger and escapeologist, John Bolitho Johns, 1826 – 1900 - aka “Moondyne Joe” : https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/history/the-convict-era/characters/moondyne-joe/ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moondyne_Joe_-_A_Picturesque_Outlaw - by Charles William Ferguson, 1928 Plus lots more stuff online…….. R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 25 Jan 21 - 08:15 PM NORTHERN GULF Sean Byrne / Ewan MacColl Come all you gallant fishermen That plough the stormy seas The whole year round On the fishing grounds, Chorus: In the northern Gulf In the Wessel Isles In the banks of the bays On the northern shore Where the prawning shoals are found. It's there you find the northern lads And the men from Mornington; There's Burly Blue And the men from Groote Chorus: In the.....etc From Albatross to Old Fog Bay From Weipa to Karumba town The fleet's away At the break of day Chorus: To the northern Gulf To the Wessel Isles To the banks of the bays On the northern shore Where the prawning shoals are found. They take their whole catch ashore Which they try to sell; There's shark and squid And tons of grubs Chorus: In the..... etc Thanks to Peter Bate for retrieving Sean’s lyrics from the early 1980s! Tune : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7wJxRl2n0s NORTH SEA HOLES - Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger (from 1983 x LP “Freeborn Man”) (I've yet to find, then digitise, a cassette tape with Tropical Ear's singing of this!) TROPICAL EAR Darwin’s Troppos were much of the backbone of the Top End folk music scene in the 1980s. Apparently starting in 1983 with 5 potential members, they quickly coalesced into a trio of multi instrumentalists who all sang both lead and harmony, and with a large and popular repertoire. Regular performers at the TEFC’s famous Gun Turret venue and around festivals and events, they were : Peter Bate / Sean Byrne / Leonie Carville. R-J |
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