Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 03:30 AM Thanks Sandra - knew you'd come through with the goods!! R-J :) |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 04 Oct 20 - 03:24 AM days ago Rich-Joy referred to My Old Black Billy - a song I vaguely remember my father singing I think this song (once presumed traditional) was written by Edward Harrington and was featured in the famous “Reedy River” Aussie musical of 1953. One source has a Roy Jeffries writing the chune, but I have others that state Edith Harrhy – I dunno, but Catter, Sandra-in-Sydney, will no doubt have all The Gen. As I said in all my decades in Libraries - I know all the answers as long as you ask the right question, of course, occasionally my reply was - Wrong question!, but not for this one. this article was one of many treasure in BMC archives How the "anonymous folk song" My Old Black Billy came to be in Reedy River page from the first Sydney Reedy River songbook with the answer - Ron Jeffries sandra |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 03:24 AM DOWN IN THE GOLDMINE Words: Unknown / Tune: Joseph Bryan Geoghegan Researched and arranged: John Thompson Coolgardie folk remember well, the torrent from the sky Westralia's tunnels took the flood, men were forced to fly It chilled the blood to have to hear the wailing whistle blow As miner Vareschetti lay, a thousand feet below. CH. It's down in the goldmine, underneath the ground Floods are apt to fill the mine, men are apt to drown Dare the dark and the dreary water, send a diver down Deep down in the gold mine, underneath the ground. They heard a hammer down below and ran to break the news To dare the gloomy catacomb, they sent for diver Hughes It's half a hope or sudden death, no are you game to go Where miner Vareschetti lies, a thousand feet below. Fremantle found the diving gear, a train began to roar The engine got the right of way, a hundred miles or more It hit the track at 65 and it set the night aglow Where miner Vareschetti lay, a thousand feet below. A million gallons rose above the captive in the cave Then diver Hughes, he brought him up and he left an empty grave And life can keep a lamp alight if we are game to go Where miner Vareschetti lay, a thousand feet below. Cloudy John says : “A song I found in a folio entitled, Moondyne Joe and Other Sandgroper Ballads. It is a parody of a music hall song, Down in the Coal Mine. This link is to the story which I first read about the rescue of this Italian miner from a flooded goldmine in the desert in 1907 : https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-great-survival-20060506-gdnhry.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 Enquiries around the folk scene in Australia have not revealed the songwriter's name. Any advice would be appreciated.” This recording taken from CLOUDSTREET’s album, “The Circus of Desires” : http://ozfolksongaday.blogspot.com/search?q=Down+in+the+Goldmine Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 03:07 AM Dance Up The Sun (John Thompson) Dance up the sun on a fine May morning, Dance up the sun to call in the Spring, Dance away the dark while the new day's dawning, All is new when we dance and we sing. Ch. And the bells will ring when the morris men come, As we call in the Spring and we dance up the sun. The bells will ring when the morris men come, As we call in the Spring and we dance up the sun. Gather in the dark, recall the Winter Celebrate the tales that the old ones bring The music rises with the first light's gleaming, The dawn will break and the bells will ring. Form the lines and turn together Hear the clash of the staff as we shout and we sing, The tunes all sound to the tattercoat's flying, We call up the light as the day comes in. Ancient ways with the season's turning, The passing years see the dance go on We sing the past as we dance to the future We celebrate the year with the dawn of the sun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtiKW32aVAE CLOUDSTREET from “Dance Up the Sun” CD. Nic (Nicole Murray, one half (and now one third) of the renowned Cloudstreet, with John Thompson) dances with SE Qld’s Belswagger Morris side and they are usually all to be found on the 1st May, Dancing Up the Sun on top of Brisbane’s Mt Coo-tha. Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 01:10 AM My finger slipped to the "submit" button before I had finished! Just wanted to explain re Paul's song above : "We're All Boat People", that the Liberal/Country parties have done their darnedest over the years to make the average Aussie believe that anyone arriving by sea, (particularly those "Refugees" - quelle horreur!) are illegal and undeserving and should quite properly be held in detention forever and a day. But this thread is "above the line" so I'll say no more!! R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 12:54 AM We're All Boat People" (~ a gentle history lesson / social commentary for Australians ~) by Paul Lawler The rain on the Ark went pitter-pat There’s one more river to cross Noah got stuck on Ararat There’s one more river to cross Chorus We’re all boat people We’re all boat people together We’re all boat people There’s one more river to cross Way back in 1493 Columbus hit the West Indies Magellan in 1521 Circumnavigation ( sir - cum - navvy - gay - shy - on ) Sir Francis Drake - new lands to find Floated away on the Golden Hind Tasman was Abel company He had a mania for the sea 1770 ropes belayed Anchored Cook in Botany Bay alternative ending, depending upon your audience!! The **Liberal Government’s full o’pricks Take them o’er the River Styx **of course this refers to the political Liberal Party down in Oz!! Paul Lawler, 2002 He based his chune on "One More River to Cross" (NO, not the gospel number!!) This here is the closest I have found to that which he sang (as I have no recording :( and strangely, very few sing this particular melody (but it's also the one I recall from my childhood) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0dk-cv1Cy8 Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Oct 20 - 12:25 AM Albany Emigrants Trad, arr. Ferguson & Roche We sailed from Cork on a windy day, with a dark and a cloudy sky Our friends were standing on the quay, the women stood and cried But we were young and out for fun and the riches we could find So lift your glass and drink a toast to the girls we’ll leave behind. Ch. Oh Paddy dear, drink up your beer, we're leaving in the morn Aboard the ship, the Alice Grey - for West Australia, Round the Horn. Our brother Jack was a sailor man, with the Black Ball Line He jumped his ship in Albany and now he's doing fine And the letter that he wrote to us said “come out and join me here” So we're off to Albany in the morn without a doubt or fear. Jack has a farm near Albany with livestock by the score He says the trees near touch the sky, King Karri, so we're told And sailing ships arrive each day with diggers off for gold And a hundred whales are plainly seen to frolic in the Sound. And now we're under way me boys, the ship's bell loudly sounds The quay is now well out of sight and we are seaward bound And as we round Passage West the good ship gives full sail And a parting glass to Erin's Isle from the swaying ship-deck rail. Another top little number from The Settlers 1979 LP for West Aussie’s sesquicentennial celebrations. Here is their rendering :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3OgLRa4YdY “West Australia, Round the Horn” here refers to the southern most tip of WA - Cape Leeuwin - which has something of a reputation and was known to early sailors as the “Cape Horn of Australia”. Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 03 Oct 20 - 10:49 PM GOORIANAWA (Duke Tritton) I’ve been many years a shearer and fancied I could shear, I’ve shorn for Rouse of Guntawang and always missed the spear I’ve shorn for Nicholas Bayleyand I declare to you That on his pure merinos I could always struggle through. Chorus But oh my, I never saw before The way we had to knuckle down at Goorianawa I’ve been shearing down the Bogan as far as Dandaloo For good old Reid of Tabratong I’ve often cut a few Haddon Rig and Quambone and even Wingadee I could close my shears at six o’clock with a quiet century Chorus I’ve been shearing on the Goulburn side and down at Douglas Park Where every day ‘twas ‘Wool Away!’ and Toby did his work I’ve shorn for General Stewart whose tomb is on The Mount And the sprees I’ve had with Scrammy Jack are more than I could count Chorus I’ve shorn for Bob McMaster down on the Rockedgiel Creek And I could always dish him up with thirty score a week I’ve shore at Terramungamine, and on the Talbraga And I ran McDermott for the cobbler when we shore at Buckingbar Chorus I’ve been shearing at Eugowra – I’ll not forget the name Where Gardiner robbed the escort which from the Lachlan came I’ve shorn for Bob Fitzgerald down at the Dabee Rocks, McPhillamy of Charlton and Mister Henry Cox Chorus But that was in the good old days – you might have heard them say How Skillycorn from Bathurst rode to Sydney in a day Now I'm broken-mouthed and my shearing's at an end And though they call me Whalebone, I was never known to bend But spare me flamin’ days, I never saw before The way we had to knuckle down at Goorianawa As recorded by Martyn Wyndham-Read on ‘Beneath a Southern Sky’. Martyn’s note: I obtained the text from the John Meredith book on Duke called ‘Duke of the Outback’. As Meredith says in his book ‘Duke’s notes on the song almost constitute an outback social history’. My attraction to it is two-fold. I did a tour with Duke Tritton in the early 1960s along with other singers and it was truly an experience to have been in the company of this man. Also, in the second verse, it mentions Haddon Rig. The sheep and cattle station I worked on, Emu Springs in South Australia, was a subsidiary of Haddon Rig. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 10:44 PM LEAVING MY HOMELAND by Noel Gardner I’ve ridden all that outback and walked those dusty roads I’ve seen my aspirations disappear My father pushed the mulga like his father did before My family worked this land for sixty years. Drought flood and fire on the sunburnt ravished block We thought we could tame this last frontier But foreclosure and nature it takes its toll my friend A generations fold of mother’s tears. Ch. I am leaving my homeland, I am waving goodbye I am holding onto memories, as that gate disappears from my eye Another day another hope another clear blue sky Another round of ravished stock to feed A prayer a thought nostalgia, is etched upon my lines Of ten years of faded hopes and dreams. Chorus This naked land was taken, possession was the law King and country immigrant pioneers But there are still laws of nature out on those western plains As overstocked pastures disappear. Chorus Noel Gardner copyright (Corrugated Music) I can’t find this country-folk number to hear online, unfortunately (and it’s good to sing along with!), though the 1994 CD “Justicce & Pride” is still for sale. (some other compositions by Noel and friends are available to listen to, though…….) https://www.noelgardner.com/pages/justice.html Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 10:07 PM FOR NEARLY 60 YEARS, I’VE BEEN A FOLKIE By Bob Townshend For nearly sixty years, I’ve been a Folkie Festivals and concerts, sat through plenty In this country’s clubs and pubs, I’ve shed tears and coughed up blood The things some people smoke Make me queasy. I found an old guitar when I was twenty I’d learned to play three chords when I was thirty D and A and G, They were good enough for me Didn’t practise anymore They were easy. In 1974, I went to Darwin Heard there was a very active folk scene I didn’t stay too long, When I woke the house was gone And my guitar blown away It was breezy. To the National in North Queensland, made my own way My guitar is buried by Kuranda’s railway The train driver was a mate, Let me ride on the footplate My guitar slid to its fate The floor was greasy. Young people of today despise The Folkie With our Fal-de-Lal –de-La’s, they think we’re crazy But their swearing and hip-hop, And their bland suburban rock Won’t last two hundred years Because it’s sleazy. For nearly 60 years, I’ve been a Folkie Sung so much my voice is getting croaky But I strum my old guitar, And dream that I’m a star My song is nearly over now Now I’m easy. This song’s really over now Now I’m wheezy ..... Yes, it’s really over now, Now I’m wheezy ..... “Yorkie Bob” was last heard of living in the chilly Stanthorpe region near Qld’s border with NSW. He says this was written with apologies to Eric Bogle, but that “It was all Roger’s fault” (i.e. Roger Holmes aka Catter “Hrothgar”!) Eric’s poignant song “Now I’m Easy” was, I thought, posted at the beginning of this thread, but maybe not??? Anyway, here is a version by Scots-Canadian singer, Jim Brannigan, for your chune : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0MiB4RNCs Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 03 Oct 20 - 09:59 PM OUR JACK (Anon) Our Jack's come out of jail today To Pentridge he has been For many a day he's been away His face we ne'er have seen MacMannamy arrested Jack And with a gentle jerk Pounced down upon our old friend Jack With jemmy hard at work Chorus (after each verse): Our Jack's come home today Our Jack's come home today Quite wan and pale from out of jail Our Jack's come home today Our Jack came out of jail today And ain’t his Polly glad She had to pawn the things he'd shook And found that she’d been had The price she got it weren't enough To keep her for a day But all is past, she's right at last Our Jack's come home today When Jack came out of quad today We had a glorious spree And did a tour of Melbourne pubs As jovial as could be With wine and beer and brandy punch We started out ad lib When Jack proposed a partnership To crack another crib With jemmies and with skeleton keys Of cribs we went in search But seeing Dave O'Donnell there We left Jack in the lurch Undaunted Jack he set to work Another crib to crack O'Donnell like a ton of bricks Came down to lumber Jack Final chorus Our Jack's gone back today Our Jack's gone back today White wan and pale back into gaol Our Jack's gone back today Recorded on Danny Spooner 'Bold Brave Boys' It was collected by Joy Durst and Ron Edwards in August 1956 from a Mr R. Ure of Gembrook, Victoria. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 09:33 PM TOMORROW, I’m Going Down to Sydney By Chris Buch Tomorrow, I’m going down to Sydney In the morning, they’ll see me city-bound Tomorrow, I’m going down to Sydney In the hope, that you’ll still be around. You used to lie beside me in the morning Your eyes still closed, your hair all tumbling down Then one day, without a word of warning You packed your bags, and headed for the town. I still have, your picture and your letters When I read them now, they cause a bit of pain You won’t find anyone, to love you better And I ask you, won’t you try me once again. I know you wanted, what I couldn’t give you Fancy clothes and shiny silver rings But the love I have inside of me to give you Is worth more, than all those fancy things. Tomorrow, I’m going down to Sydney In the morning, they’ll see me city bound Tomorrow, I’m going down to Sydney In the hope, that you’ll still be around. Tomorrow, I’m going down to Sydney………. I haven’t found this online, but one day I may come across a recording of Chris, or even Paul Lawler, singing it at the Gun Turret in Darwin ..... The late Chris Buch (born London 1936 – died Brisbane 2016), founder of the Mt Isa Folk Club, The Rafferty Band (aka Rafferty’s Rules) and others (e.g. Rantan, in Brisbane), author of “Johnny Stewart, Drover” (posted Aug 20th by Stewie), “Australia Two” and others, trad jazz lover/player, also wrote his biography Hello Sunshine (A Blitz Kid’s Journey to the Sunshine State) in 2011. Cheers, R-J Haha! Just found it on YT under “The Rafferty Band” – their only LP, from 1984 – GO TO 34:00 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5RnWcAVuCo |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 09:37 AM The Wallaby Track One morning I rolled up the few things I'd got And I strapped to my saddle my quart and pint pot And I told the boss, I said I'd soon be back I was off for a trip on the wallaby track, Oh the morning was fine, though it blew rather cold And the sun was just topping the mountains with gold And my favourite old dingo travelling close to the back And he knew we were off on the wallaby track. Ch. With me tooraleye, ooraleye, tooraleye ooral, With me tooraleye, ooraleye, tooraleye -aye. We'd a fair way to go to an old camping place So we're rattling along at a pretty good pace Where friends we would meet when provisions were slack And they all live close by to the wallaby track, Oh well we hadn't gone very far I suppose When we met with the girl who said, "G'day Joe" I said, "You're mistaken, my name it is Jack" "And I'm off for a trip on the wallaby track". She said, "Get off your horse and rest yourself now" "Did you see on your travels me old Poland cow?" "You remember the one that we used to call Black" "I'm afraid she has gone on the wallaby track", So I got off my horse and I patted my dog And we both sat together on the stringybark log And I made up the fire and I ratted the pack And we both had a meal on the wallaby track. So we sat in the shade of the stringy bark tree As fine a young girl as you ever did see She asks where I'm going; when will I be back And why am I off on the wallaby track, So I told her then I was looking for a wife And would she take on a partner for life And like a sensible girl, well, she said "It's a whack" That was the end of my trip on the wallaby track. A favourite as sung by '80s Top Enders "Tropical Ear", but in the absence of their rendition online, here is John Thompson's somewhat different version : http://ozfolksongaday.blogspot.com/2012/01/wallaby-track.html Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 09:11 AM LIFE IS CHANGE by Paul Lawler A caterpillar chews along a new leaf A bird lands on a twig just nearby And the game of life is played among the branches Blessed with fruit we lose a butterfly. Ch. Life is change, Life is change, The only permanent thing about Life is change. Life is change, Change, is Life, The only permanent thing about Life is change. A seed lies dormant on the forest litter It seems, that only chance surrounds its fate But, before this seed can take up water It may need a fire to germinate. Chorus Springtime melts the icecap on the mountains Rushing waters, form an ox-bow way downstream And maybe in a thousand years or later Where waters meet an island will be seen. Chorus Middle 8 No one reads the same book We all colour words we say Sometimes we read in black and white what’s Meant in shades of grey Meant in shades of grey Sunbeams chase the rainbows o’er the green hills Lightning strikes and flashes all around Clouds descend and block out the horizon Paradise is lost, but also found. Chorus Paul wrote this song in 2004, adapting Coope, Boyes and Simpson’s “Thurnscoe Rain” - which is a Ray Hearne composition where the melody is based upon Colohan’s classic “Galway Bay” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MksRyIKjSLg It was only performed once, by Work in Progress, just after writing, and is partly recorded here : GO TO 02:18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCxx1-vrJfY&t=321s Apologies for the rendition, but, the whole performance in this venue was just not a comfortable gig, and it shows ………………… :( Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 07:30 AM MY OLD BLACK BILLY I've humped my bluey in all the states With my old black billy the best of mates, For years I've camped and toiled and tramped Over roads that are rough and hilly, With my highly sensible, indispensable, Old Black Billy Ch. My old black billy, my old black billy whether the wind is warm or chilly I always find when shadows fall My old black billy's the best mate of all. I've carried my swag on the parched Paroo Where water is scarce and the houses few, On many a track on the great outback Where the heat would drive you silly, I've carried my sensible, indispensable, Old Black Billy. When my tramping days are o'er And I drop my swag at the Golden Door, Saint Peter will stare when he sees me there Then he'll say, "Poor wandering Willie, Come in with your sensible, indispensable, Old Black Billy." Like with a lot of songs, I can’t find my preferred version that’s in my memory, but here is one from “Me 'n Me Mates” who seem to be a trio of blokes from South Australia : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atuHbdlfcaU I think this song (once presumed traditional) was written by Edward Harrington and was featured in the famous “Reedy River” Aussie musical of 1953. One source has a Roy Jeffries writing the chune, but I have others that state Edith Harrhy – I dunno, but Catter, Sandra-in-Sydney, will no doubt have all The Gen. Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 06:33 AM HERE’S TO THE SINGER ~ Jeff Corfield, c.1997 There’s songs that are written and songs that are played To keep the cash registers ringing, But give me a song that the people have made A song that’s been made for the singing, There’s songs about work and there’s songs about play There’s songs about struggle and glory Ah give me a song where the folk have their say A song that can tell us a story. Ch. So here’s to the singers and here’s to the songs That down through the decades come ringing, May the gift of your tunes WITH the people belong And long may the people keep singing Be you Paddy from Ireland or Joe from Geelong Be you Russian or French or Swahili The people have long put their lives into song With a passion delivered so freely For a song is a wild bird, a song is a dove That soars in the heavens before us With the laughter, the freedom, the joy and the love Of humanity woven in chorus. CHORUS In times when this world’s full of trouble and pain And freedoms long fought for are waning Just remember those struggles that led to the gains And the songs that recall the campaigning For a song on its own cannot right all that’s wrong One singer, the storm cannot weather But the people united will always be strong Whether working or singing together. CHORUS So sing us a song about hauling a rope Sing of a sloop that’s still sailing Sing us a song, full of life, full of hope Pete : long may your banjo keep frailing Sing of one people, the whole world around And the joys of those freedom bells ringing May the songs that you taught us forever resound And long may the people keep singing. CHORUS x 2 A note to me from Jeff says : "I wrote it originally in honour of Pete Seeger’s 80th birthday, in May 1999, after we had visited him following our week on The Clearwater back in 1997. So, in one sense it’s a bit specific (2nd verse reference to Swahili is a Seeger in-joke and also last verse reference to The Clearwater), though I also wrote it as a celebration of all the songs and singers we love. Like many of my efforts it’s a bit sentimental and clichéd, and the tune “adapted” from a hotch-potch of traditional songs (esp “All the Good Times”!), but the chorus is robust and folks seem to like it. What it really needs is to grow, change and adapt, in true folk style, to become more generic, so I pass it on to you with that in mind." Jeff Corfield 03.05.1999 Jeff is a singer / songwriter / collector / musician / researcher / writer / scientist / proud family man - and more! - now of Townsville, Qld, but originally from Sydney - Perth - Kununurra - Darwin, too! Sorry, I can't find the song on-line; the tape is here somewhere though ....... :) Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 03 Oct 20 - 06:15 AM MALENY WASHING LINE by Paul Lawler, 1999 I love the cool, south easterly breeze Green rolling hills, and lots of trees, I would go out, I’ve washed my hair But alas I have, not a thing to wear. It’s one more day, on Maleny’s Washing Line. The finest silks, I wore with class Now lie in tatters on the grass, My towels that fresh, from soap and sud Are lying now, in pools of mud. It’s one more day, on Maleny’s Washing Line. Last night it blew, such a heavy gale My undies now, are in Conondale, I thought I’d seen, it all by far Till I spied a cow, in a D cup bra. It’s one more day, on Maleny’s Washing Line. My clothes were white, in the washing machine Now on the line, they turn to green, I think I’ll burn, them in the fi-yer And invest in, tumble dryer. It’s one more day, on Maleny’s ... Washing ... Line. Paul wrote this to Cyril Tawney's "Grey Funnel Line", sung here in harmony by June Tabor & Maddy Prior (Silly Sisters) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHOokpi9hUw We never ceased to be amazed that, after moving from the hot and lush Tropics in flat, coastal Darwin, NT, to the cooler Sub-Tropics of the inland, forested, hills and dales of Maleny, Qld, we were beset by both mould and cobwebs (plus leeches and ticks and funnel web spiders), like never before - and rain that often lasted days without letup!!! ....... Pretty but. Cheers, R-J :) |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 02 Oct 20 - 11:13 PM THE OLD AUSTRALIAN WAYS (Paterson/Hallom) The London lights are far abeam Behind a bank of cloud Along the shore the gaslights gleam The gale is piping loud And down the Channel, groping blind We drive her through the haze Towards the land we left behind The good old land of `never mind' And old Australian ways The city folk go to and fro Behind a prison's bars They never feel the breezes blow They never see the stars And all our roads are new and strange As through our blood there runs The wanderer’s love of change That drove us westward of the range And westward of the suns Our fathers came of roving stock That could not fixed abide So we have followed field and flock Since e'er we learnt to ride By mining camp and shearing shed In days of heat and drought We followed where our fortunes led With fortune always on ahead And always farther out So cast the weary pen aside And let the papers rest We must saddle up and ride Towards the blue hill's breast We must travel far and fast Across their rugged maze To find the spring of youth at last And call back from the buried past The old Australian ways. And if it be that you would know Where Clancy used to ride You must saddle up and go Beyond the Queensland side Beyond the reach of rule or law You ride the long day through In nature's homestead filled with awe You then might see what Clancy saw And know what Clancy knew Hallom's adaptation of another Paterson poem. Youtube clip Poem --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 02 Oct 20 - 10:53 PM THE LIGHTS OF COBB AND CO (Lawson/Hallom) Fire lighted, on the table a meal for sleepy men A lantern in the stable, a jingle now and then The mail coach looming darkly by light of moon and star The growl of sleepy voices, a candle in the bar A stumble in the passage of folk with wits abroad A swear word from the driver, the shout of ‘All aboard!’ ‘Git-up! ‘Hold fast there!’ and down the range we go One hundred miles will see tonight the lights of Cobb and Co Chorus Past the haunted halway houses where the convicts laid the stones The scrub yards and the bark huts where the shearers made their homes Through stringybark and blue gum and box and pine we go One hundred miles will see tonight the lights of Cobb and Co Past old coaching towns already decaying for their sins Uncounted halfway houses and scores of ten-mile inns The riders from the stations by the lonely granite peaks The black-boys for the shepherds by sheep and cattle creeks The roaring camps of Gulgong, and many a digger’s rest The diggers on the Lachlan, the huts out farthest west Some twenty thousand exiles who sailed for weal or woe The bravest hearts of twenty lands will watch for Cobb and Co Chorus The morning star has vanished now, the frost and fog are gone It’s one of those grand mornings which but on mountains dawn A flask of friendly whisky and each other’s hopes we share And throw our top-coats open wide and take the mountain air The roads are rare to travel and life seems all complete The grind of wheels on gravel, the trot of horses’ feet The trot, trot, trot and canter as down the spur we go The green sweeps to horizons blue that call for Cobb and Co Chorus We take a bright girl actress through the western dust and damps To bear the home-world message and sing for miners’ camps To stir our hearts and break them, wild hearts that hope and ache And when she thinks again of these, her own must surely break Five miles this side the goldfield, a loud, triumphant shout Five hundred cheering miners have snatched the horses out With an ‘Auld Lang Syne’ in chorus through roaring camps they go That cheer for her, and cheer for home, and cheer for Cobb and Co Chorus Swift scramble up the hillside where teams climb inch by inch Pausing bird-like on the summit, then breakneck down the pinch By the clear, ridge-country rivers and hills where tracks run high Where waits the lonely horseman cut clear against the sky Across the swollen river a flash beyond the ford Ride hard to warn the driver, he’s drunk or mad, good lord It’s on the bank and westward with a broad and cheerful glow New camps extend across the plains the routes of Cobb and Co Chorus Hallom made the Lawson poem into a fine song, including the creation of a chorus from scattered lines. Youtube clip Poem |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 02 Oct 20 - 10:37 PM KNOCKED UP (Lawson/Wyndham-Read) I'm lyin' on this barren ground that's baked and cracked with drought And don’t know if my legs or back or heart is most wore out I've got no spirit left to raise and ease my achin' brow I'm too knocked up to light a fire and boil the billy now A long dry stretch of thirty miles I've tramped this broiling day All for the off-chance of a job a hundred miles away There's twenty hungry beggars wild for any work this year And maybe fifty at the sheds while I am lying here The sinews in my legs seem drawn, red hot and that's the truth I seem to weigh a ton, and ache like one tremendous tooth I'm stung between my shoulder blades, my blessed back seems broke I'm too knocked up to eat a bite, I’m too knocked up to smoke The blessed rains are coming too, there's oceans in the sky And I suppose I should get up and rig that blasted fly The heat is bad, the food is bad, the flies a crimson curse Mosquitoes damned, the water’s bad, but rheumatism's worse I don’t know why poor blokes like me will cling so hard to breath Though Shakespeare says it is a thing we fear after death And though eternity be cursed by God's almighty curse Whatever that same somethin' is I swear it can't be worse Martyn Wyndham-Read's adaptation of the Lawson poem. He has omitted several stanzas. Youtube clip Full poem: Click --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 01 Oct 20 - 10:12 PM TAUMARUNUI (Peter Cape) I’m an ordinary joke, growin’ old before me time ‘Cause me heart’s in Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line Taumarunui, Taumarunui Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line You can get to Taumarunui going north or going south And you end up their at midnight and there’s cinders in your mouth You got cinders in your whiskers and a cinder in your eye So you hop off for refreshments, for a cuppa tea and pie Taumarunui, Taumarunui Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line There's a sheila in Refreshments and she's pouring cups'a tea And me heart jumps like a rabbit when she pours a cup for me She's got hair a flamin' yeller and a mouth a flamin' red And I'll love that flamin' sheila till I'm up and gone and dead In Taumarunui, Taumarunui Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line You can get a job in Wellington or get a job up north But you can't in Taumarunui though you try for all you're worth If I want to see this shiela, then I've got to take a train Get ten minutes for Refresments then they cart me off again From Taumarunui, Taumarunui Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line Well they took me on as fireman on the Limited Express And I thought that she'd be jake but now she's all a flamin' mess That shiela wouldn't take to me - I thought she'd be a gift She's gone and changed her duty hours and works the daylight shift From Taumarunui, Taumarunui Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line I’m an ordinary joke, growin’ old before me time ‘Cause me heart’s in Taumarunui on the Main Trunk line For info on this song: Click Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 01 Oct 20 - 10:01 PM SHE’LL BE RIGHT (Peter Cape) When you're huntin' in the mountains And your dogs put up a chase And this porker's comin' at you And he doesn't like your face And you're runnin' and he's runnin' And he's crowdin' on the pace Don't worry mate, she'll be right She'll be right, mate, she'll be right Don't worry mate, she'll be right You can get your feed of pork When he slows down to a walk So don't worry mate, she'll be right When you're loggin' on the saddle And you're drivin' down the bluff With a thousand feet of timber Bouncin' right behind your chuff And the clutch has started slippin' And the brakes are worse than rough Don't worry mate, she'll be right She'll be right, mate, she'll be right Don't worry mate, she'll be right If you give all you can give her She'll just fly into the river So don't worry mate, she'll be right When you've walked out on the missus And you've gone to watch the race And you took her shopping money And you didn't get a place And you're comin' home flat stoney And she sees it in your face Don’t worry mate, she’ll be right She'll be right, mate, she'll be right Don't worry mate, she'll be right You can save a lot of trouble If you say you won the double So don't worry mate, she'll be right When you've had yer copper goin' And you've boiled a ton of hops And you've brewed your brew And bottled 'er and hammered on the tops And your missus keeps on askin' Where you left your footy socks Don't worry mate, she'll be right She'll be right, mate, she'll be right Don't worry mate, she'll be right Shove a shot o' metho in And you'll swear you're drinkin' gin So don't worry mate, she'll be right When they've finished off yer forwards And yer backs are wearin' thin And the second spell's half over And you've forty points to win And this hulkin' wing-three-quarter's Got his teeth stuck in your shin Don't worry mate, she'll be right She'll be right, mate, she'll be right Don't worry mate, she'll be right You won't worry who's the loser When you meet them down at the boozer So don't worry mate, she'll be right Peter Cape was a Kiwi treasure. His 'Stable Lad' is posted above. 'She'll be right' was a great favourite. For a variety of additions since this 1955 original: Click Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 01 Oct 20 - 02:54 AM SOMETIME LOVING By Gary Shearston I don't want your sometime lovin' That falls like summer's rain Coz I've slept through two long winters And love's been where my head has lain. When you’ve travelled with the North wind Blowing on your window pane When you’ve found the warmth she brings you Come and find me once again. And when you've wandered through the snowfall Through the pines on which she's lain When you've seen the way she holds them Come and hold me once again. And when you've heard a river laughing As she bends the rocks and sand Seen her wave crossing an ocean Come and take me by the hand. And when you've seen a hungry grassland Reach out to kiss the rain When you've seen how strong her kiss is Come and kiss me once again. And when the earth has turned her season And her love has brought the grain If you find that love inside you Come and live with me again. The late Gary Shearston’s 1967 rendition : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb4nd5lryAU A long-time favourite and possessed of a timeless beauty, I feel. Apparently when Peter, Paul & Mary sang it in concert in Australia, they introduced it as “the most beautiful song that has ever been written” …… Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Sep 20 - 11:56 PM HOW GILBERT DIED (Paterson/Roweth) There's never a stone at the sleeper's head There's never a fence beside And the wandering stock on the grave may tread Unnoticed and undenied But the smallest child on the Watershed Can tell you how Gilbert died For he rode at dusk with his comrade Dunn To the hut at the Stockman's Ford In the waning light of the sinking sun They peered with a fierce accord They were outlaws both and on each man's head Was a thousand pounds reward They had taken toll of the country round And the troopers came behind With a black who tracked like a human hound In the scrub and the ranges blind He could run the trail where a white man's eye No sign of track could find He had hunted them out of the One Tree Hill And over the Old Man Plain But they wheeled their tracks with a wild beast's skill And they made for the range again Then away to the hut where their grandsire dwelt They rode with a loosened rein And their grandsire gave them a greeting bold "Come in and rest in peace No safer place does the country hold With the night pursuit must cease And we'll drink success to the roving boys And to hell with the black police." But they went to death when they entered there In the hut at the Stockman's Ford For their grandsire's words were as false as fair They were doomed to the hangman's cord He had sold them both to the black police For the sake of the big reward In the depth of night, there are forms that glide As stealthily as serpents creep And around the hut where the outlaws hide They plant in the shadows deep And they wait till the first faint flush of dawn Shall waken their prey from sleep. But Gilbert wakes while the night is dark A restless sleeper aye He has heard the sound of a sheep dog's bark, And his horse's warning neigh And he says to his mate, "There are hawks abroad And it's time that we went away." Their rifles stood at the stretcher head Their bridles lay to hand They wakened the old man out of his bed When they heard the sharp command "In the name of the Queen ,lay down your arms, Now, Dunn and Gilbert, stand!" Then Gilbert reached for his rifle true That close at hand he kept He pointed straight at the voice and drew But never a flash out-leapt For the water ran from the rifle breech It was drenched while the outlaws slept Then he dropped the piece with a bitter oath And he turned to his comrade Dunn "We are sold," he said, "we are dead men both Still, there may be a chance for one I'll stop and I'll fight with the pistol here You take to your heels and run." So Dunn crept out on his hands and knees In the dim, half-dawning light And he made his way to a patch of trees And was lost in the black of night And the trackers hunted his tracks all day But they never could trace his flight But Gilbert walked from the open door In a confident style and rash He heard at his side the rifles roar And he heard the bullets crash But he laughed as he lifted his pistol hand, And he fired at the rifle flash Then out of the shadows the troopers aimed At his voice and the pistol sound With rifle flashes the darkness flamed He staggered and spun around And they riddled his body with rifle balls As it lay on the blood-soaked ground. There's never a stone at the sleeper's head There's never a fence beside And the wandering stock on the grave may tread Unnoticed and undenied But the smallest child on the Watershed Can tell you how Gilbert died Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Sep 20 - 11:27 PM Gordon Bok recorded a couple of Kiwi songs on his 'In The Kind Land' CD. The text of this one differs from the version printed in 'Song of a Young Country' and also the version recorded by Phil Garland but, as they say here in the Territory, good but. BRIGHT FINE GOLD (Anon/music reconstructed by N.Colquhoun) Spend it in the winter Or die in the cold One apecker, Tuapecka Bright fine gold Bright fine gold, bright fine gold One apecka, Tuapecka Bright fine gold Two little children lying in bed Both of them hungry, lord They can't raise up their heads Bright fine gold, bright fine gold One apecka, Tuapecka Bright fine gold Some are sons of fortune And my man came to see But the riches of the river Are not for such as he Bright fine gold, bright fine gold One apecka, Tuapecka Bright fine gold I'm weary of Otago Weary of the snow Let my man strike it rich And then we'll go Bright fine gold, bright fine gold One apecka, Tuapecka Bright fine gold Repeat stanza 1 and chorus Gordon's note: Because of the NZ gold rush in the 1860s, the Tuapecka River in Otago Province became the richest place in New Zealand. The results were the same as other gold rushes, mostly misery and poverty. I think that Phil Lobl taught it to me when she came to Maine many years ago. Bok Garland --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Sep 20 - 10:35 PM NEW LIFE, NEW LOVE (Lawson/Wyndham-Read) The breezes blow on the river below the fleecy clouds float by And I mark how the dark green gum trees match The bright blue dome of the sky The grass is green where rains have been And the earth is bare and brown I see the things that I used to see In the days ere my heart was down I've seen the light in the long dark night Brighter than stars or moon I've lost the fear of the winter drear the sadness of afternoon Here let us stand while I hold your hand With the light on your golden hair And I feel the things that I used to feel In the days ere my heart was dead The storms are by and my lips are dry The old wrong rankles yet Sweetheart or wife, I must take new life From your red lips warm and wet So let it be, you may cling to me There is nothing on earth to dread For I'll be the man that I used to be In the days ere my heart was dead Youtube clip This was also recorded on 'All Around Down Under', an album by Martyn and Danny Spooner. Liner note: Henry Lawson wrote the poem in 1903 and Martyn put the tune to it. Australia's best known balladist for 20 years, in middle age, Lawson was drinking heavily and living a hand-to-mouth existence. He had a love and a marriage behind him at this stage when he was taken in hand by Mrs Isobel Byers and penned this in a tone of promise. R-J, I believe you've nailed 'lattes' and 'chai' but there's something else after 'tofu'. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Sep 20 - 09:16 PM WHERE SILENCE REIGNS (Woods/Wyndham-Read) Out back where silence reigns on the great grey western plains The sunlit plains of Clancy's where it hardly ever rains Where the traveller's always thirsty and the water never near The creaking of the saddle is the only sound you hear Where the quart pot doesn't rattle, the stirrup doesn't clink And the emu stalks in freedom and it's far too hot to think Where the tracks are dry and dusty, the air is seldom clear The creaking of the saddle is the only sound you hear Where the fences reach to sundown and are mostly made of wire And the sun goes down each evening like a glowing ball of fire Where the water-bag is empty and the tucker dry and drear The creaking of the saddle is the only sound you hear In shades of gidgee bushes lies a great red kangaroo Asleep in the noonday sunshine while a doleful-looking crow With a voiceless gape salutes us as we come and disappear The creaking of the saddle is the only sound you hear In sultry shades of silence bounded by a shimmering sky Make a man feel very lonely, very small and very dry I would cry in desolation but I cannot shed a tear The creaking of the saddle is the only sound you hear Another poem by Walter Woods that Wyndham-Read clipped and adapted. The full poem may be found at page 207 of Stewart and Keesing's 'Australian Bush Ballads'. The full text of the previously posted 'I don't go shearing now' may be found at page 245 - it is indeed a saga that stretches over 3 pages. Woods was an interesting character - a journalist and politician. Read about him here: Click Where silence reigns --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 30 Sep 20 - 08:18 PM THE GIFT OF YEARS (Eric Bogle) Well, old friend, here I am I told you I'd be back And as usual, mate, I'm bloody late It's seventy-five years down the track For the last time, here I stand In this familiar foreign land Back with the mates I left behind Fixed forever in their time And of all the ghosts of all the boys That haunt this lonely place Only one of them wears your cheeky grin And your Queensland joker's face And as I drown in old and bloody dreams Of helpless young men's dying screams I feel your hand give my arm a shake And your voice say, "Steady, mate!" And the country that you died for, mate You would not know it now And the future that we dreamed of, mate Got all twisted up somehow. The peace that we were fighting for The end to stupid senseless war So it couldn't happen to our kids Well, old mate, it did! And thank you for the gift of years And the flame that brightly burns For the time you bought and the lessons taught So often wasted and unlearned "Lest we forget," cries the multitude As if I ever, ever could So forgive an old man's tears And thank you for the years Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 30 Sep 20 - 08:08 PM Stewie, Perhaps that Tofu line is something to do with Lattes and Chai - his gravelly voice sure is hard to understand!! Cheers, R-J :) |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 11:34 PM I forgot to login again. I'll have to cease clearing my website data during the day. Anyhow, it gives me a chance to correct an error in my 'Freo Girls' transcription. In the 'dads' stanza, it should read 'they're' not 'there'. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 29 Sep 20 - 11:26 PM JennieG, fair point - a name would work. I'm not much of a Williamson fan either, but I like a handful of his songs. He was a featured guest at a Top Half Festival in Alice Springs a few years ago. He no attempt to mix with other performers and punters or join in any sessions. Sod him! --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 10:32 PM R-J, I just remembered that, courtesy of Colin Smiley, I have a CD of the Lost Quays - 'Live at the Whalers' Tunnel'. The concert was recorded in the Whalers' Tunnel as part of Fremantle's Heritage Festival in 2016. The tunnel was excavated by convicts shortly after the first whale was taken in the area in 1837, and not long after the founding of the colony. The concert consisted almost entirely of shanty warhorses. However, they did adapt 'Bound for South Australia' for a Fremantle flavour. FREO GIRLS (Lost Quays) Freo girls ain’t got no combs Heave away, haul away They combs their hair with cod fish bones And we’re bound for Australia Heave away me bully, bully boys Heave away, haul away You gotta make a noise And we’re bound for Australia Well Freo lads ain’t got no frills They drink their beer with cod fish gills Well Freo kids ain’t got no sleds They slide downhill on cod fish heads Well Freo mums don’t bake no pies It’s tofu king with toasted chives Well Freo dads don’t brew no stout There down at Clancy’s hanging about Well Freo Dogs ain’t got no bite If their bark don’t scare, the Sharks just might Well Freo cats ain’t go no tails They lost them all to the south-west gales The Freo doctor’s got no pills She blows from the west our sails to fill Heave away, haul away … Above is my transcription. I couldn't make out the 'tofu' line - can someone correct it? For non-Aussies, the Dogs and Sharks are Fremantle football teams. Clancy's is a popular Fremantle pub and the Fremantle doctor is a cooling afternoon sea breeze. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 10:07 PM JOG ALONG TILL SHEARING The truth is in my song so clear Without a word of gammon The swagmen travel all the year Waiting for the lambin' Now when this dirty work is done To the nearest shanty steerin’ They meet a friend, their money spend Then jog along till shearing. Chorus Home sweet home That is what they left it for Their home sweet home Now when the shearing season comes They hear the price that's going New arrivals meet old chums And then they start their blowin’ They say that they can shear each day Their hundred pretty handy But eighty sheep is bloody hard When the wool is close and sandy When the sheds are all cut out They get their bit of paper To the nearest pub they run They cut a dashing caper They call for liquor plenty They're happy when they're drinkin’ But where to go when the money's spent It's little they are thinking. Sick and sore next morning They are when they awaken To have a drink of course they must To keep their nerves from shakin' They call for one and then for two In a way that's rather funny Till the landlord says, ‘Now this won't do You blokes have got no money’ They're sleeping on verandahs They're lounging on the sofas Then to finish off their spree They're ordered off as loafers They've got no friends, their money's spent And at their disappearing They give three cheers for the river bend And jog along till shearing. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 29 Sep 20 - 09:55 PM Perhaps 'woman' in the song actually has a name which could be used? Certainly better than 'darling', 'darl', 'sugar', 'honey', etc. Actually, I must admit to not being much of a Williamson fan. I know his songs are popular, he has sold a squillion gold records and stuff like that, but there are other writers I prefer - probably sacriligeous to say given that we live in Tamworth, but there you go. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 09:40 PM Gerry Hallom put a tune to Banjo Paterson's 'By the grey gulf water'. He made multiple changes to make it more accessible as a song. A good'un. BY THE GREY GULF WATER (Paterson/Hallom) Far to the north there lies a land A wonderful land where the winds blow over And none may guess or understand The charm it holds for the restless rover A wild grey land, a land half made Where nature craves a share of slaughter Many indeed are the nameless graves Where victims sleep by the grey gulf water Slowly, slowly those grey streams glide, Drifting along with languid motion Lapping the reed on either side Wending their way to the northern ocean And the strength of a man is a young child’s strength In the face of that mighty plain and river And the life of a man is a moment’s length To the life of a stream that runs forever And so it comes they take no part In life’s small cares - each hardy rover Rides ahead like Bonaparte The plains around and the blue skies over Way up above a brown lark sings The songs the strange wild land has taught her Full of joy her sweet song rings I wish I were back by the grey gulf water Way up above a brown lark sings The songs the strange wild land has taught her Full of joy her sweet song rings I wish I were back by the grey gulf water Youtube clip The original poem as published in 'The Bulletin': Click --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 07:43 PM JennieG, I know what you mean about 'woman' in the Williamson song. I can sympathise with your experience with an insensitive sod. However, given the song's structure, what other term could he have used? You wouldn't want the American 'babe' or 'baby' - 'darling', 'wife', 'love', 'dear' et alia wouldn't really work either. Back on 15 September (it seems so long ago), I noted that Phil Gray of Loaded Dog opposed the insertion of a Wendy Evans chorus about shearers in Sorensen's 'Glenburgh Wool' which is about the transportation of wool not shearing. Phil has recently recorded the song sans the inappropriate chorus and with his own tune. He recorded it in the shearer' kitchen at Glenbugh Station. His note for the clip: This is a set of verse by Jack Sorensen - I put my tune on it. In early September Yvonne, myself and our trusty Border Collie Cobber, did a 'mini tour' up through the Gascoyne and Murchison regions of Western Australia. I played at Gascoyne Junction, Glenburgh Station and Murchison Settlement. One of the pleasures of my life was to record this in the Shearers' Kitchen at Glenburgh Station, where Jack Sorensen spent time shearing, and to tread where he trod and probably ate 80 years ago. In Jack's words .......'and from those roaring yesterdays the echoes linger yet'..... Youtube clip The text of all of Sorensen's poems may be found here: Click --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 29 Sep 20 - 05:30 PM One of my favourites, Sandra! |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 29 Sep 20 - 11:31 AM A very popular song at sessions, it was the winner of the Parody mug at the inaugural John & Dale Dengate Parody Competition at Illawarra Folk Festival in 2014, a very appropriate winner as John had loved it. Dale giving Cathy the box it came in. PRECIOUS GIFT (The Tony Abbott Song) by Cathy Rytmeister, February 2010 When I was a young girl, pure and whole I lived the clean life of a virgin I had no idea that my precious gift Was important to some politicians. So when I turned 18 and the boy up the road Said hey, how about it? I didn't say "no". But dear Tony Abbott, if only I'd known I'd have waited at least one more fortnight. For I was now bereft of true value By choosing a life full of sin My precious gift gone, just a memory in song All I've left is the box it came in. And well I remember relief on those days That my blood stained the sheets and the blankets I took many risks but was mostly OK I look back and for that I'm most thankful. But I wonder, if only I'd kept meself nice, Wore lippy and heels and played sugar and spice – I'd have landed a man who'd have treated me right – Someone just like that hypocrite Tony. For I was now bereft of true value By choosing a life full of sin My precious gift gone, just a memory in song All I've left is the box it came in. I grew older and wiser and carried a pack- et of three, just in case I got lucky And I did pretty well, despite no advice From Abbott or Andrews or Tuckey. Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well, But that wasn't enough, I had Tommy as well And Paddy, and Jock, and Pierre and Manuel I had a right multicultural party. With my precious gift thoroughly squandered I still somehow managed with men I swore and I drank and I danced and I skanked While the band played Wild Rover Again. Now I've settled down, with a rather good bloke, Who with second-hand gifts seems delighted. And I've a daughter myself, of that age when you might Give advice, about life to enlighten. I've told her to give what she wishes and when To respect herself and be respected by men And above all before she is settled and wed To make sure she gets plenty of practice. For a woman is more than a hymen She has much more to offer the world And if Abbott can't see all that we wish to be He can keep his advice to himself. For I've filled my life with true value By choosing to live it in sin My precious gift gone, just a memory in song But I've still got the box it came in! |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 29 Sep 20 - 11:07 AM we now have 258 songs. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 29 Sep 20 - 09:20 AM NOT MANY FISH By Bernard Bolan From Mortlake to Mosman for thirty-five years, In a twenty-six footer I’ve sailed. It paid for me grub and a couple of beers, But not now since the fishing has failed. There used to be Blackfish there used to be Bream, And there used to be Jewies to tame. But now there’s old beer cans and polythene bags, And things too repulsive to name. Ch. But the sun is still shining and the sky is still blue, You can still taste the salt on the spray. Me lines are all baited and me net’s over too, But there’s not many fish in the harbour today. Once the catches you’d get nearly made your boat sink, And the three of you filling the barge. But now all you get is terrible stink, With typhoid at no extra charge. What you need is a craft that can sail the high seas, Where the Herring and King Fishes play. All you bring up in the Harbour is dead dogs and cats, Not to mention that Mrs MacRae. So go for a sail with your Sally and Sue, Take Roger and Rufous as well. Remember to throw (chuck) your muck over the side, Then complain of the hideous smell. Well a fisherman’s known for not getting upset, When he sails through the wind and the rain. But a man can but think when he’s sailing through this, What a pity you can’t pull the chain. Here is Bernard Bolan singing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqRfyPekBEo (NB apparently Sydney Harbour is much cleaner, these days!) Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 29 Sep 20 - 02:22 AM TENTERFIELD SADDLER By Peter Allen The late George Woolnough worked on High Street and lived on Manners 52 years he sat on his veranda and made his saddles And if you had questions about sheep or flowers or dogs You just ask the saddler, he lived without sin; they're building a library for him. Ch. Time is a traveller, Tenterfield Saddler, turn your head Ride again Jackaroo, think I see kangaroo up ahead The son of George Woolnough went off and got married and had a war baby But something was wrong and it's easier to drink than go crazy And if there were questions about why the end was so sad Well George had no answers about why a son, ever has need of a gun Time is a traveller, Tenterfield Saddler, turn your head Ride again Jackaroo, think I see kangaroo up ahead The grandson of George has been all around the world and lives no special place Changed his last name and he married a girl with an interesting face He'd almost forgotten them both because in the life that he leads There's nowhere for George and his library, or the son with his gun, to belong - except in this song Time is a traveller, Tenterfield Saddler, turn your head Ride again Jackaroo, think I see kangaroo up ahead Time is a meddler, Tenterfield Saddler, make your bed Fly away cockatoo, down on the ground emu up ahead Time is a tale teller,Tenterfield Saddler, turn your head ………………… The late Peter Allen (singer/songwriter/dancer and all-round entertainer), was married for a while to Liza Minelli (“the girl with an interesting face”!). My Sister and B-in-Law do a lovely harmony version of this, but it’s not on-line yet. Many recordings available are overloaded by loud, intrusive instrumentation. So I have chosen this lovely version by Rick Price. Hope you enjoy this song; I never seem to tire of it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtM4a3bheIU Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 29 Sep 20 - 01:27 AM LoL JennieG! I know what you mean though. An ex often called me "Missus" but that didn't really worry me. But "Woman" is somehow "different"...... :) Stew, thanks so much to you and Phil for Alan Mann's comp. Paul-the-Stockman digitised the LP and offered it up on his Blog of 11 May 2015, but mentions the lack of liner notes. Have to get WA's super-sleuth Becky back onto it!! : http://australianfolk.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2015-08-10T21:00:00%2B10:00&max-results=10&start=40&by-date=false Plus, I was wondering if you have any of Phil's comps that could be featured on this thread??? Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 29 Sep 20 - 12:29 AM Geez, Stewie.......You have started the fingernails-on-a-blackboard thing, for me. I can't stand that Cootamundra wattle song. A long-ago bloke used to call me "woman"; I hated it then, and I still hate it now. But that's all right. The world would be a dull place indeed if we all sang the same songs. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 29 Sep 20 - 12:06 AM COOTAMUNDRA WATTLE (John Williamson) Don't go lookin' through that old camphor box woman You know those old things only make you cry When you dream upon that little bunny rug It makes you think that life has passed you by There are days when you wish the world would stop woman But then you know some wounds would never heal But when I browse the early pages of the children It's then I know exactly how you feel. (Chorus) Hey it's July and the winter sun is shining And the cootamundra wattle is my friend For all at once my childhood never left me 'Cause wattle blossoms bring it back again It's Sunday and you should stop the worry woman Come out here and sit down in the sun Can't you hear the magpies in the distance Don't you feel the new day has begun Can't you hear the bees making honey woman In the spotted gums where the bellbirds ring You might grow old and bitter cause you missed it You know some people never hear such things Chorus Don't buy the daily papers any more woman Read all about what's going on in hell They don't care to tell the world of kindness Good news never made a paper sell There's all the colours of the rainbow in the garden woman And symphonies of music in the sky Heaven's all around us if you're looking But how can you see it if you cry Chorus This lovely song always reminds me of the late Chris Pemberton who would trot it out from time to time at the gun turret. Chris was a very fine singer and he had Mississippi John Hurt's guitar style down to a T. Here is a live rendition from John Williamson. I can relate to the background sound - we often have lorikeets carrying-on in our garden. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 28 Sep 20 - 11:27 PM A BUSHMAN CAN'T SURVIVE (John Williamson) A city girl is happy with her friends and family life Appreciates a wine with him at night She tries to find the sparkle, she searches but it's gone With lots of love she hopes he'll be alright Her man has gone all quiet, he's not at ease He doesn't feel at home, he's hard to please He gets itchy feet, he's tired of noises in the street He needs to walk for hours through the trees CHORUS No a bushman can't survive on city lights Opera, rock and roll and height of heights His moon shines on the silver brigalow Shimmers down the inland river flow Out there where the yellow belly bites He's working with his hands today on a building site He can smell the cypress on the floor It takes him to a sandy ridge out amongst the pines No shearin’, no ploughin' anymore His kelpie dog is tired and fast asleep Sick of searchin' gardens for the sheep His master doesn't whistle tunes, he's not in the mood His love for open spaces runs too deep Chorus He tries to please his woman, the lady of his life He's standing at a party with a plate She finds him on the balcony staring at the moon An old familiar face he can relate His moon shines on the silver brigalow Shimmers down the inand river Out there where the yellow belly bites My friend, Scott Balfour, made a moving recording of this on his 'Mother Land' CD. He said the song had particular poignancy for him because it encapsulates the spirit of his friend Bill Hayes of Deep Well Station - the consummate bushman - who died tragically in a mustering accident. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 28 Sep 20 - 10:44 PM R-J, Phil excelled himself - lyrics arrived an hour after my request. Great song. THE TIMBERCUTTERS SONG (Alan Mann) In the timber tall and green along the line You can hear the magpies call and the crickets sing These sounds the steel will join as the bush saws scrape and whine You’ll hear the echoes as our axes ring The teamster all too soon he moves on in And the logs we cleared to the line he moves away Eight horses four-be-two and the two-wheel wooden whim And that axle groans at least six times a day (Chorus) Keep those logs rolling boys, down to the mill me boys Keep those logs a-rolling down And we'll push the cross cuts through just to show what we can do And we’ll pave all the streets of London Town Well the mill train sweats and strains most all the day Down the twenty mile of track that feeds the mill Stoker keeps the firebox full with the off-cuts from the day So later on she’ll make the three-mile hill And at the mill first tails grip and bark the logs And then roll them to the benchman standing by And he’ll slip the mill saw through ne'er care she slips or bogs And it's then you’ll see the chips and sawdust fly Chorus And the planks to the world we’ll ship away When the weather’s fine, they'll go the Hamelin side When the nor-wester comes on in, then it’s round by Flinders Bay On that rolling surf you’ll see the good ships ride Spare a thought for those chaps who're workin' hard Next time you walk the streets of London Town In the forest, at the mill, on the line or in the yard Just keeping those logs a-rolling down Chorus |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 28 Sep 20 - 09:18 PM NOVEMBER (Junior - Adelaide band) There’s no colour like blood, there’s no feeling like sun on your skin There’s no place like home after all the things we’ve seen One more for the road, one more you can carry me home Pour me another, I don’t want to be alone There’s nobody like you and there sure ain’t nobody like me Not a single soul can know what we feel or see When you wake at dawn, love the light you see ‘Cos if you see the light, there’s a chance for you and me Jacarandas in November All the colours I’ll remember Lined up down your street in springtime When the air tastes sweet Jacarandas in November, I’ll remember Oh, I - I’ll remember you The eleventh hour, last stand, you went down We had our plans just like every man You and me and Desie in Sydney when we’re free We made it there in nineteen fifty-three Jacarandas in November All the colours I’ll remember Lined up down your street in springtime When the air tastes sweet Jacarandas in November, I’ll remember Oh, I - I’ll remember you And your slouch hat and your photographs Only me you left behind I’ll never forget you, you’re forever young In my mind, forever young Jacarandas in November All the colours I’ll remember Lined up down your street in springtime When the air tastes sweet Jacarandas in November, I’ll remember Oh, I - I’ll remember you There’s no colour like blood, there’s no feeling like sun on your skin I reckon 'November' is a ripper little song, but I'm probably prejudiced because I was born and raised in Adelaide before moving to Darwin. It is from folk rock group Junior's 'Fibro Majestic' CD. You can listen to the CD on Spotify. The above is my transcription from YT video. I don't know which member or members of the band wrote the song. It's a beaut video of jacarandas. Youtube clip Junior bio --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 28 Sep 20 - 08:56 PM R-J, great posts. I was unaware of the Georgette rescue story. 'Bridal Train' and the Waifs' early albums are great favourites of my wife. I recently recovered my 'West Australian Bush Bands' LP from its long-borrowed status. Alas, there is no insert or sleeve notes. However, Phil Beck has the lyrics for 'Timbercutters Song' and will send them to me. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 28 Sep 20 - 09:54 AM THE TIMBERCUTTERS SONG W,A, Bush Orchestra at long last, here is the song link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jw_7_7wjEc The chords are online, but not the lyrics. (and I no longer have the energy! My little truckle bed is calling me :) R-J |
Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 28 Sep 20 - 09:48 AM (What Will We Do With) Maud Butler by John Thompson Maud Butler had a brother in the army And so she made her way to Sydney town At 17 she knew her mind She wouldn't just be left behind And so Maud tried to join the army Chorus: Oh, what will we do with Maud Butler? She dresses as a soldier and she wants to go to war She jumped a ship to cross the foam Better than any stay-at-home The prettiest little soldier-boy the Army ever saw. A lovely farmer's daughter from old Kurri Kurri town When she tried to sign on as a nurse they turned the poor girl down. So she bought herself some soldier's gear Cut her hair and wiped her tears And she climbed up a rope to board a transport Three days in a life-raft with not a bite to eat Til bold as brass she walked the decks, the sailor-boys to meet An officer saw her walking about Her boots were wrong, they found her out. Poor Maud was put ashore in dear old Melbourne Only two months later, Maud was back on board again Another attempt to see the front, in the company of men “I'll do my bit to help the war” She told them when she was back on shore "I just want to be a soldier" This young girl's an example to all of those who shirk Where other's would have given up, Maud Butler went to work A lesser girl would have had enough But Maud was made of sterner stuff So raise a cheer and sing of Miss Maud Butler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wtxja9EX0A Notes by John Thompson : Mark Cryle was kind enough to tell me about the amazing Maud Butler, a seventeen-year-old girl who was so keen to help the war effort in 1915, that she bought up a uniform one piece at a time and then stowed away on a troop ship. Twice! Her amazing story is well worth telling. There are some especially good links online to original news stories about her exploits: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/129568967? and for her persistent offending: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/109949097? Cheers, R-J |
Share Thread: |
Subject: | Help |
From: | |
Preview Automatic Linebreaks Make a link ("blue clicky") |