Subject: ADD: The Call of the North (Jack Sorensen)
From:
Joe Offer
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 09:09 PM
Is this the song you're seeking, Ian? I found one version of the lyrics here: http://folkstream.com/181.html
The Call of the North
(Jack Sorensen)
Oh! the western wind is blowing--
So there's rain and cold in store,
And the teams have long been going
Down the road to Mullewa:
To where tropic sun is gleaming
And the fragrant winds blow free;
I've awakened from my dreaming,
And the North is calling me.
Oh! the steam is in the boiler
In the engine-room below,
And upon the board each toiler
Waits to hear the whistle blow:
For the shearing is beginning,
And my heart is fancy free,
And the friction wheels are spinning,
And the North is calling me.
And so Northward I am going,
For I cannot linger here,
For the starting whistle's blowing,
And the 'guns' are into gear:
So to be there I am yearning,
I will hail the sheds with glee,
For the money wheels are turning,
And the North is calling me.
Jack Sorensen, Maida Vale
Notes
From the Western Australian newspaper the Bunbury Herald and Blackwood Express Friday 14 June 1929:
Jack Sorensen was born in Western Australia, a second generation Australian of Danish, Irish and English heritage. He began his working life as an orchardist on his family's property in Maida Vale, Perth, and then worked as a shearer on stations in the Murchison, Gascoyne and Kimberleys. In 1936 he returned to Perth and began work as a representative of the United Press, travelling throughout Western Australia.
The poem appears in a book titled The gun of Glindawor and other ballads / by Jack Sorensen.
Original Source: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87115404#
The words are quite different in this recording from Martyn Wyndham-Read, Carolyn Robson & No Man's Band, titled "The Call of the North":
Here's my attempt at a transcription of the recording by Martyn Wyndham-Read:
THE CALL OF THE NORTH
(Jack Sorensen - as recorded by Martyn Wyndham-Read)
Now the western wind is blowing--
So there's rain and storm in store,
The teams have long been going
Down the road to Glindawor.
Where the tropic sun is gleaming,
The breeze is blowing free;
I have wakened from my dreaming,
And the North is calling me.
Oh, the steam is in the engine
In the expert's room below,
And upon the board each shearer
Waits to hear the whistle blow.
For the shearing is beginning,
And my heart is fancy free,
And the friction wheels are spinning,
And the North is calling me.
From the Southward to the Northward,
Where the long, brown tracks wind down;
Oh, me mates are pushing forward,
To the wilderness from town;
Gone by stony hill and hollow,
To where I now would be,
Where they lead I needs must follow,
For the North, it's calling me.
[instrumental break]
What's the news I have been hearing,
Tidings strange to me indeed,
Bidgemia's started shearing,
With Sawallish in the lead,
Straining camel teams are swaying,
From the Junction to the sea,
Why so long am I delaying,
When the North is calling me.
And so northward I am going,
For I cannot linger here,
Now the starting whistle's blowing,
And the 'guns' are into gear:
And to be there I am longing,
And I hail the sheds with glee,
For the friction wheels are turning,
And the North is calling me.
A version with a different melody and a chorus by Wongawilli
Here are the lyrics from the Wongawilli Website (corrected to match the recording):
Oh the western wind is blowing, so there's rain and storm in store,
And the teams have long been going down the road to Glindawor,
To where tropic sun is gleaming, and the fragrant winds blow free,
I've awakened from my dreaming and the North is calling me.
chorus:
Oh the steam is in the boiler, in the engine room below,
While upon the board each toiler waits to hear the whistle blow,
'Cause the shearing is beginning and my heart is fancy free,
And the friction wheels are spinning, yes the North is calling me.
From the southwards to the nor'wards, where the long brown tracks wind down,
All my mates have hastened forward, to the wilderness, from town,
Gone by stony hill and hollow, to where I now fain would be,
Where they lead my feet must follow, for the North is calling me.
What's this news I have been hearing, tidings strange to me indeed,
Picture me and my mates shearing, with a ringer in the lead,
Straining camel teams are swaying, from the Junction to the sea,
Why so long am I delaying, when the North is calling me.
chorus:
And so northward I am going, for I cannot linger here,
For the starting whistle's blowing, and the guns are into gear,
And to be there I am yearning, I would hail the sheds with glee,
And the friction wheels are turning, and the North is calling me.
chorus: Another song from Western Australia which describes the northwards movement of the shearers following the work. Jack Sorenson was a Western Australian poet who spent his time around the gold fields, shearing sheds and pubs reciting his poetry. He was also very handy with his fists having been a boxer in his earlier days.
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