G'day bbc,

I know your presentation is nigh, but I came across this little gem and could not resist passing it on. It is sadly not credited to the author, who must have been a member of the Perth Bush Music Club, in the mid 1960s. They published it on a printed song sheet and it was reprinted in Singabout – journal of Australian Folklore, vol. 6, no. 2, 1967, Sydney. I didn't include it in my anthology Singabout – Selected Reprints, Bush Music Club, Sydney, 1985 – partly because I could not trace the author ... but it is too good not to pass on.

The tune is described as a variant of Villikins and His Dinah (better known to Americans as Sweet Betsy from Pike) but there is quite a variance.

Regards

Bob Bolton

THE TRUTH OF THE STORY

Reprinted from The Wildflower Songsheet, a publication of the Perth Bush Music Club. The composer's name is not given.
Tune: Villikins variant

I'll tell you a story that's never been told,
Of life in Australia so wide and so bold,
I've took quite a thrash - in' as any can see,
The truth of the story is written in me.
Chorus:
Written in me, boys, written in me,
The truth of the story is written in me

You've heard of the Sabre-tooth Rabbit, no doubt,
So fearsome and savage that lurks hereabout,
He nibbled my toes and he gobbled my leg,
Yes, that is the reason I walk on a peg.

Beware, oh, beware lads, the Dry-water Shark,
He crawls on the land and he sees in the dark,
So run to your mothers and shelter from harm,
Just think of this empty old sleeve on my arm.

One day while out walking I happened to pass,
A Forty-foot Tiger Snake there in the grass,
Three buckets of poison he spat in my eye,
Which made it all cloudy and burnt it up dry.

You all know the Bunyip of fable and fame,
This legendary monster once called me by name,
I shivered in fright and I quivered in fear,
As Billy the Bunyip he chewed off my car.

The Wedge Tailed Eagle, he soars in the sky,
And waits for the woollies that go drifting by,
He shore off my scalp and he dropped me for dead,
You won't see a skerrick of hair on my head.

MIDI file: truthots.mid

Timebase: 240

TimeSig: 3/4 24 8
Tempo: 128 (468750 microsec/crotchet)
Start
0480 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 60 080 0192 0 60 064 0048 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 59 080 0192 0 59 064 0048 1 60 080 0384 0 60 064 0096 1 60 080 0192 0 60 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 72 080 0288 0 72 064 0072 1 72 080 0096 0 72 064 0024 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 62 080 0192 0 62 064 0048 1 67 080 0288 0 67 064 0072 1 69 080 0096 0 69 064 0024 1 67 080 0384 0 67 064 0096 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 72 080 0192 0 72 064 0048 1 72 080 0288 0 72 064 0072 1 72 080 0096 0 72 064 0024 1 69 080 0096 0 69 064 0024 1 67 080 0288 0 67 064 0072 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 65 080 0192 0 65 064 0048 1 64 080 0288 0 64 064 0072 1 65 080 0096 0 65 064 0024 1 67 080 0384 0 67 064 0096 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 60 080 0192 0 60 064 0048 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 59 080 0192 0 59 064 0048 1 60 080 0576 0 60 064 0144 1 64 080 0096 0 64 064 0024 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 72 080 0384 0 72 064 0096 1 74 080 0096 0 74 064 0024 1 72 080 0288 0 72 064 0072 1 69 080 0192 0 69 064 0048 1 67 080 0384 0 67 064 0096 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 60 080 0192 0 60 064 0048 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 67 080 0192 0 67 064 0048 1 64 080 0192 0 64 064 0048 1 62 080 0096 0 62 064 0024 1 60 080 0288 0 60 064 0072 1 59 080 0192 0 59 064 0048 1 60 080 0576 0 60 064
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:
M:3/4
Q:1/4=128
K:C
G6|C2C3D|E2G2E2|DC3B,2|C4C2|c2c3c|A2G2G2|
D2G3A|G4G2|c2c3c|AG3E2|F2E3F|G4G2|C2C3D|E2G2E2|
DC3B,2|C6|EC3E2|G2c4|dc3A2|G4G2|C2C3D|E2G2E2|
DC3B,2|C19/4||