Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the Wool (Judy Small)

Subject: Lyr Add: From Lambing to the wool (Judy Small)
From: open mike
Date: 14 May 12 - 11:37 AM

FROM THE LAMBING TO THE WOOL
(Judy Small)

And there've been times when I've wondered
If it all was worth the doing
And there've been times when I've thought
This was the finest place there is
For though the life here's never easy
And the hours are long and heavy
I'm quite contented nowadays
To have joined my life to his

My father was a cocky as his father was before him
And I married me a cocky nearly fifty years ago
And I've lived here on this station
and I've seen the seasons changing
From the drought round to the flooding,
from the lambing to the wool
Together through the thirties while others' lives were broken
We worked from dawn to twilight to hold on to what was ours
And at night we'd sit exhausted and I'd stroke his dusty forehead
With him too tired to talk to me and me too tired to care

Then the children came unbidden bringing laughter to the homestead
And I thanked the Lord my sons were young, too young for battle then
And I counted myself lucky to lose no one close to family
Though the neighbours lost their only son, sold up and moved to town

And the children have grown and left me for careers in town and city
And I'm proud of them but sadly for none chose station life
And now I smile to hear them talking of the hard slog in the office
For when I think of working hard I see a cocky and his wife

see and hear this performed by a folk group from "down under"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZvdBP7sRw

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the wool • Judy Smal
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 14 May 12 - 05:34 PM

Nice! I saw Judy at a now-defunct coffeehouse probably in Scituate, Rhode Island, probably in the 80's and bought, I think, 4 of her cassettes, which were probably all she had at the time. I haven't thought of her for a while, though.Thank you for bringing her back to mind.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the wool • Judy Smal
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 May 12 - 09:40 PM

open mike's link - with lots more of Judy's songs to listen to

Judy Small's website

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the wool • Judy Smal
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 May 12 - 09:47 PM

a few translations -

cocky = cocky farmer. They usually had less then perfect land (left overs from the land the rich folks took) & normally only grew crops of kids & bare fields after the flocks of cockatoos took everything

station = landholding (same as American ranch)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the wool • Judy Smal
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 May 12 - 02:45 PM

Thanks for a good song, Open Mike.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the wool • Judy Smal
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 15 May 12 - 09:40 PM

Sandra, thank you for those links. I didn't realize Judy was practicing law. In fact for some reason I thought she was teaching music!

Subject: ADD: From the Lambing to the Wool (Judy Small)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 May 12 - 03:51 AM

For the sake of completeness, here are the lyrics I posted in Thread #101283   Message #2041008
Posted By: Joe Offer
02-May-07 - 04:22 AM
Thread Name: Folklore: Where did the 'Cockie.'
Subject: ADD: From the Lambing to the Wool (Judy Small)

Hi, Phil - be sure to see the What's A Cockie/Cocky? thread. Eric Bogle uses the word in Now I'm Easy, using the word as an Australian term for "farmer."

I think Bok-Muir-Trickett recorded an Australian song that began "My father was a cocky..." - but I'm not finding that one, and my brain is too addled to find it without a proper search engine - but you will find the word in many songs at Mudcat.

Let's see - it's not Cockies of Bungaree. Ah, here it is - Judy Small's From the Lambing to the Wool:

^^
From the Lambing to the Wool
(Judy Small)

My father was a cocky as his father was before him
And I married me a cocky nearly fifty years ago
And I've lived here on this station and I've seen the seasons changing
From the drought round to the flooding, from the lambing to the wool

And there've been times when I've wondered
If it all was worth the doing
And there've been times when I've thought
This was the finest place there is
For though the life here's never easy
And the hours are long and heavy
I'm quite contented nowadays
To have joined my life to his

Together through the thirties while others' lives were broken
We worked from dawn to twilight to hold on to what was ours
And at night we'd sit exhausted and I'd stroke his dusty forehead
With him too tired to talk to me and me too tired to care
CHORUS

Then the children came unbidden bringing laughter to the homestead
And I thanked the Lord my sons were young, too young for battle then
And I counted myself lucky to lose no-one close to family
Though the neighbours lost their only son, sold up and moved to town
CHORUS

And the children have grown and left me for careers in town and city
And I'm proud of them but sadly for none chose station life
And now I smile to hear them talking of the hard slog in the office
For when I think of working hard I see a cocky and his wife
CHORUS

Copied from the "My Songbook" Website, www.mysongbook.de - verified in the CD booklet from Judy Small's The Best of the 80s CD. The song is also on the Harbors of Home CD by Bok, Muir, and Trickett; and on the Darkness Into Light CD by Priscilla Herdman.

-Joe-

...also recorded by Jean Redpath on A Woman of Her Time.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the Wool (Judy Small)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 May 12 - 05:57 AM

aI think I vaguely remember that Judy was influenced to study law by,& worked with, another folkie lawyer Bernard Bolan who has now retired.

from Judy's website - In recent years, Judy has cut back her performing schedule to take on the world of the law. She is a family lawyer in Melbourne working for Victoria Legal Aid. But she is far from retired from singing and writing songs.

sandra

ps. Legal Aid offices in each state help those without enough money to engage commercial lawyers, John Thompson aka Cloudstreet also worked for Legal Aid before becoming a full-time folkie!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: From the Lambing to the Wool (Judy Small)
From: GUEST,Stela Rodrick
Date: 22 May 12 - 12:40 AM

I have been reading some posts of this website under title 'Judy small' that touched my heart. Its amazing to share such stories through small stuff but with lot of feelings. I liked the style you write. However, me too a writer but not that good as like you. Your writing style will help me to improve my writing style in artistic and creative way. However, it will be useful if i am writing such hearth touching stuff where as i am busy with writing some career relates blogs and some free resume examples.