Lyr Add: Homeless Man

Subject: Homeless Man
From: Stewie
Date: 30 Oct 99 - 09:08 PM

I notice that DT has 'The Wee Pot Stove' (Dark Engine Room). A nice recording was done of it relatively recently by the Cork group Any Old Time on their album 'Crossings'. Anyhow, here is another fine song from the pen of Harry Robertson:

HOMELESS MAN

I've travelled hard these last ten weary years
And my youthful dreams have slowly turned to tears
If you think I am complaining
I can tell that I'm not
For I know that this is just a drifter's lot

Many years my home has been the wayside camp
I have starved and sweated on the river bank
And I've fought with fists and feet
Roughnecked drifters that I meet
Broken dreams and bottles pave my lonely street

As a homeless boy I thought when I'm a man
I will change this world and right what wrongs I can
Since then I have met defeat
It's a bitter bread to eat
And the homeless boy is now the homeless man

Happiness has not been mine upon this earth
Both my parents left me when they met their death
And I'll drink before I eat
With the drifters that I meet
For this sorrow here is mine and mine alone

Now my friends I think that I must move along
And I'm glad that you have listened to my song
For the road is all I've known
And I must wander it alone
As an outcast, homeless drifter and unknown

Author: Harry Robertson.

Source: From the singing of Paul Lawler Darwin Australia, late 1970s.

Paul learned the song from the late Declan Affley, one of the most important figures in the Australian folk scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Much to his disgust, because of the similarity of their voices, Paul was known in Sydney for a time as 'Little Declan'. Paul doesn't sing much these days, but he sings folk and folk idiom songs as well as anyone I've ever heard, including personal heroes such as Roy Bailey, Gordon Bok or Al O'Donnell. In the past few years, he has been busy building fire spectacles for the Maleny/Woodford festival in Queensland and other productions, including the biggest catherine wheel in the southern hemisphere. ^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 31 Oct 99 - 09:51 AM

Hi- We also have "Queensland Whalers" by Robertson. Does anyone have a Harry Robertson recording I could buy?

I like his stuff.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: Stewie
Date: 31 Oct 99 - 06:15 PM

Dick, as far as I aware, there was only one record of Robertson and it is long gone. A friend of mine in Perth has been chasing a secondhand copy for years without success. I only know one person who has a copy. I could organise a tape for you, but it will take some time as I am not quite sure where he is.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 31 Oct 99 - 06:19 PM

Stewie and Dick, I have posted a number of Harry's songs over the last year or so. Homeless Man is one of my favourites - it may have been the first tune I ever submitted. Re the recording, I'll keep an eye out. My personal vinyl is quite raunched, but if I don't find anything I would be happy to copy it for you. I have never seen it on CD. Regards, John

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 01 Nov 99 - 01:31 AM

G'day All,

At least they also did a companion songbook for Harry's LP of whale-hunting songs. I have a copy still in the unruly mess I like to think of as my archive. If anyone is interested, I will look up publishing details and you may be able to locate a libray copy.

Some of Harry's songs may end up in the Larrikin/Festival ~20 CD compilation being planned by Warren Fahey (ex "head Larrikin" ... ~CEO of Festival division ... some sort of consulting folk-guru ...? Who knows, until we see the little disks?

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: Stewie
Date: 01 Nov 99 - 07:51 AM

Thanks, John, but I should be able to track down my friend who keeps his records in mint condition - unlike some of my early ones which were played on all sorts of inferior machinery.

Bob, is Fahey planning a 20 CD overview of the Larrikin years? If so, that could have some interesting stuff.

Cheers, Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 03 Nov 99 - 01:31 AM

G'day Stewie,

Warren Fahey, in his current incarnation as some sort of consulting guru with Festival Records, Sydney, is planning a comprehensive CD set covering the Folk Revival years in Australia (presumably 1960s - 70s). The last estimate I had from him was ~22 CDs and he was still researching.

All this is apparently apart from the first band of the Australia "Folk Revival" - The Bushwhackers of 1953 - 57 ... not to be confused with the 1970s - present (even if they are up to their 50th band member!) Bushwackers an important Folk/Rock fusion group.

The Bushwhackers pioneered the performance of Australian material and even made a few small dents on the hit parades of the mid-1950s and their half-dozen (or so) 78rpm records are soon to be released by the National Library of Australia. There will also be a CD of material from the field collecting (1950s and 1980s/90s) of John Meredith, a founder of The Bushwhackers and one of Australia's most important folklorists. This CD will be a joint National Library/Bush Music Club project - if I can keep it moving.

Anyway, the Harry Robertson material i promised to look up:

The book Whaling Songs of Harry Robertson was published by Albert Publications (J. Albert & Sons Ltd, 139 King Street., Sydney, NSW, Australia) in 1972 to accompany his record Whale Chasing Men - Music for Pleasure #MFP 8272 Stereo. The items printed are:
The Modern Whaling Fleet (a spoken prologue)
Casting Off (recitation)
Whale Chasing Men
The Antarctic Fleet
Processing the whale (description)
Blubber Laddie
Whaling Wife
Wee Pot Stove
Norfolk Whalers (about 19th century shore-based whalers on Norfolk Island – and their wives)
Ballina Whalers (1950s coastal whalers)
Queensland Whalers (1950s coastal whalers)
Murrimbidgee Whalers (yeah, well the Murrimbidgee a fresh-water river …)
Time for a Laugh and a Song

Unfortunately, I can't find a consolidated publication of his other songs. Some may be in Tradition, the magazine of the Victorian Folk Music Club, 1960s/70s … of which I have a bound set … but it is getting a bit late … indeed the witching hour approaches apace! (At least, when I was chasing this up - after Backblocks musicians went home from their session in my living room.)

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Homeless Man
From: Stewie
Date: 03 Nov 99 - 02:52 AM

Many thanks for that, Bob.