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Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 25 Jan 21 - 07:42 PM Here's another poem about pioneers. This one is by Banjo Paterson - Wallis and Matilda suppled a tune. PIONEERS (Banjo Paterson) They came of bold and roving stock that would not fixed abide They were the sons of field and flock since e'er they learnt to ride We may not hope to see such men in these degenerate years As those explorers of the bush -- the brave old pioneers 'Twas they who rode the trackless bush in heat and storm and drought 'Twas they who heard the master-word that called them farther out 'Twas they who followed up the trail the mountain cattle made And pressed across the mighty range where now their bones are laid But now the times are dull and slow, the brave old days are dead When hardy bushmen started out, and forced their way ahead By tangled scrub and forests grim towards the unknown west And spied the far-off promised land from off the range's crest Oh ye that sleep in lonely graves by far-off ridge and plain We drink to you in silence now as Christmas comes again To you who fought the wilderness through rough unsettled years The founders of our nation's life, the brave old pioneers Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 25 Jan 21 - 07:38 PM oops |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 25 Jan 21 - 07:11 PM Hey you Catters into Oz & Kiwi songs - this thread is getting perilously close to falling off the edge! We need more posts!! Cheers, R-J :) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 23 Jan 21 - 03:55 AM Ah Sandra, I'm sure you've met a million famous people since then - in the Folk World at least!! It seems we'd missed this "warhorse" : THE LIME JUICE TUB trad When shearing comes lay down your drums Step on the board you brand new chums With a ra-dum ra-dum rub-a-dub-dub Send him home in a lime juice tub Chorus (optional) Here we are in New South Wales Shearing the sheep as big as whales With leather necks and daggy tails And hides as tough as rusty nails Now you have crossed the briny deep You fancy you can shear a sheep With a ra-dum ra-dum rub-a-dub-dub We'll send you home in lime juice tub There's brand new chums and cockies sons They fancy that they are great guns They fancy they can shear the wool But the buggers can only tear and pull They tar the sheep till they're nearly black Roll up roll up and get the sack Once more we're away on the Wallaby Track Once more to look for the shearing oh The very next job they undertake Is to press the wool but they make a mistake They press the wool without any bales Shearing's hell in New South Wales And when they meet upon the road From off their backs throw down their load And at the sun they'll take a look Saying I reckon it's time to breast the cook We camp in huts without any doors Sleep upon the muddy floors With a pannikin of flour and a sheet of bark To wallop up a damper in the dark Its home its home I'd like to be Not humping my drum in this country Its sixteen thousand mile I've come To march along with the blanket drum “From the singing of A.L.Lloyd. An early and very complete version appeared in the Bulletin 1898 where it was called 'The Whaler's Rhyme'. John Meredith collected a version from Cyril Ticehurst who had been a butcher in Grenfell, and who chanted rather than sang it. Lime Juice Tub is slang for a British ship. A.L.Lloyd heard it while working on the Lachlan River in the early 1930's. He writes: "This song was much sung in the woolsheds while the men were actually shearing". Lyrics and Notes taken from Mark Gregory’s excellent Union Songs website : http://folk.unionsong.com/055.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-V_WYIZ1TY Gary Shearston (with Richard Brooks on harmonica and Les Miller on banjo) “The food on English sailing ships was mostly pretty poor. To prevent the scurvy which was a likely result of a regular diet of pickled meat and ship's biscuit, a ration of lime juice was doled out. So American sailors, who were mostly better fed, contemptuously called English sailors 'Limies'. And so in this song the shearers contemptuously suggest that the unskillful English new chums should be sent home in a lime-juice ship. This version of the song comes from A. L. Lloyd, who says that it was very popular with shearers along the Lachlan thirty or so years ago. He also says that it was one of the few songs that the shearers sang while they were at work. drums - swags, of the same kind as the bluey mentioned in The Murrumbidgee Shearer. board - the floor of be shearing shed. brand new chums - migrants just newly arrived in Australia. cockies' sons - sons of small farmers (who were looked down upon by bush workers in the pastoral industries ). great guns - really good shearers. they tar the sheep till they're nearly black - they cut the sheep so much in shearing them that the sheep end up almost covered with the tar applied as an antiseptic. on the wallaby track - travelling on foot from one station to another, looking for work. press the wool - wool is packed for transport from the shearing sheds in a machine which compresses the wool into sacks. reckon it's time to breast the cook - think it is time to approach the station cook for food. At sundown, the cook would distribute a ration of uncooked food to unemployed ,'travellers' who happened to reach the station homestead at about that hour of the day. huts - stations also provided huts in which such unemployed 'travellers', could sleep overnight. damper - the usual bushman's bread, made with baking soda for leavening. with daggy tails - with lumps of excrement adhering to the wool of the tail.” Notes by Edgar Waters on Gary Shearston’s 1965 LP “The Springtime It Brings on The Shearing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFaWjnr9C7o Here’s another version, performed by a group called “Reel Matilda”, ( http://www.prideaux-e.com/australiana/reel_matilda.htm ) but the clip has a swag of Oz pictures for you – of “Sydney AND The Bush”!! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Jan 21 - 03:08 AM way back in the 70s I had a friend who ha been at High School with Jon English - my brush with fame ... |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 23 Jan 21 - 03:03 AM THREE KIDS ON A HORSE Dave de Hugard Well, did you see them pass today, Billy, Kate, and Robin? All astride upon the back of old grey Dobbin, Jig and Jog and off to school, down the dusty track Oh what must Dobbin think of it, with three upon his back. And Robin’s at the bridle rein, and in the middle, Kate Little Billy hanging on behind, with his legs out straight. And see them coming back from school, jig-jog-jig And see them at the corner where the gums grow big, And Dobbin flicking off the flies and blinking at the sun He thinks three kids upon his back is real good fun. And Robin’s at the bridle rein, and in the middle, Kate Little Billy hanging on behind, with his legs out straight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJIqjv0CQ8I Dave de Hugard (and I am presuming he wrote this song!) Contributed by National Library of Australia: Folklorist and performer Dave de Hugard grew up in rural Queensland on a tobacco farm. Both of his parents were musical, his father played the piano by ear and encouraged his son to learn by ear at an early age. His mother listened to a wide variety of popular music. De Hugard became involved in folk music while at university in Brisbane where he completed a pharmacy degree. In 1963 he was inspired by seeing American folk singer Pete Seeger in concert to approach music more seriously. He began performing traditional and contemporary songs and tunes on the concertina and button (bush) accordion, fiddle, piano accordion, banjo and guitar. De Hugard's interest in folk song lead him to the writings of Australian folklorist and performer Bill Scott and he became aware of Australian bush music and folk traditions. He built up a large repertoire of Australian old-time and bush dance tunes and yarns and released numerous recordings including Songs of the Wallaby Track and Magpie Morning and performed regularly at folk festivals and clubs in Australia. De Hugard's interest in Australian folk and bush music lead him to complete a degree in social anthropology at Macquarie University and work as a folklore collector and researcher. The Dave de Hugard Folklore Collection is housed at the National Library of Australia in the Oral History Collection. WIKI (Discography) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_de_Hugard Thanks to GerryM for alerting me to this little treasure of a song! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 23 Jan 21 - 01:51 AM SONGS OF THE HUTT RIVER PROVINCE (aka PRINCIPALITY OF HUTT RIVER) – a Micronation within Western Australia - In the very early 1970s, Perth folk band “The Ranting Lads” released an EP record entitled “BROKEN SERENITY” which included the story in song of the beginnings of Australia’s first (white) Micronation at Hutt River, almost 520kms north of Perth in Western Australia, and declared by secession on 21st April, 1970. It wasn’t a joke; the West Australian wheat farmer (and his neighbours) were being shafted by the Fraser Govt over wheat quotas, which was to end in bankruptcy for them and so, Leonard Casley decided to take a stand - with the Govt getting more than it had bargained for. The clever Prince Leonard Casley was “not so green as he's cabbage-looking” as the saying goes, and his Principality lasted 50-odd years!!! It had, of course, its own flag, anthem (see below), stamps, currency, passports and so on – and became a very popular tourist destination and O/S merch provider! [I still have my old Oz passport with the Hutt River Province visa stamp!] The Principality’s motto with its coat of arms was “While I Breathe, I Hope”. Well, Prince Leonard died in 2019 at the grand age of 93, owing a small fortune in taxation to the Aust'n Govt - but with his point made, and so, his son (Prince Graeme) ended the protest his father had begun those long years before and ceded their property back to its place in the Commonwealth of Australia, on 3rd August, 2020. Worth watching is the PHR’s Media Liaison Officer, Naomi Brockwell, explaining the interesting history of this secession in more detail : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBEqFQ3IHUU And here is a very short travelogue from 2016 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tQuUTMsktc The PHR Anthem is being sung here by the late Jon English & the Foster Brothers and which clip also includes a map of the locality : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZCaoWMhWI IT’S A HARD LAND (aka PHR Anthem) Keith Kerwin, 1984 It’s a hard land, but it’s our own land Built with love and dedication Self assured is our small nation One man’s dream of independence. God bless the Prince of Hutt River Province God bless the man whose dream has come true God bless this land where dreams can come true. ”….. He was an adherent of hermeticism, a subject on which he privately published a number of research papers and books……” / ”….. But he says the point of the secession is not about power but about principle: that a small man can stand up to a bully and prosper…… “ The Pandora Archive of the PHR website : http://www.principality-hutt-river.com/ and the WIKI page : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Hutt_River Below are the lyrics of the original song - which, though I still have my EP record, I can’t find uploaded to the internet yet :( BROKEN SERENITY (aka THE BALLAD OF HUTT RIVER) R. M. Müller (aka Mrs Rita Pope) & Dobe Newton / RANTING LADS 1. Well I’ll tell you a tale of a farmer’s long fight A man who could not rest until he’d won his right : To work on his land and to live a good life With his four strapping sons, his three daughters, and the wife. Chorus: Tis of the rebel Casley a story will be told A man who valued freedom more than any sum of gold He settled in Hutt River, it was his chosen land Was there the rebel farmers will fight and make a stand. 2. Well the government decreed with one wave of its hand : We don’t want your wheat, but we will take your land “Never!” cried the farmer “This action is unjust You have betrayed the honest folk; you’ve broken your trust.” 3. “Well listen, my family, to what I have to say : Under this tyranny, our land it will decay Our own separate land for us will be the need We’ll wait thirty days – and then we’ll secede.” 4. Well the politicians muttered. He did what he meant. “We’ll raise your wheat quota twelve hundred percent!” “Too late” said the farmer “Too long you did lag It’s Hutt River Province – we’ve raised up our flag.” 5. Well the tale of his battle, it was spread far and wide He would not be beaten nor run off and hide Let others take example of this courageous man They said we can’t make it. We showed them we can. In case you think this is/was Australia’s only Micronation, check this out : https://www.monsterchildren.com/meet-emperor-smallest-country-in-australia/ Empire of ATLANTEUM (in NSW) Apparently, Australia has one of the largest number of Micronations in the world : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-06/hutt-river-commonwealth-micronations-in-australia/12521668 Perhaps it could be argued that prior to colonisation (aka invasion) by the British, the continent was always comprised of Micronations? Checkout this map : https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia And there have been numerous proposals for new Australian States since colonial times : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_proposed_states_of_Australia And also a number of proposals for West Australian secession! : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secessionism_in_Western_Australia CRIKEY!!! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 23 Jan 21 - 01:30 AM I mentioned on the “Convicted to Fremantle” post about the dearth of Blues (acoustic and electric) on Mudcat these days and I posted “Black and Blue” by “Matt Taylor’s Chain”. I couldn’t resist this top little number as well :) I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUNG Matthew Taylor Well I remember when I was young, the world had just begun and I was happy I used to wonder about the earth and how it moved around the sun so snappy Imagination goin’ wild makes a very backward child, they told me So back at school I’d sit around just waitin' for the sound so I could go home. Sometimes I think about it, it happens every day I should think of the present, ‘cause the present’s now Well I remember when I was young, how one-and-thruppence got ya to the movies To look tough we'd light a smoke and very nearly choke, but we had a real good time Growin’ older meant you get to fly a Saber Jet and fight a few wars So I’d just sit there all day and let my mind decay somethin' awful. Sometimes I think about it, it happens every day I should think of the present, ‘cause the present’s now Well I remember when I was young, I had a secret love who never knew it Well I’d do tricks upon my bike that never turned out right; I always blew it And the day we had to part, I had a broken heart but couldn’t let on So I spent my holidays just thinkin' of the ways I musta gone wrong. Sometimes I think about it, it happens every day I should think of the present, ‘cause the present’s now Well I remember when I was young the Beatles turned me on, I really blew my mind And we'd carry Jack and Pam, we'd go and watch a band and have a real good time Then I heard the black man’s blues; they really blew a fuse inside my head So with some friends we made a stand and formed our first Blues Band; it was a real good thing. Sometimes I think about it, it happens every day I should think of the present, ‘cause the present’s now Well I remember when I was Young, I remember when I was Young, I surely do Well I remember when I was Young, I remember when I was Young, I surely do Matt is a Blues-lovin’ Briso-born boy, who resides in Perth and is arguably best known for his work with top blues band, CHAIN. However, this solo song (c.1973) is an all-time favourite of a great many music fans Down Under. This is from his 1973 album “Straight As A Die” re-released 1997 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7-NlqJei7c Here is a rockin’ Live version with CHAIN (Matt Taylor, Phil Manning, Barry “Big Goose” Sullivan, Barry “Little Goose” Harvey) at Melbourne’s Myer Music Bowl concert for Mushroom Records, in 1982 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTvzzgk_jEY R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Jan 21 - 12:27 AM FESTIVAL OF LIGHT Words & music Judy Small - words from Judy Small Songbook, 1986. Verse 1: I am a member of the Festival of Light And I know what's wrong and I know what's Right Right is right and you're gonna be left If you don't agree with me Mary Whitehouse is our guru And we believe that we can cure you Of every social sin and ill From the Swan to Circular Quay CHORUS: So come on in and close your mind You can leave it at the door behind you Come on in, sit right down We make the blind to see With our hands upon the Bible We commit all kinds of libel So raise your hands up to your hearts And repeat after me "I hate Reds and I hate Women Homosexuals are sinnin' child molesters, And the Lord knows that it just ain't right I stand for good clean wholesome family livin' All my sins have been forgiven I'm pure as snow as I do-si-do With the Festival of Light Verse 2: We follow the lead of moral giants: Freda Brown and Anita Bryant The media's behind us We're committed to our cause Women's place is in their houses Looking after kids and spouses Except for Anita, Mary, and Freda – They go by different laws CHORUS Verse 3: There's topless bathing down at Bondi Nakedness at Lady Jane Oh, perverts on the rampage On the shores of Thompson's Bay Moral outrage and indignation Sweep across this Christian nation If the Lord had meant us to bathe like that We would've been born that way Final CHORUS repeats last 2 lines I'm pure as snow as I do-si-do With the Festival of Light video Anita Bryant, Mary Whitehouse, Freda Brown - I haven't seen those names for a long time ... |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 22 Jan 21 - 08:51 PM BOTTLE-O (Banjo Paterson) I ain't the kind of bloke as takes to any steady job; I drives me bottle cart around the town; A bloke what keeps 'is eyes about can always make a bob -- I couldn't bear to graft for every brown. There's lots of handy things about in everybody's yard, There's cocks and hens a-runnin' to an' fro, And little dogs what comes and barks -- we take 'em off their guard And we puts 'em with the Empty Bottle-o! Chorus So it's any "Empty bottles! Any empty bottles-o!" You can hear us round for a half a mile or so. And you'll see the women rushing To take in the Monday's washing When they 'ear us crying, "Empty Bottle-o!" I'm drivin' down by Wexford-street and up a winder goes, A girl sticks out 'er 'ead and looks at me, An all-right tart with ginger 'air, and freckles on 'er nose; I stops the cart and walks across to see. "There ain't no bottles 'ere," says she, "since father took the pledge;" "No bottles 'ere," says I, "I'd like to know What right you 'ave to stick your 'ead outside the winder ledge, If you 'aven't got no Empty Bottle-o!" Chorus I sometimes gives the 'orse a spell, and then the push and me We takes a little trip to Chowder Bay. Oh! ain't it nice the 'ole day long a-gazin' at the sea And a-hidin' of the tanglefoot away. But when the booze gits 'old of us, and fellows starts to "scrap", There's some what likes blue-metal for to throw: But as for me, I always says for layin' out a "trap" There's nothin' like an Empty Bottle-o Chorus Wallis and Matilda Nicholas Reefman --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 21 Jan 21 - 04:34 AM CONVICTED TO FREMANTLE Wendy Evans / trad Ch. Lock the gate and turn the key Farewell, liberty! Massive walls close in on me Convicted to Fremantle. But I’ve got a Ticket-of-Leave, man, I go to build the state To work for West Australia, to work to make her great I’ll go to bridge the rivers and to carve the highways straight A second chance, or I will dance the rope that still awaits. But I’ve got a Ticket-of-Leave, man, I’ll go to work the land To build West Australia, to work to make her grand I’ll fence the open paddocks and I’ll build her wells and gates And if I slip, I’ll feel the whip that in Fremantle waits. But I’ve got a Ticket-of-Leave, man, to go to build a town To show West Australia’s The Colony to crown I’ll earn my right to pardon, I’ll work to walk here free For if I fail, I know the gaol that I built will claim me. But I’ve got a Ticket-of-Leave, man, I’ve suffered for my crime I’ve seen the hell of transport ships and bowed ’neath cat o’ nine I’ve earned the right to freedom and a new life I can find And I will earn the right to spurn the gaol I’ve left behind. Lock the gate and turn the key Good day, liberty! Massive walls now set me free It’s Farewell to Fremantle. Another song from the 1979 Bi-Centenary recording project “Bound for Western Australia” by poet, Wendy Evans and musicians, The Settlers (Alan S. Ferguson & Sean Roche). I have not found this track online and just hope that one day, someone will upload the whole excellent LP to the internet. My maternal Great Grandfather, George Sidney, was one who was “Convicted to Fremantle” and he arrived as a young man in 1866 on the Corona. He gained his “Ticket-of-Leave” in 1868 and worked around the Colony, gaining his freedom in 1871 – but, battled the ‘demon drink’ in his family life. His eldest ‘Currency Lass’ daughter, Annie, also spent time in prison as a young woman - she was apparently too independently-minded for her own good (which, let’s be honest here, is not a trait that’s fully approved of, even in these ‘enlightened’ times!! :) West Aussie only received convicts from 1850 (as transportation was winding down in the rest of Australia), until 1868 – the Landed Gentry had pleaded for free labour for the public works necessary in the new Colony. It was agreed that only “quality” convicts would be sent (with NO women and NO politicos), but before too long, the British Govt (which, by this time, had nowhere else in the world to shunt their riff-raff), were clearing their prisons of rapists and murderers and other violent offenders. Plus, after almost 10, 000 convicts sent, they included 62 Fenians on the very last ship!*** I should stress here, that my literate Brummie rellie was merely a two-time burglar (but with no violence)!! Though I am quite chuffed to “have a Convict in the Family”, prior to my generation, this was still considered “a stain” and was hidden and never discussed….. though unusually, my Mum (another independently-minded woman) really loved the idea! So as sung about in the above song, here are some clips about Freo Prison (aka “The Convict Establishment”) built by convicts in the 1850s with myriad 4ft x 7ft cells ….. and now World Heritage-listed!! The walls of this penitentiary are still be-set with broken glass (plus razor wire), and it was modelled on the famous Pentonville in London. It was in continual use until 1991 – and with very few improvements to the living conditions!! So I can understand why there was a massive riot and fire in 1988! Take a squizz with these short clips : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl6EDuTs6ow WAWeekender show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsn5koA_0Z0 We don’t get enough Blues music on this Folk & Blues Forum (IMHO :), so the score for this clip is the magnificent CHAIN (lead vocals, Matt Taylor), with “Black & Blue” – ENJOY! BLACK & BLUE Barry Harvey, Phil Manning, Barry Sullivan and Matt Taylor (CHAIN) You work me so hard that my back’s near broke (we’re groaning) My brow is wet and my throat’s a-choke (we’re groaning) You sent me here for ten long years (we’re groaning) And I miss my whiskey and I miss my beers (we’re groaning) Ain't seen a girl since I don’t know when (we’re groaning) And the way you treat me won’t see one again (we’re groaning Your water stinks ’cause it comes from a bog (we’re groaning) And that slop you feed us ain't fit for a dog (we’re groaning) You can beat me and try to break me but still I’ll spit at you You’ll never break my spirit even when my body's Black and Blue Well in my arm there’s a dreadful pain (we’re groaning) It’s hard digging ditches with a ball and chain (we’re groaning) You send me here for ten long years (we’re groaning) I miss my whisky and I miss my beers (we’re groaning) You broke my head cause I spat on a guard (we’re groaning) It don’t make me no better, it just makes me hard (we’re groaning) You can beat me and try to break me but still I’ll spit at you You’ll never break my spirit even when my body's Black and Blue R-J *** Eventually most were pardoned except for six “military’ Fenians – but they escaped on The Catalpa in 1876 - [see the song “The Catalpa” on 27Sept in this thread] |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 20 Jan 21 - 05:43 PM THE MEEKATHARRA GOLD MINER Robert Pyper / trad I’ve wandered all over this country, prospecting and digging for gold I’ve tunneled, hydraulic’d and cradled And I have been frequently sold, And I have been frequently sold Yes, I have lost all of my gold I’ve tunneled, hydraulic’d and cradled, And I have been frequently sold. For those that get riches by mining, there’s thousands go out the back door But this time I hit the gold lining It set me for life, that’s for sure, It set me for life, that’s for sure (for sure, right!) It set me for life, that’s for sure This time I hit the gold lining, It set me for life, that’s for sure. I got onto the prospect in Meeka, “The Pharlap” goldmine was its name The old guy that sold it’s a seeker With sixty-odd years at the game, With sixty-odd years at the game Yes, sixty-odd years full of shame The old guy that sold it’s a seeker, With sixty-odd years at the game. He showed me the lode on the Sunday, six weights in the dish in the sun But after some beers on the Monday Three ounces or more could be won, Three ounces or more could be won (that’s the grog for you!) Three ounces or more could be won But after some beers on the Monday, Three ounces or more could be won. He wanted ten grand for an option, three weights in the ton from gold won Another ten grand on adoption I signed with a loud cry of DONE! I signed with a loud cry of DONE! (done, all right!) I signed with a loud cry of DONE! Another ten grand on adoption, Well I signed with a loud cry of DONE! I took the shaft down to twelve-fifty, and crosscut and drove miles around Till I tumbled that he was a swiftee The old guy had salted the ground, The old guy had salted the ground He’d spread bloody gold dust around! I tumbled that he was a swiftee, The old guy had salted the ground. No longer the slave of ambition, a sucker for sharks and the shames I savour my happy condition Surrounded by my barren claims, Surrounded by my barren claims Surrounded by my barren claims I savour my happy condition, Surrounded by my barren claims. (spoken) And they’re as free of gold as a frog is from feathers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8DG-be6rgM Tune : “Acres of Clams” - also used for the well-known song “The Catalpa”. Another song from one of Australia’s “Singing Geologists”, Robert Pyper. He is a recorded singer of classical songs, but includes a CD of Australian Ballads and is also an author of 4 novels : www.robertpyper.com.au “To the tune Acres of Clams the song describes the pitfalls that await the new chum when he moves from panning alluvial gold to mining the hardrock. Set in Meekatharra in WA during the gold boom of the 1930's we are back in the days of pennyweights rather than grams. There are 20 dwt as against 31 grams to the ounce of gold. Providing you were still in the weathered zone, the panning-off dish was used to estimate grade by crushing a sample of gold rock and then panning off the light rock to leave a tail of gold, the grade of which could be estimated almost as well as a formal assay. It is a feature of gold mining that the longer you are away from a prospect the better you remember it. Adjourning to the bar to talk about it can hasten the remembering greatly, which is what happens here. There were many ways to salt a mine -- witness Busang in the 1990's, which was the biggest gold deposit ever discovered yet it contained no gold. There wasn't much in the Pharlap gold mine either, but I made up the tongue in cheek words in memory of a great prospector I knew. The Pharlap was later mined out in a huge open cut.” https://www.mindat.org/loc-240068.html History of The Pharlap (orig Gwalia) Gold Mine. R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 19 Jan 21 - 10:21 PM The wonderful Kath Tait in a reflective autobiographical mood: CHILDLESS MOTHER (Kath Tait) I was born way down in a valley I was born in a valley so small Far away from civilisation Hardly knew the wide world at all When I was a child I played by the river Played by the river so wild I grew up to be a childless mother Childless mother and a motherless child The raging waters of Waitaki Sing your song to me I’ll come back when I’m old and cranky Come back when I’m ninety-three Come back to drown in the river Float down over mossy stones I’ll be a spirit of the water The river it will guide my bones Ancestors are all dead and buried Ancestors are dead and gone It’s generations since they travelled Far from their Scottish home History has been forgotten Got no stories, got no songs They lost touch with where they came from I know where I belong Repeat stanza 2 I grew up to be a childless mother Lived a life so free and wild Years went by and as it happens I became a motherless child I got no roots, I got no branches Got no ties to keep me here When I’m gone there’ll be nothing left Just a ripple in the atmosphere Instrumental break I was born way down in a valley I was born in a valley so small Far away from civilisation Hardly knew the wide world at all When I was a child I played in the hills I roamed the hills so wild I grew up to be a childless mother Childless mother and a motherless child The rugged hills of North Otago Are the hills that made me wild Where the wind sings like a ghostly spirit To the young and undefiled I’ll go back to die in the hills And lie down in the rocks and stones I’ll be a spirit of the land The hills will guide my bones The above is my transcription of the YT clip. I was unable to find the lyrics on the Net. Corrections welcomed. Youtube clip Here is an article about Kath from an old issue of 'Living Tradition': Diva of the Dysfunctional --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Jan 21 - 09:04 AM rich-joy wrote ... Catter Bruce D noted in a 15May2009 post : “Going back to the subject there are a number of song about Kokoda including "The Kododa Trail" Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" - other songs from the era include "the Yanks Back Home", "The A25 Song", Bungin 'Em In, Blowing 'Em out", The Infanteer" and "Information Please" I got these songs on a very old cassette called "Australians at War" by Barry Collerson and the Reedy River Bushmen - photos 5 & 6 .” Strangely enough, I emailed my friend Ralph earlier tonight as he was a Reedy River Bushman & I believe has digitised all their music. I asked him for the words of those songs. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 19 Jan 21 - 08:15 AM Correction : Of course I meant to write in Para 2 : "Meanwhile, HAD the Japanese conquered Port Moresby ...." (long posts are dangerous late at night :) Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 19 Jan 21 - 08:04 AM SONGS OF THE KOKODA TRAIL (and those Ragged Bloody Heroes) After WWI’s Gallipoli, the story of WWII’s 3-year Kokoda is probably the next most acclaimed. Precious few of the servicemen and women are still alive, but stories of the campaigns have gradually come to light, with many docos, films, and books now produced. Kokoda’s results were hard-won – battling Malaria, Dengue Fever, Dysentery, on top of Humidity, Leeches, Crocodiles, Mosquitos, Mountains, Mud et al – on top of being under-equipped (in both weapons and clothing), under-trained, under-fed – on top of being VASTLY outnumbered – against the ferocious, unrelenting, battle-hardened Japanese who had swept through Asia and the Pacific and were now invading the tropical jungles of the very mountainous Papua New Guinea region from the North. While Australia’s defense of these Mandated Territories was left to relatively inexperienced Militias (like the CMF) and in the case of the 53rd Battalion, 100 of the young men had been literally Shanghaied-Pressganged (in good military tradition - but this was, after all, the 20th century!!!!) from Sydney all in one day - and not told their destination nor permitted to inform relatives and friends, nor given training and equipment. Of course, their resentment festered..….. Meanwhile, once the Japanese conquered Port Moresby, it was just a short hop across the Coral Sea to FNQ (Far North Qld) : Oh so very close to Australia, which was, of course, their intended target (and they had already been making air raids down both the West and East Coasts). Some more background to the Kokoda songs : Kokoda, the bloody track: “Documentary made for the 50th annivesary of the Kokoda campaign. Features on camera interviews with Australian and Japanese veterans of the campaign intercut with archival footage.” AWM (Austn War Museum) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbSXJsG90hQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ6oS0v59Ig ABC’s Chris Masters’ excellent doco for “4Corners” using Damien Parer’s 1942 footage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3i_W90EqnA – aerial view of the 8-day 96km trek you can do, along the famous Trail. “The Kokoda Track is a single file, very rough, tropical jungle path that connects villages over the Owen Stanley Range. It crosses rivers and creeks as it crosses over six mountain ranges, covered in mud. The vegetation changes along the way and so does the track, but one thing remains constant, it is rough, narrow and requires concentration to avoid slips, trips and falls.” And finally : KOKODA – is it Track or Trail?! : both have been used, but “trail” has the edge (and not due to any American usage!) : https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-kokoda-track-or-trail David Campbell’s poem “Men in Green”; a school favourite for me - first published in The Bulletin in 1943 (I’m surprised not to have found a musical setting though)……. https://ninglun.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/friday-australian-poem-12-david-campbell-men-in-green/ RUGGED 'N' BUGGERED David Nipperess This song is directly inspired by Peter Brune’s book ‘Those Ragged Bloody Heroes’. The lyrics reflect the language of spoken accounts included therein. Apologies for any instances of historical inaccuracy - put it down to artistic license. - David Nipperess. I was working for my father On a dairy farm out on Otway When one day that thrice-poxed postie With a conscription notice came John Curtin said “boy you’re the one To protect our dear home from the rising sun” ‘Cos the volunteers were fighting for England Only the rugged and the buggered remained So they placed me in a Choco battalion 39th AMF was its name And they sent us on off to New Guinea Even though we were only half-trained I remember turning twenty quite well ‘Cos the very next day was when Singapore fell And as the panic spread to Port Moresby Only the rugged and the buggered remained So we marched on up to Kokoda And the track it was sheer muddy hell And they told us to hold this great ridgeline boys Before the Japs could get there as well But they took us at about six to one When the best thing we had was an old Lewis gun And the cry went back to Port Moresby Only the rugged and the buggered remained Well we fought them off with our rifles With our spades and our boots and our knives And we gave those sons of the Emperor The bloodiest fight of our lives But we knew we hadn’t a hope As we paid with our youth to retreat down the slope And as the veterans sailed for Port Moresby Only the rugged and the buggered remained We were on our last bloody legs at Isurava We were sick, we were starved, we were worn Then the veterans came to fill out our line Just when we thought we were gone Well we staggered away from the front Our clothes were old rags and our guns rusted up And as I looked out amongst my companions Only the rugged and the buggered remained LISTEN HERE : https://miguelheatwole.bandcamp.com/track/rugged-n-buggered Thanks to GerryM for knowledge of this one. KOKODA TRACK A.E. Brooks & Slim Dusty (aka David Kirkpatrick) With no shouldered arms or bayonet fixed, they march on Anzac Day The measured tramp of steel-shod heels a memory away Veterans of a jungle war who went to hell and back Those Ragged Bloody Heroes of that grim Kokoda Track. So dig your reversed rifles in the mire of memory The swirling mists of time have healed the scars You climbed that golden stairway to keep our country free Where the jungle hid your nightmare from the stars. When sullen days brought no relief from blood and muck and mire And death was ever striding at your back You trod that hallowed path to be baptized in hellfire The Ragged Bloody Heroes of that grim Kokoda Track. Oh the devil took the hindmost and the snipers took the fore With no quarter asked or given in that muddy, bloody war With black angels there to guide them, the salvos by their side Those Ragged Bloody Heroes simply marched and fought and died. Astride a broken mountain top you stood defiantly As the devil took your comrades one by one He taunted you and beckoned you to face eternity You saluted with a burning Thompson gun. His hand was on your shoulder like a burning grip of steel But you turned him and you fought off his attack You broke the devil’s squadrons and you brought him to your heel The Ragged Bloody Heroes of that grim Kokoda Track. Oh the devil took the hindmost and the snipers took the fore With no quarter asked or given in that muddy bloody war While politicians pondered and great generals swelled with pride Those Ragged Bloody Heroes simply marched and fought and died. With no shouldered arms or bayonet fixed they march on Anzac Day With the memory of white crosses and the mounds of fresh- turned clay Of green fields and a bugle call and a solemn requiem [spoken] "And at the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them." Those Ragged Bloody Heroes of that grim Kokoda Track. Those Ragged Bloody Heroes of that grim Kokoda Track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RydSdjW5zi4&t=131s Slim Dusty sings. From his album: "Natural High" ONLY THE BRAVE ONES Lee Kernaghan, Garth Porter, Colin Buchanan Storm cloud blacks the sky, the rain comes pouring down This God-forsaken place will bring you to your knees We sweltered through each day in sweat and desperation Diggers on the march on the Kokoda Track. Step by muddy step, tortured hour by hour Some prayed, some swore with fear, but you'd never show your mates The kid beside me dropped, shot right between the eyes Death waits in the jungle under Kokoda skies. And it's only the brave ones, afraid, but keep on going One step moving forward, the next step slipping back Scared bloody stiff; still you keep on going It's only the brave ones out on the Kokoda Track. From the land of the rising sun, they came screaming through the darkness And a few Militia boys, they held the buggers back The wounded carried down by fuzzy wuzzy angels*** Heroes’ blood was spilt on the Kokoda Track. Yes, it's only the brave ones, afraid, but keep on going One step moving forward, the next step slipping back Scared bloody stiff; still you keep on going It's only the brave ones out on the Kokoda Track. Private Kingsbury fought beside his mates in Isurava When it seemed that all was lost, alone he rushed the line Well they finally cut him down but his courage turned the battle He laid down his life on the Kokoda Track. Yes, it's only the brave ones, afraid, but keep on going One step moving forward, the next step slipping back Scared bloody stiff; still you keep on going It's only the brave ones out on the Kokoda Track. Yes, it's only the brave ones out on the Kokoda Track. ***Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels was the name given by Australian soldiers to Papua New Guinean war carriers who, during World War II, were recruited to bring supplies up to the front and carry injured Australian troops down the Kokoda trail during the Kokoda Campaign…… Despite the great fatigue often experienced by the Carriers, no known injured soldier that was still alive was ever abandoned by the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, even during heavy combat….. “The care they give to the patient is magnificent” (WIKI) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0M3GNM4TQ&t=11s sung by John Schumann (Redgum), Lee Kernaghan, Garth Porter. THE KOKODA ANTHEM (BATTLE FOR AUSTRALIA) Frank Gallagher Our Anzacs left for over there When darkness fell on Leicester Square In freedom's name for liberty They fought and died for you and me Poland's gone, France has fell Pearl Harbor blown to hell Prison camps, millions dead Europe's burning, newsreel said Australian sons of the Southern Cross It's time to stand against the odds The Kokoda Trail and the Rising Sun And fight with God 'til the battle's won The Kokoda Trail the track to hell Where soldier sons and angels fell That mountain range of death and pain Where young blood flowed like jungle rain The Kokoda Trail the track from hell Where Fuzzy Wuzzy angels dwell Heroic souls to guide us on And safely bring our wounded home Australian sons of the Southern Cross Victorious against the odds The Kokoda Trail and the Rising Sun They took them on and fought and won Australian sons of the Southern Cross Victorious against the odds The Kokoda Trail and the Rising Sun They took them on and fought and won They took them on and fought and won https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWN8BJ4Jp6w Sung by Adam Harvey & Gina Jeffreys Sorry, didn’t have the energy to transcribe these last two! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wasceChoMfw Kokoda - Hamish Wyatt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I73WZPJ4fmo The Ballad of Kokoda - Lance Birrell N.B. and of course, I know it wasn’t JUST the Australians - the Papuans and the Americans were also involved in this PNG war!! And I’m aware that I may have left out important detail, but the story is just too big for one post, which anyway, is mostly about the songs :) Just found this Mudcat thread!! which discusses Kokoda and things pertaining (including songs of course) : /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40206,40206 In it, Catter Bruce D noted in a 15May2009 post : “Going back to the subject there are a number of song about Kokoda including "The Kododa Trail" Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" - other songs from the era include "the Yanks Back Home", "The A25 Song", Bungin 'Em In, Blowing 'Em out", The Infanteer" and "Information Please" I got these songs on a very old cassette called "Australians at War" by Barry Collerson and the Reedy River Bushmen.” R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Jan 21 - 05:06 AM LANES OF WOOLLOOMOOLOO by John Dengate Oh, then who's your mate, my Johnny lad, so drunk he can hardly stand With his eyeballs staring so wildly and his violently shaking hand? His name is not for the naming, but his story I'll tell you true; He's a child of the great depression from the lanes of Woolloomooloo. Reared on bread and dripping and on dollops of dole plum jam, He dodged the police and his father's boot and his fare on the city tram. Mustered in the militia on the wharves of Woolloomooloo, Fought disease and the Japanese in the summer of '42. Never you mind his shaking hand or his strangely twisted mouth; He was cut off at Templeton's Crossing when the Japs came swarming south, He wept and prayed in the jungle and God to his prayers was deaf: Chocko! Retreat on your bleeding feet, and where was the A.I.F.? You'll find him now in Bell's Hotel or round by the Domain; You'll find him under a Moreton Bay, sleeping it off in the rain, You'll find him wandering William Street without any work to do, He's a child of the great depression from the lanes of Woolloomooloo. He's a hollow, dirty derelict, abandoned by the fates; His soul's at Templeton's Crossing with his dead militia mates, White lady is his mistress, they fornicate and woo, Spawning blind oblivion in the lanes of Woolloomooloo. John's notes give: Templeton's Crossing: New Guinea battlefield Chocko: Chocolate soldier – derisive term for militiaman (An Australian soldier who had not volunteered for the A.I.F) White Lady: Methylated spirits and lemonade. To which I probably should add: A.I.F. : Australian Imperial Force – the regular army units. Dole: Unemployment payments, and some food issues, made during the great depression (1929/39) Domain: Public park area to the east of Sydney, frequented by the homeless Methylated spirits: Denatured alcohol – originally made poisonous with methyl alcohol but now rendered nauseating with turpentine. The cheapest possible alcohol. Moreton Bay: The Moreton Bay Fig – a wide-spreading tree with large leaves planted widely in Sydney's inner city parks. William Street: Major street of Kings Cross – inner eastern suburb of Sydney Woolloomooloo: East Sydney harbourside suburb – once slums, but these are being 'gentrified' as their value rises. Published in My Shout! Songs and Poems by John Dengate, Bush Music Club, Sydney, 1982 originally posted by Bob Bolton in 2001 video Jason reciting, backed by Chloe & Jason Roweth Band. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Jan 21 - 04:53 AM when I visited the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway some years back, I understood why John wrote "fought disease and the Japanese" as the deaths from tropical diseases far outweighed the battle deaths. Approximately 625 Australians were killed along the Kokoda Trail and over 1,600 were wounded. Casualties due to sickness exceeded 4,000. google maps photos of Kokoda Park memorial walkway unfortunately I can't see a photo of the panel showing casualty counts sandra of course, everyone (posting here!) knows I mean John Dengate's Lanes of Woolloomooloo, normally a powerful poem. Once I heard a sweet-voiced soprano singing it (it did not work) but as Jason & Chloe have also put a tune to it, I can post it! |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 19 Jan 21 - 01:22 AM I came across this recording whilst researching Kokoda for my upcoming song posts in this thread. David is a Melbourne singer-songwriter and who wrote this poignant song in 2007, after watching the film, KOKODA. WAR David Mooney Why do we have to fight; there’s no good in war All of our children, and many to go on before, Speaking out loud, in one mouth, telling the truth to closed doors Is there anyone listening, anyone listening at all? But it’s quiet tonight, when I close my eyes, it’s quiet all around Will I wake up at light, will I open my eyes Will I be in safer ground? When you fall, some will die, tell me there’s some good in war Yet the battle’s not over and we gather the wounded and dying, I have a family, so does he, we should be home very soon I keep sending those letters, but it’s never the same without you. But it’s quiet tonight, when I close my eyes, it’s quiet all around Will I wake up at light, will I open my eyes Will I be in safer ground? They say it’s over, we can go home, how can a dead man be free? And the ones that return have their memories burn in their mind. But it’s so quiet tonight, when I close my eyes, it’s quiet all around Will I wake up at light, will I open my eyes Will I be in safer ground? And it’s quiet tonight, when I close my eyes, it’s so quiet all around Will I wake up at light, will I open my eyes Will I be in safer ground? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnr6qkoEi8&t=4s David Mooney KOKODA – the movie – (aka KOKODA : 39th Battalion) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoda_(film) Here is a trailer for the acclaimed 2006 Aussie film, which was filmed in Qld’s Gold Coast rainforest hinterland, around Mt Tamborine, (which is nearby to the Army’s (still active) jungle warfare training grounds at Canungra) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTGQeZscLBY R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 18 Jan 21 - 08:00 PM I loved that, Sandra, Thanks! Jim's article is sadly no longer on the website, but via Arthur Stace's WIKI bio, I found the Wayback Machine's copy : https://web.archive.org/web/20110716135030/http://simplyaustralia.net/article-jkl-eternity.html Not being a Sydneysider, nor an Eastern-Stater, by birth, I had never heard of "Mr Eternity" until talked of in a Judy Small concert in the 80s!! It's such a lovely thing (but which would probably land you in gaol these days :( Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 18 Jan 21 - 09:39 AM Jim writes great songs, here's my favourite Mr Eternity © Jim Low When I was a child walking down the street I’d see this strange word written, written at my feet Eternity was what it read, I asked my Dad just what it said And it meant forever, and ever and ever Always, always Chorus: And Mr Eternity The man whom we never see In the early light of day With his chalk he’d write away Eternity, Eternity What to a young child could this strange word mean A day, a week, a year, to some it might have seemed Another year to Christmas seemed eternity And a week to Saturday’s pictures was like forever to me The city streets he wrote on no longer seemed the same When Mr Eternity left this life Eternity to claim And when the word in yellow chalk faded from my view I knew a part of childhood had disappeared too And it went forever, and ever and ever Always, always video |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 18 Jan 21 - 07:41 AM THE BROKEN SOLDIER Jim Low Along a dusty, bushland track When we were only kids We came upon a sandstone sphinx And some pyramids On a Sunday outing We couldn’t believe our eyes A little piece of Egypt, Under Australian skies. Fashioned in remembrance Where the wild flowers grow By a broken soldier All those years ago His efforts kept their memory The years could not condemn Those poppy clouded soldiers Who won’t return again. He suffered in the trenches The western front of fears The heavy German shelling Rang loudly in his ears He saw the cost of battle The sacrificial bones Then damaged and disabled Begrudgingly sent home. Did he ever wonder Why he didn’t die And so become a hero In his country’s eyes? © Jim Low LISTEN HERE : http://www.simplyaustralia.net/the-broken-soldier-lyrics/ “The stone works mentioned in this song were crafted by a returned World War One soldier named William Shirley. They are in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park New South Wales.” Read the article Remembering Private Shirley at http://www.simplyaustralia.net/remembering-private-shirley/ Available on the CD "Journey’s End" This whole post was taken from the very excellent “SIMPLY AUSTRALIA” website from Jim & Valda Low – which I had no idea was still going!! http://www.simplyaustralia.net/ R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 18 Jan 21 - 03:14 AM Have I missed this essential song somewhere in the thread??!! ALL THE FINE YOUNG MEN Eric Bogle / John Munro They told all the fine young men "Ah, when this war is over, There will be peace and the peace will last forever" In Flanders Fields, at Lone Pine and Bersheeba For king and country, honour and duty The young men fought and cursed and wept and died. They told all the fine young men "Ah, when this war is over, In your country’s grateful heart we will cherish you forever" Tobruk and Alamein, Buna and Kokoda In a world mad with war, like their fathers before The young men fought, cursed and wept and died. For many of those fine young men All the wars are over They found their peace It's the peace that lasts forever When the call comes again, they will not answer They're just forgotten bones lying far from their homes Forgotten as the cause for which they died. Ah Bluey, can you see now why they lied? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgpiQF_ulzM Written in the mid 80s, but taken here from Eric Bogle’s 2010 album “A Few Old Songs for Very New Times” Try also : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNWxVtyE5YI Albin Eriksson of Sweden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RqGnPKjxvI Toein' in the Dark (from South Yorkshire) R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 17 Jan 21 - 08:35 PM Here's another song of the sea from the land of the long white cloud. ACROSS THE LINE (Anon) I've traded with the Maoris Brazilians and Chinese I've courted half-caste beauties Beneath the kauri trees I've travelled along with a laugh and a song In the land where they call you mate Around the Horn and home again For that is the sailor's fate I've run aground in many a sound Without a pilot aboard Longboat lowered by lantern light Pushed off and gently oared Rowlock creaking, a thumping swell And a wind that would make you ache Who would sail the seven seas And share a sailor's fate We've sailed away to the northward We've sailed away to the east We've skinned our sail in the teeth of a gale And stood in the calmest seas Eastward round by Dusky Sound And Pegasus through the Strait Port Cooper, Ocean, Tom Kain's Bay For that is the sailor's fate The above is as printed in 'Song of a Young Country' p11. Note by Colquhoun: In the north, the Bay of Islands became busier and busier. Kororareka grew as the world's southernmost port with whitewashed houses lining the shore. However, in the south the sealing industry was dying, for the massive slaughter of seals as they came ashore to calve led to their rapid decrease in numbers. Sailors, moreover, were far less willing to seal. Tales of gangs left to die on the southernmost wind-swept islands spread rapidly. The seaman on the coastal trading vessels carried these stories with them as they sailed 'eastward round by Dusky Sound and Pegasus through the Strait'. Here is a rendition by Phil Garland. It has a chorus and different final stanza: Chorus: Across the Line, the Gulf Stream, I've been in Table Bay Around the Horn and home again, for that is the sailor's way Final stanza: We've sailed away to northward, we've hauled away to east We've trimmed our sail in the teeth of a gale and stood in calmest seas We've set our course by a southern star, by Stewart through the Strait Westward round by Milford Sound for that is the sailor's fate Youtube clip Here is a link to the entry in the NZ folk song site: Click This rendition by Phil Drane is also fine: Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 17 Jan 21 - 07:28 PM Evidently 'Soon may the Wellerman come', which I posted above on 5 October, has goner viral on the Net. Youtube clip Mudcat thread with link to recent article in 'The Guardian': Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Jan 21 - 08:47 PM a brilliant song! I loves these comments This song is named "The Waltz of the Baby Murderer" in my playlist think that tim is the only one who could perform this song and not make it increddibly tasteless. Being a member of that orchestra must be the hardest job in the world. How can they not burst laughing?! ...Probably why there's no flute solo.... |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 16 Jan 21 - 07:29 PM LULLABY (Tim Minchin) Sleep, little baby, sleep now my love The Milky Way's shining high up above When you grow up, you will learn all that stuff But for now, close your eyes Close your eyes Sleep, little baby, try not to squawk Tomorrow and tomorrow you'll learn how to walk To love and laugh, to make toast and talk But for now, beddy-byes Your blanket's hand-knitted with pure angora wool Your nappy is dry and your tummy is full Of enough antihistamine to chill out a bull Yet still all this gringing What more could you want for? I just cannot guess You constantly complain to me; you should feel blessed There are children in Africa, starving to death And you don't hear them whinging What more can I do to put a stop to This mind-numbing noise you are making? Where is the line between patting and hitting? When is rocking "rocking" and when is it "shaking"? I don't know what else I can do to try to hush you My heart says "I love you", but my brain's thinking "fuck you" And hoping a child trafficker will abduct you At least then I'll get a few hours in bed I've shushed and I've cooed and I've even try to sing "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" in the exact voice of Ringo Now all I have left is to hope that a dingo Will sneak in and rip off your fat bitching head Hush little baby, don't say a word Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird In the hope you get avian flu The nice folk in A&E will take care of you That's it, close your eyes, shhh, not a sound I can barely see your tiny belly moving up and down One thing they don't mention in the parenting books: Your love for them grows, the closer to dead they look Tim Minchin strutting his Lehrer-like humour with half a symphony orchestra: Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 14 Jan 21 - 09:08 PM Here's a YT clip of Hallom's edited version of 'Where dead men lie' referenced by GerryM in a post above on 26 December: Youtube clip Gerry Hallom also took a poem by Banjo Paterson and turned it into a fine song: THE FIRST SURVEYOR (Paterson/Hallom) The opening of the railway line, the governor and all With flags and banners down the street, a banquet and a ball The bands are marching on parade, playing loud and clear And all the town is gathered ‘round to cheer the engineer Chorus The opening of the railway line, they’re raising cheer on cheer The man who brought the railway through, our friend the engineer They cheer his pluck and enterprise, his engineering skill ’Twas my old father who found a way beyond that big red hill Before the engineer was born, he forged a mountain way And it was our first camping ground - just where I live today Chorus Others came across the range and built a township here And then there came the railway line and this young engineer Who rides around in luxury, he’s lauded and he’s praised But after all he only took the trail, the same my old man blazed Chorus The old man’s long been dead and gone without feast or cheer He’s buried by the railway line - I wonder does he hear I wonder can he hear them pass and does he see the sights When whistling shrill the Sydney trains go rolling by at night Chorus It seems they want me to come down, the oldest settler here Present me to the governor and this young engineer But I’ll do without the bands and flags, the speakers waxing free I know who ought to get the cheers and that’s enough for me Chorus Youtube clip The original poem: THE FIRST SURVEYOR "The opening of the railway line! -- the Governor and all! With flags and banners down the street, a banquet and a ball. Hark to 'em at the station now! They're raising cheer on cheer! 'The man who brought the railway through -- our friend the engineer.' They cheer his pluck and enterprise and engineering skill! 'Twas my old husband found the pass behind that big red hill. Before the engineer was born we'd settled with our stock Behind that great big mountain chain, a line of range and rock -- A line that kept us starving there in weary weeks of drought, With ne'er a track across the range to let the cattle out. "'Twas then, with horses starved and weak and scarcely fit to crawl, My husband went to find a way across the rocky wall. He vanished in the wilderness -- God knows where he was gone -- He hunted till his food gave out, but still he battled on. His horses strayed ('twas well they did), they made towards the grass, And down behind that big red hill they found an easy pass. "He followed up and blazed the trees, to show the safest track, Then drew his belt another hole and turned and started back. His horses died -- just one pulled through with nothing much to spare; God bless the beast that brought him home, the old white Arab mare! We drove the cattle through the hills, along the new-found way, And this was our first camping-ground -- just where I live today. "Then others came across the range and built the township here, And then there came the railway line and this young engineer; He drove about with tents and traps, a cook to cook his meals, A bath to wash himself at night, a chain-man at his heels. And that was all the pluck and skill for which he's cheered and praised, For after all he took the track, the same my husband blazed! "My poor old husband, dead and gone with never a feast nor cheer; He's buried by the railway line! -- I wonder can he hear When by the very track he marked, and close to where he's laid, The cattle trains go roaring down the one-in-thirty grade. I wonder does he hear them pass, and can he see the sight When, whistling shrill, the fast express goes flaming by at night. "I think 'twould comfort him to know there's someone left to care; I'll take some things this very night and hold a banquet there -- The hard old fare we've often shared together, him and me, Some damper and a bite of beef, a pannikin of tea: We'll do without the bands and flags, the speeches and the fuss, We know who ought to get the cheers -- and that's enough for us. "What's that? They wish that I'd come down -- the oldest settler here! Present me to the Governor and that young engineer! Well, just you tell his Excellence, and put the thing polite, I'm sorry, but I can't come down -- I'm dining out tonight!" --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 13 Jan 21 - 07:20 PM LAST TIME I SAW HIM (Bob McNeill) I stayed when all the men had gone To drink to my husband's return Their voices carried to the shore Like the last time I saw him He was in the fields when I was young Nothing but toil in rain and sun And the fertile earth our father sowed Froze to ice in those winters And drove the men out in their boats But he was tall and dark A raven like his father was so strong And in my sons the eyes were brightest As clear and bright as his The only warning was the breeze What chance a small boat in such seas Tossed and turned away Tossed and turned Tossed and turned away from me But he came home today And all the men would say They found him on a beach Where his brothers used to play In waves that tossed and turned I stayed when all the men gone And I prayed my husband would return Their voices carried to the shore The last time I saw him The lyrics are from his website. The stanzas in the YT clip are in a different order. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Jan 21 - 07:28 PM THE BALLAD OF FERGIE McCORMICK (Marcus Turner) Now, Fergie McCormick was walking one day When he noticed a building on fire The screams of a woman could plainly be heard Through the flames as they soared ever higher The trembling lady was clutching a baby The building was ten stories high It could plainly be seen that both she and the child Were most certainly doomed for to die Now the firemen were there with their ropes and their ladders And holding a big trampoline Though they tried to enourage the lady to jump She was patently not very keen For the babe was too small to survive such a fall And so she refused to let go What could they do, they were right in the stew As they helplessly gazed from below The up stepped the hero - ‘Tis Fergie McCormick’, he cried ‘Throw your baby to me Fear not I will catch it, from death I shall snatch it And safe in my arms it will be’ Now, the big fullback's arms and his masculine charms Allayed all the young mother's fears She cried, ‘Bless you Fergie!’ Then tossed her child over the edge, as her eyes filled with tears Now, the rest of this story will long be remembered In legend throughout all the land For there, on the ground, as the crowd gathered round The wee babe landed safe in his hands ‘He's rescued the child’, said the crowd, going wild The excitement was plainly too much. As they all stared in wonder, with a swift up-and-under He kicked forty metres for touch Youtube clip The tune is 'The Catalpa'. I first heard the joke some decades ago told in a pub session by Ted Egan. In that telling, the hero was an AFL high flyer by the name of Safe Hands Flanagan who bounced the babe three times and kicked him through a bakery door. The story is also often told with a soccer goalie as hero. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Jan 21 - 03:25 AM FATHERS OF THIS COLONY Wendy Evans / trad music We left behind our homeland, the land where we were born We sailed on the Parmelia**, around the wicked Horn We had but few possessions; the other folk were grand But we were richer far than they, because we loved the land. In storms we reached our new land, the land that we have tamed The gentry spoke in anger and said someone should be blamed What use were silks and satins then; we blessed our homespun cloth And hardy life that knew the land and braved the tempest wrath. At last the ship offloaded us and cargo we had brought The gentry brought their furniture, and carriages and port Beside their piles of riches, our start in life looked poor But basic needs and stock and seeds, and tools we brought ashore. When given land, we cleared it soon with toil and aching back And sowed the land and prayed for rain and built a simple shack The gentry told their servants to clear acres by the score But we knew what to sow and when, and so our land grew more. We pioneered with heartbreak, because Nature asked for blood We fought with drought and tempest, with fire and with flood We built Western Australia. Will Men recall what’s true That land, Men built this nation, and each day they fight anew. Chorus: It was not gold that built this land, but those who loved the earth Their wisdom and their labour and their patience gave it birth No rich man built this country, save other people’s toil The Fathers of This Colony were those who loved the soil. Another song from the 1979 Bi-Centenary recording project “Bound for Western Australia” by poet, Wendy Evans and musicians, The Settlers (Alan S. Ferguson & Sean Roche). I have not found this track online and just hope that one day, someone will upload the whole excellent LP to the internet. ** WIKI tells us that the Parmelia was an 1825 Quebec-built barque, sold in 1827 to a director of the British East India Company. In 1829, it brought the first settlers and civilian officials to the new Swan River Colony, in what would become Western Australia, sighting the new colony on June 1st (= the beginning of winter). Captain James Stirling, the civil superintendent of the colony, arrived on the HMS Challenger, with HMS Sulphur carrying a detachment of the 63rd Foot Regiment. Stirling assumed the duties of Pilot on the Parmelia, for her grand? entrance into the new colony, and long story short, after a day of bad weather, she ran aground on a sandbank and lost her foreyard, rudder, windlass, spare spars, longboat and skiff, - and was leaking at a rate of 4 inches (10 cm) per hour and then rode out a storm at anchor for three days before finally being brought to a safe anchorage. Passengers were unloaded on June 8th. Perhaps not such an auspicious start to the new British colony!! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Jan 21 - 06:50 PM SOMETHING IN THE PILLIGA Slim Dusty (Pubs, Trucks & Plains album) This story was told to me by a mate - and he was still shakin after 20 years Well that’s what he told me anyway. I was drivin through the Pilliga, getting tired of the road Pulled over for a breather, stretch my legs and check the load It was getting close to sundown; been away near on a week When I pulled into this campsite on the banks of Tooley Creek. Well I walked around the trailer; the bush was pretty still Checkin ropes and kickin tyres and the night air had a chill I was climbin in the cabin when I thought I heard a moan And I got this sudden feeling that I wasn’t on my own. Oh there’s somethin in the Pilliga, I’ve heard old timers say There’s some won’t even camp there; some never go that way And if you listen to their stories, they’ll make yer skin just crawl Some may offer their opinion and some never talk at all. Well I put it down to maybe the wind blowin in the trees Completely disregarding shaky feelings in my knees I was climbin in the camper; 40 winks was all I’d take When I felt the cabin shakin; I was really wide awake. Oh I grabbed the tyre lever out from underneath the seat Hit the lights and threw some roman sandals on my feet I was creepin round the bullbar; out roared this awful sound And my hair was standin straight up; I was frozen to the ground. Hey there’s somethin in the Pilliga, I’ve heard old timers say There’s some won’t even camp there; some never go that way And if you listen to their stories, they’ll make yer skin just crawl Some may offer their opinion and some never talk at all. Then this thing came chargin for me; it was all of 10 feet high With hair all covered over, murder in its devil’s eyes And I must have started screamin like a banshee in full flight For it roared and grunted somethin and then vanished in the night. When finally I woke up I was lyin on the ground In an eerie kind of stillness, nothin moved nor made a sound Both my eyes were big as saucers, still seein in my mind That primeval apparition, red eyes burning into mine. Oh there’s somethin in the Pilliga, I’ve heard it rant and roar And my nerves were shot to pieces rememberin what I saw It was big and it was hairy; its perfume really reeked Yeah there’s somethin in the Pilliga mate, on the banks of Tooley Creek Let it stay there in the Pilliga on the banks of Tooley Creek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-UjD-m6L9g Something in the Pillaga sung by Slim Dusty If you thought “Bigfoot” and his mates were restricted to North America or to Nepal’s Abominable Snowman/Yeti, think again. These elusive, mystical – but very real – creatures have been sighted, plus heard (and now recorded), all over the planet, since, well – since Forever! Just as there are - or were :( many varieties of particular species of animals, it is believed there were also at least 11 variations of hominins, which “died out” - apart from us – and science is gradually finding skeletal evidence of them. Meanwhile, every country and culture has their stories and legends about still-existing bi-pedal hairy hominoids that “shouldn’t” exist - and with the digital age, we hear more and more about our increasing interactions with them. Australia is no exception – hence the above song! There is barely an area that hasn’t reported one, or multiple, encounters and the Aborigines warned the new settlers about them from the start of colonisation in the late 1700s, reports of which were duly relayed back to England. It appears each Indigenous language group had their own name for them, but today they are generally known across Australia as YOWIES (that’s the very tall ones, there is a smaller mob (shorter than us), called JUNJADEES). As with the USA & Canada’s Sasquatch, there is much activity on YouTube from Yowie investigators, particularly in NSW and QLD, though there appear to be very few songs written about the topic. The Yowie’s National Anthem “We Are Australian” is sung here by The Seekers and in the accompanying slideshow, at 03:17 you can view a World Map which details the different types and names of some 27 x BigFoot types from all over – most illuminating!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Z5QYSfRjE Leeann Flynn wrote in 1999, this Yowie number : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn9vzkRRJy4 and Rowan Blackmore’s 2016 song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21becQK9TFs HERE is some good data from a credible source – Gary Opit has had a weekly wildlife and environment show on Australian radio for over 20 years and much field experience in Papua New Guinea, SE Asia, and Eastern Australia. He reveals some of his many experiences that have made him a Believer : https://www.sasquatchstories.com/yowie-the-aussie-bigfoot Then there’s this amazing 2017 report from the NSW Border Ranges and from a witness with Science creds from here to next Tuesday : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY3nlEMfcnE This is from a clip on Aboriginal Mysteries. The Yowie segment is from 07:11 to 10:15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVXwQ8n_Vcs and here is a description from Aboriginal folklore : “ …. Indigenous Australian lore specifically includes the ability of the Hairy Men to induce states of mind on human beings as well as to appear visible or not, at will…… “ Us not “believing” in them does not change the fact that these extraordinary creatures still exist. If you’re at all interested in this subject, do the research. There’s much to be found. A final musical offering : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyW7cimXPl8 “We Didn’t Find the Yowie” from the Monster Hunters Australia Band (Halloween Special) LoL - I’ll refrain from further comment!! :) R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 10 Jan 21 - 08:46 PM END OF THE EARTH (Anon/N.Colquhoun reconstructed) The end of the earth is not far from here And it's getting darker year by year The gum's getting smaller and deeper down And never again will I see a town With tiny white houses all in a row And women in aprons to and fro And the bar in the pub down by the sea Where a ship is waiting there to carry me Back to the land from where I come When I was born, where I was young With a ruddy good tingle on my young face And money to jingle all over the place Aye, but then I'd punch the foreman's nose And run to sea for the 'there she blows' And get caught out for the homeward cruise And end up working in moleskin trews And get a little drunk and get a little sore And end up fighting it with the law For what are them bright shop samples for When a man is hungry and a man is poor And's got no work worth working for And's running up north away from the law Aye, a-walking up north like everyone To end up sitting out in the sun At the door of a shack with a hole for a lum A-scraping up clean a hundred-weight of gum Youtube clip 'Hooking' for gum, as it was called, was only the very beginning of the work. The digger pushed a long metal spear into the ground to locate the gum, an experienced man quickly distinguishing between gum, rock or tree root by the feel of the spear in his hand. Since few storekeepers paid any more than pennies for gum in its unclean state, it had to be thoroughly scraped in order to more easily assess its quality. [Note in 'Song of a Young Country p25]. One hundred-weight of the gum takes about ten good hours scrapin'. We shared everything - family, that is. Otherwise I don't know how 'twas to be done. But some men, as I recall, lived on their own. Worked on their own. All that scrapin' just by themselves - for the money - enough to live. [Joseph Smith, Dargaville. Personal communication to N. Colquhoun.] --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 09 Jan 21 - 10:13 PM WE WANT FREEDOM (ABORIGINAL CHARTER OF RIGHTS) (K.Walker [Oodgeroo Noonuccal]/G.Shearston) Chorus: Must we native old Australians In our own land rank as aliens? Banish bans and conquer caste Then we’ll win our own at last We want hope, not racialism Brotherhood, not ostracism Black advance, not white ascendance Make us equals, not dependants We need help, not exploitation We want freedom, not frustration Not control, but self-reliance Independence, not compliance Not rebuff, but education Self-respect, not resignation Chorus Free us from a mean subjection From a bureaucrat protection Let’s forget the old-time slavers Give us fellowship, not favours Encouragement, not prohibitions Homes, not settlements and missions We need love, not overlordship Grip of hand, not whip-hand wardship Opportunity that places White and black on equal basis Chorus You dishearten, not defend us Circumscribe who should befriend us Give us welcome, not aversion Give us choice, not cold coercion Status, not discrimination Human rights, not segregation You the law, like Roman Pontius Make us proud, not colour-conscious Give the deal you still deny us Give goodwill, not bigot bias Chorus Give ambition, not prevention Confidence, not condescension Give incentive, not restriction Give us Christ, not crucifixion Though baptised and blessed and bibled We are still tabooed and libelled You devout salvation-sellers Make us neighbours, not fringe-dwellers Make us mates, not poor relations Citizens, not serfs on stations Chorus Then we'll win our own at last Youtube clip Note by John Baker for Gary Shearston's 1964 album 'Songs of our time': We Want Freedom (the Aboriginal Chater of Rights), as arranged by Gary Shearston, is as new and different as the Yirrkala Aboriginal bark painting petition on reservation rights to the House of Representatives in 1963. The Aboriginal Charter of Rights (retitled 'We Want Freedom'in its song form) was written by Aboriginal poet Kath Walker* and dedicated to the 5th Conference of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders held in Adelaide in 1962. The poem also appears as the dedication piece to Kath Walker's book of verse published in April, 1964, under the title 'We Are Going'. In the music of Gary's arrangement can be seen the modern folk process of weaving together the old and the new as penetrating poetry becomes a moving and powerful song. After writing the chorus, the inspiration for his chant-like cadence in the verses came from the 'Devil Dance' (a song from Yirrkala in Eastern Arnhea Land), collected and recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. The end result of this cross-pollination of poetry and song in the tribal and folk fi elds is an anguished demand for human understanding. [* later known as Oodgeroo Noonuccal] A paper on the poetry of Kath walker: Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Jan 21 - 03:54 AM CITY OF BRISBANE Gary Rose The year was 37, and the month was February and the 19th day, had just begun On a warm and windy morning the Stinson’s engines fired, its last humming song was sung She climbed from Brisbane town and flew on her way to Lismore with passengers and mail But the clouds they were a gathering and the cyclone hit them hard with a force enough to break her soul. And somewhere on her way she was plucked from the sky like a giant hand had pushed her to the ground On a high and lonely ridge in the wild McPherson range the City of Brisbane died And eight days had gone and the search was scaling down when O’Reilly started out anew Reports had placed the wreck far out to sea with no hope left for passengers or crew. But Bernard O’Reilly was convinced that he must help and set out in the bush where he was bred For two days he trekked through that harsh mountain range in the hope he’d find them somewhere up ahead From the top of a ridge he saw a sentinel, a burnt-out tree standing stark It was eight miles ahead on the course that she flew, on through the forest dark. Well three men had survived and Jim Westray went for help, but died from a fall along the way John Proud lay there with a badly shattered leg and Joe Binstead tended him for days Then ten days had gone when O’Reilly heard their calls and rushed on renewed in his quest And there he found those two men just barely alive where City of Brisbane lay at rest. I’ll bring a Doctor and a hundred men he cried as he left and rushed off down the mountain side Only three hours had passed when the word was ringing out and an army of rescuers arrived For eight hours they climbed through the rain that night, O’Reilly in the lead throughout And another day and night they battled at their task and carried the survivors out. And the memory lingers on for all those brave men O’Reilly, Binstead and Proud And the five lonely graves on that rugged mountain side where the City of Brisbane died. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQWPILJqTDA "City of Brisbane" - Briagolong Bush Band - from Gippsland in Victoria. From their album "seventeen" The Stinson Model A airliner : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinson_Model_A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6XcvbIF1Y The Riddle of the Stinson This “rare” 1987 Australian film (which I am just about to view and which has good reviews), concerns the crash and rescue attempts of the ‘City of Brisbane’ Stinson model A airliner in 1937 in the exceedingly rugged McPherson Ranges in what is now Lamington National Park (one of many), on the Qld-NSW border. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Riddle_of_the_Stinson - Jim Conway (Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band) is responsible for the harmonica score (along with many other film and radio projects.) Some other stories from the Crash and related people are here : https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4773644/one-mans-mission-to-find-a-missing-plane/ Historical news data and clips from Qld State Archives : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsHrvhOvNMc Some Comments on modern Trek experiences and some Pics : https://www.aussiebushwalking.com/qld/stinson-crash-site-from-christmas-creek- R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 07 Jan 21 - 07:27 PM Sandra, many thanks for the links. Warren Fahey recorded an interesting variant of 'Wild Rover' from Sally Sloane. I’VE BEEN A WILD BOY (Traditional) Oh, my father he died and he left me his estate I married a lady whose fortune was great And through keeping bad company, I've spent all my store I have been a wild boy but I'll be so no more Oh, there was Bill, Tom and Harry, and Betsy and Sue And two or three others belonged to our crew We sat up till midnight and made the town roar Oh, I've been a wild boy but I'll be so no more I was always too fond of treating ladies to wine Till my pockets grew empty, too soon I would find Twenty pounds in one night, oh, I've spent them and more Oh, I've been a wild boy but I'll be so no more Oh, it's first down to Newgate, a prisoner I stand I had on cold irons, I had to lament And I had to find comfort as I lay on the floor Oh, I've been a wild boy but I'll be so no more Oh, the next, down to Newgate a prisoner I stand And what I have longed for, is now out of hand And if ever I gain my liberty as I've had before I will be a good boy as I have been before Oh, bad luck to all married men who visit strange doors I have done so myself, but I'll do so no more I'll go home to my family, I'll go home to my wife And I'll be a good boy all the rest of my life Youtube clip The version printed in Stewart and Keesing's 'Old Bush Songs' is closer to the more familiar one that was doing the rounds in the revival. You can find it on Mark Gregory's marvellous site: Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Jan 21 - 01:53 AM Stewie - Visit to Tritton Hall by Duke Tritton's daughter and one of his grandsons Harold Percy Croydon (Duke) Tritton, 1886 - 1965 Chris Woodland's presentation on Duke Tritton, NFF 2005 on the 40th anniversary of his death (Chris knew Duke) We applied for a presentation on Duke, The Time Meas Tucker Man for the 2019 National, but were unsuccessful. sandra |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 05 Jan 21 - 10:05 PM Thanks, r-j! Yes indeed, Cathy's song about the hotel demolition was very popular. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:39 PM Oh that's a good post, JennieG! I came across another song to do with the quilt about a month ago and had thought of adding it to my list of possibles (wonder where it was?? :) but too may good songs and good ideas and not enough time, eh!! I know Cathy Miller ("The Singing Quilter") was in Darwin awhile and wrote a song about the almost overnight destruction of the iconic Hotel Darwin, too. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 05 Jan 21 - 08:26 PM THE 'RAJAH' QUILT – Cathy Miller We set sail on the 'Rajah', transportation had begun On the 5th of April in 1841. Bound for far Australia with our great and public shame It was the 19th of July before we'd walk on land again. Farewell to our future, goodbye to kith and kin, Good riddance to old England's towns, will I ne'er see them again? And the crossing would be risky – maybe some of us would die - I thank God for my safe passage, and I thank God for Elizabeth Fry! She gave to us one thimble, a single ounce of pins, One hundred needles and one small bodkin, Nine balls of sewing cotton, a pair of scissors and some thread, Two pounds of patchwork pieces, and a Bible To earn our daily bread. Some said we were evil, some said we were no good, So they shipped us off around the world like we were cords of wood. No thought to our future, out of sight and out of mind, No other reformation save the work of Mrs Fry. She knew we'd fall on hard times with nothing else to do - We might have to sell our bodies when our prison time was through, But with new skill at the needle there's no lack of honest toil, And it filled our days along the way to Van Dieman's soil. She gave to us one thimble, a single ounce of pins, One hundred needles and one small bodkin, Nine balls of sewing cotton, a pair of scissors and some thread, Two pounds of patchwork pieces, and a Bible To earn our daily bread. By the time we got to Rio several quilts were done, We sold them for a guinea each and shared with everyone. It was the first honest money some of us had ever made, And the first thing of beauty we ever had to trade, For the last half of our journey we sewed with loving touch A quilt for the woman who had given us so much With broderie Perse, the finest patches we could clip, The hours quickly passed aboard the convict ship. She gave to us one thimble, a single ounce of pins, One hundred needles and one small bodkin, Nine balls of sewing cotton, a pair of scissors and some thread, Two pounds of patchwork pieces, and a Bible To earn our daily bread. For we were whores and we were mothers, young and healthy, old and frail, We were ripped out from our homeland and sent to Hobart's gaol. With loneliness and sorrow there was no lifeline and no rope, But each one carried with her a bundle filled with hope. It was such a small investment for the future of a land To pull the desperate up with such a gentle caring hand, With Mrs Fry's conviction in faith and industry We started our new lives with some respectability. All that with just one thimble, a single ounce of pins, One hundred needles and one small bodkin, Nine balls of sewing cotton, a pair of scissors and some thread, Two pounds of patchwork pieces, and a Bible To earn our daily bread. Cathy Miller is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has lived in Australia. The 'Rajah' quilt is the only such known quilt in existence; it was found in an attic in Scotland in the 1980s and is now in the collection of the National Library of Australia, Canberra. Mrs Fry's society to reform conditions for female prisoners eventually became known as the 'British Society of Ladies' and it was they who ensured that each prisoner was given a small bag containing the items (plus a small pair of spectacles if required) described in the song, with the idea that a woman with sewing skills could earn a respectable living. Quilts made along the voyage were indeed sold, there is a record of one made on the 'Wellington' being sold in Rio for one guinea. We know the story of this quilt – in reality a 'top' only; it would have been used as a summer bedspread rather than a padded quilt – because of a meticulously embroidered label on one side which reads: “To the Ladies of the Convict Ship Committee This quilt worked by the convicts of the ship Rajah during their voyage to Van Dieman's Land is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions for their welfare while in England and during their passage and also as a proof that they have not neglected the ladies kind admonitions of bring industrious * June * 1841 *” Due to its age and fragility the 'Rajah' quilt is not exhibited very often, but I was lucky enough to see it several years ago. As would be expected the stitching varies from exquisite to not very good. 'Broderie Perse' mentioned in the song is a technique of cutting motifs from fabric (a spray of flowers or a bird on a leafy branch) and stitching it to a background, thereby making a small piece of expensive printed fabric stretch further; the quilt centre is made using this technique. The 'Rajah' quilt |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 05 Jan 21 - 07:22 PM Sara Storer was raised on a wheat farm in Victoria, but began writing songs whilst working as a teacher in Katherine, NT. She now lives near Albury, NSW. RAINING ON THE PLAINS (Sara storer) The galahs they know that it's that time Upside down on the power lines Making a family on their minds Raining on the plains again Can you hear it drumming on that old tin sheet No better sound to make you fall to sleep To dream of tonne crops and big fat sheep Raining on the plains again Haven't seen the Warrumbungles all day There's a fair chance so the old blokes say Reminds them of the start back in '58 Yeah thunder on the plains again Looks like the break that we've been looking for And the dogs are doing donuts on the lawn Chasing their tails they can smell the storm Raining on the plains again You can't make money out of dirt that's dry Bring on the rain from that stormy sky Grab a beer from the fridge And raise it high 'Cause it raining on the plains again Instrumental break The last time the dog did that Couldn't get to me ute for the fences and logs Couldn't sleep with noise of the mozzies and the frogs What a storm on the plains again The galahs they know that it's that time Upside down on the power lines Making a family on their minds Raining on the plains again No you can't make money out of dirt that's dry Bring on the rain from that stormy sky Grab a beer from the fridge And raise it high 'Cause it raining on the plains again No you can't make money out of dirt that's dry Bring on the rain from that stormy sky Grab a beer from the fridge And raise it high 'Cause it raining on the plains again Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 05 Jan 21 - 07:04 PM Another little ripper from the Duke. THE GOOSE-NECK SPURS (Duke Tritton) I’ve been in lots of trouble, I’ve been in tons of strife But the fix I was in at the Shingle Hut was the toughest of my life I’d dumped a mob of weaners at a place called Leaning Gum I sang a ditty to my horse, ‘Oh, Sydney here I come' But I pulled up at the Shingle Hut, a little wayside pub Tired of mutton and damper, I wanted some decent grub The barmaid was a buxom lass, I thought her very nice You wouldn’t think to look at her, but her heart was made of ice I handed her my hard-earned cheque, it was over fifty quid There was a quick gleam in her eye, but her thoughts she quickly hid She smiled at me so sweetly and said, 'It’s getting late I cannot cash your cheque today, now would you care to wait?' 'My husband won’t be home tonight, so stay you really must I’d feel much safer with you here, for you’re a man I’d trust' Then away went all my chances of seeing Sydney town For that barmaid was a trimmer at lambing fellows down I had one drink, or maybe two, I’m sure it was no more, And I came to in the ‘dead house’, feeling sick and sore. It was the barmaid woke me, with the toe of her little shoe 'Get out!', she said, 'you drunken mug, three days is enough for you' A big bloke stood behind her, a nasty looking brute I was too crook for brawling or I’d have jobbed the coot And the barmaid said, 'Your cheque’s cut out, you’d better make a shift Here is a bottle for the road, it is my parting gift' 'All right', I said, 'I’ll get my horse, tonight I’ll travel far' 'Oh no!', she laughed, 'you can’t do that, your horse has jumped the bar' And so it had, my saddle too, likewise my swag and dog No doubt she had me cornered like a possum in a log I wandered off into the scrub, I heard a dingo calling And soon I knew that I was lost and a heavy frost was falling I opened up the bottle and had a swig of rum, It hit me like a hammer, my legs went weak and numb I knew that I had been stung again, my head went round and round I thought I saw the barmaid before I hit the ground And I awoke ‘neath a barbed-wire fence in a patch of Bathurst burrs With nothing to cover my freezing hide but a pair of goose-neck spurs You can hear Duke Tritton sing his song and read a piece by Warren Fahey about 'lambing down' here: Click You can also find recordings on Bob Rummery 'The Man with the Concertina' and Alan Musgrave & His Watsaname Band 'Behind the Times'. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 05 Jan 21 - 05:24 AM “A shearer's song from the Forbes district, that drives on at the pace of a ringer [master shearer] on the long blow in a busy shed. The Ward and Paine's mentioned in the song are a brand of shears. Jackie Howe, likewise mentioned, shore 321 wethers at Alice Downs, Central Queensland, in 1892. His record stood until 1947, when Daniel Cooper shore 325 at Glenara, Langkoop, Victoria. The tune, best known in Australia in association with the words of The Shearer's Cook, is a Scottish melody sometimes called Musselburgh Fair (It also exists in America, as The Cruise of the Bigler).” A.L.Lloyd on : “The Old Bush Songs” sleeve notes. LACHLAN TIGERS Well, at each gate each shearer stood as the whistle loudly blew, With eyebrows fixed and lips set tight and the tigers all fed too. You can hear the clicking of the shears as through the wool they glide And see the ringer already turned and on the whipping side. A lot of Lachlan tigers, it's plain to see they are, And the ringer goes on driving as he loudly calls for tar. “Tar here, you dozy loafer,” and quick the tar boy flies, “Broom here and sweep them locks away,” another loudly cries. The scene it is a lively one and ought to be admired, There's never been a better board since Jacky Howe expired. Along the board the contractor walks, his face all in a frown, And passing by the ringer he says, “My lad keep down.” I mean to have those bellies off and topknots too likewise, My eye is quick, so stop your tricks or from me you will fly. My curse on that contractor by flaming day and night To shear a decent tally here in vain I've often tried. I have a pair of Ward and Paine's that are both bright and new, I'll rig them up and let you see what I can really do. For I've shore on the Bogan where they shear them by the score, But such a terror as this to clip I've never saw before. A lot of Lachlan tigers, it's plain to see they are, And the ringer goes on driving as he loudly calls for tar. The scene it is a lively one and ought to be admired, There's never been a better board since Jacky Howe expired. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfZZSa0aEjM This is Gary Shearston in 1965 displaying his A.L.Lloyd vocal influence!, with Les Miller on banjo. Ah, Folk in the 70s!! Here are the Bushwackers Band in London, 1977 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhahHg0FNo Yay! That’s Mick Slocum singing lead (and still singing I believe); Dobe Newton murdering the lagerphone with great energy and style; the lovely late Louis McManus Jnr on fiddle #1; ; must be Davey Kidd on fiddle #2; Jan Wositsky on that dual bodhran – and bones (speaking of great energy and style!); leaving the late Pete Farndon on bass. [ I’m relying on the Comments section of the clip + the website Roll of Renown, coz some players I don’t recognise …...] Notes on Gary’s recording by Edgar Waters : “LACHLAN TIGERS goes to the same tune as The Station Cook. It is a good tune, and it seems to have come from Scotland. It is one of the few Scottish folk-song tunes used in the bush. This version comes from A. L. Lloyd. Jackie Howe was a famous shearer, in fact the most famous shearer of them all. He shore 321 sheep in one day in 1892, and his record stood until 1947. gate - the gate of the pen in which sheep are held alongside each shearer's work place in the shed. whistle - as a signal to begin or end work. tigers - as in the common Australian colloquial phrase, "he's a tiger for work,' meaning a very hard and enthusiastic worker. ringer - the fastest shearer in the shed. whipping side: - the second side of the sheep to be shorn, after the finnicky work of shearing legs, head and so on was over. tar - antiseptic used for cuts given sheep in shearing. contractor - shearers are not generally employed directly by the stations, hut by a middleman who contracts with the stations to see that their sheep are shorn. topknots - the wool on the head of the sheep. Ward and Paine's - a brand of shears. Bogan - river in western New South Wales.” R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 05 Jan 21 - 03:45 AM but I like it! Train trip to Guilford - Jason & chloe Train trip to Guilford - Cj Shaw |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 05 Jan 21 - 03:25 AM Sandra, surely that's not the best video you could find for Train Trip to Guilford! |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Jan 21 - 09:41 AM JIM JONES AT BOTANY BAY Oh listen for a moment lads and hear me tell my tale How o'er the sea from England's shores I was compelled to sail The jury says he guilty sir and said the judge says he For life, Jim Jones, I'm sending you across the stormy sea. And take my tip before you ship to join the iron gang Don't be too gay at Botany Bay or else you'll surely hang Or else you'll surely hang says he, and after that Jim Jones It's high upon the gallows tree the crows will pick your bones. You'll have no chance for mischief there, remember what I say They'll flog the poaching out of you, out there at Botany Bay The waves were high upon the sea; the wind blew up in gales I'd rather have drowned in misery than come to New South Wales. The winds blew high upon the sea and the pirates came along But the soldiers on our convict ship were full five hundred strong They opened fire and somehow drove that pirate ship away I'd rather joined that pirate ship than come to New South Wales. For day and night the irons clang and like poor galley slaves We toil and toil and when we die, must fill dishonoured graves But bye and bye I'll break my chains, into the bush I'll go And join the bold bushrangers there Jack Donahue and Co. And some dark night when everything is silent in the town I'll kill the tyrants one and all, and shoot the floggers down I'll give the law a little shock - remember what I say They'll yet regret they sent Jim Jones in chains to Botany Bay. ROUD 5478 anon Transport Ballad, dating from late 1820s, but first published c.1890s by Charles MacAlister. The tune is “Irish Mollie, Oh!” (OR is sometimes “Skibbereen” - apparently) A very popular number with upcoming generations investigating folk music! But here is The Bushwackers and Bullockies band rendition which apparently uses a Mick Slocum tune and which many a British folkie picked up after their 1974 tour : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVkYnRy5JF4 Which I quite like. However, I am far more used to this tune : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sCZp1lIMMk sung in 1964 by Marian Henderson for the famous PIX magazine recordings - (but which is NOW known as “The Hateful Eight” Song – such is the power of Hollywood!!!!) Old Crow Medicine Show has this take, c.2010 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kD3wYO8MHk (only they used to think that it was a Dylan song!) Any More?! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Jan 21 - 08:02 AM Darcy Dugan (1920 – 1991) was an Australian criminal who gained notoriety for his many daring escapes. This song is a paraphrase of his evidence before a Royal Commission into the brutal treatment of prisoners at Grafton Jail. DARCY DUGAN ~ Bob Campbell ~ Trad Tune : Jim Jones at Botany Bay My name is Darcy Dugan, I’ve spent 40 years inside I’ve never robbed the needy man, my record testifies Non-violent escapeologist, in the papers I’ve been named Despite my reputation, my pride I’ve still maintained. I’d like to tell you people what it’s like in Grafton Gaol The screws they beat you day and night, they’re brutes that never fail They aim to break your spirit and they torture just for fun They’re the dregs of all humanity, the warders with the guns. I won’t forget the night they threw hot water on my back The scalding raised up blisters, but I vowed that I’d never crack They beat me in the morning; it was freezing cold at night But I won’t look down for any screw, I’ll not give up the fight. They beat me 10 nights in a row, but they couldn’t make me break I looked each warder in the eye and that’s the thing that they hate I tried to keep my sanity, the hardships to endure Though my body was in agony, my heart took 10 times more. They killed off Kevin Simmonds, in the passion for revenge He made them look like fools, although they caught him in the end They hated how the working people cheered him down the road That awful day in Kurri Kurri, Kevin proudly strode.*** The prison’s burnt at Bathurst and there’s more of that to come For liberty and justice words, can still stir a spark up in some! The sadists in their uniforms are worse than any crim But! The bastards who have put them there, are even worse than them. *** the Kevin Simmonds story : http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/simmonds-kevin-john-11690 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRGKjvpPVUI&t=184s DARCY DUGAN sung by Bob Campbell SAME SONG, THOUGH WITH SOME DIFFERENCES (+ more pics on HR clip) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bJ_6dJKYhA Darcy Dugan sung Bob Campbell with Home Rule http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dugan-darcy-ezekiel-25998 Darcy Dugan’s bio http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AltCrimJl/1978/1.pdf The Royal Commission reports THE LEGEND OF DARCY DUGAN http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65338 Bernie Mathews Born to a world of prisons outliving a life of strife, They called him gunman and gangster and labels equally concise. In a world of grog shops and bookies with cockatoos on the fence* - his pockets overflowed with pounds, shillings and pence*. There were trams And Trocaderos* and shootings up the Cross; when the Darlo beak* full-stopped him and hit him with the lot*. He escaped the tram And the cells And the prison on the Bay*. Then they moved him up to Grafton* and bashed his sins away. With spirit unbroken he led the riot of sixty-three then tried to do a runner but they smashed him to his knees. Served up with batons*, and boiling water too, he took his lumps without a whimper as they flogged him black and blue. I miss the old man and our walks upon the yard it was there, deference got paid, to the hardest of the hard. A success among failures, in that place of the living dead. His caged memories, stifle reality, in a seventy-five-year head. A decade has passed since they put him in the ground but the legend that is Dugan, now roams freely, all the prisons of this land. • *the Darlo beak is NSW prison jargon for a judge at Darlinghurst Criminal Court in Sydney, NSW, Australia. • *the lot is NSW prison jargon for a life sentence. • *the Bay is the former Long Bay State Penitentiary in Sydney, NSW, Australia. • *cockatoos on the fence is prison jargon for somebody who is the lookout. • *pounds, shillings and pence was Australian pre-decimal currency. • *The Trocadero was a Sydney dance hall circa 1940s & 1950s. • *Grafton Jail was the Alcatraz of the NSW prison system 1943-1976. • *Served up with batons is NSW prison jargon for a baton-whipping by prison guards. “Darcy Ezekial** Dugan was a Sydney bank robber and jail-breaker. He was the last man sentenced to death in NSW after being convicted of shooting a bank manager during the armed robbery of the Ultimo Commonwealth Bank in 1950. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment and he served over 30 years inside NSW prisons. [He] was a serial jail-breaker who escaped from the prison tram, escort vans and NSW prisons. He was sent to The Alcatraz of the NSW prison system at Grafton during the 1960s where he was brutalised by prison guards for his repeated escapes. He led a mutiny inside Grafton Jail and tried to escape from the jail. Dugan suffered a stroke in 1987 and was released from prison. Darcy Dugan died in a nursing home in August 1991 [with Parkinson’s Disease]. He is buried in Sydney’s Rookwood cemetery.” http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65338 N.B. This fascinating site reveals things that thankfully, most of us will likely never experience, but, also things we will rarely be allowed to know of, particularly if you live in the sunny, secretive state of Queensland (who said JOH was dead??) ** EZEKIAL is a Hebrew name meaning “God’s strength” – and how he needed it, to survive the brutal and corrupt prison system for so long! viz https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hard-man-tamed-by-poetry-and-time-20120803-23khh.html “BLOODHOUSE : Darcy Dugan (1920-1991) with Michael Tatlow” – published posthumously in 2012. 'Mike, a lot, sometimes rot, has been written about me. Please hold this, my real story, to edit and present to a new generation, after I and the crooks we've exposed have turned to dust.' Darcy Dugan "Written in secret during his long years in jail and smuggled out to keep it safe from his enemies until now, Bloodhouse is Darcy Dugan's brutally honest and gripping story of his extraordinary life and times." R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 04 Jan 21 - 06:34 AM Train Trip To Guilford , A song by John Dengate (1975) John Dengate - guitar and vocals. Waiting, waiting for the twenty past four to arrive; Mate, the twenty past four doesn't run any more, The next train's the quarter past five. Time means money, they say, And I must get to Guildford today Did he say platform nine for the Liverpool line? Do I have to change trains on the way? Indicator, please won't you indicate soon With your little round light that this platform is right; I've been waiting at Central since noon. This old fellow here next to me Caught the bus up from Circular Quay; He scratches his arse with his pensioner's pass But he's on the wrong line for Narwee. Waiting, waiting, for the twenty past four to arrive; Mate, the twenty past four doesn't run any more, The next train's the quarter past five. Come on you timetable mob, I'm desperately short of a bob, I'm in my good gear and I'm right off the beer And at Guildford they say there's a job. Indicator, please won't you indicate soon With your little round light that this platform is right; I've been waiting at Central since noon. The service is worse than a fraud And the fare's more than I can afford But I'll never complain - here comes the train to Guildford And now I'm aboard. But it's Wentworthville, Pendle Hill; We're rattling towards Emu Plains. I should have got out when I heard someone shout At Granville, "You have to change trains." Waiting, waiting for the twenty past eight to go back, But the twenty past eight is half an hour late And I think I'll lie down on the track. video |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 04 Jan 21 - 05:57 AM The Little Sparrow Music: John Meredith, words: Launcelot Harrison There was a little sparrow, And he was out of work So he put his bluey on his back And he set out for Bourke. He walked until he had bunions, Then thought he would enquire, But found that he had only got As far as Nevertire. He was hungry and so weary He could hardly drag along When suddenly along the track He found an Emu egg. He boiled it in his billy can, And chuckled in his glee While by his Waterbury watch He counted minutes three. And when the minutes three were gone He thought it time to stop. He took his little tomahawk And he cut off the top. 'Twas a pity that he boiled it, 'Twould have been much better fried, For as he stooped to sup it up, He tumbled down inside. And when he fell inside the egg, He to his sorrow found Three minutes wasn't long enough And the poor little chap drowned. The moral of this story is, If Emu eggs you seek For supper, you should take great care To boil them for a week. First published in Singabout, Journal of Australian Folksong, Volume 5(2), December 1964 No video, but dots are here |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 03 Jan 21 - 07:48 PM I couldn't resist posting this one: STEWIE (John Schumann) Ward 8 at the Q.E., somewhere down Woodville A smoky grey Thursday - take out your sword Stewie was born, there was blood on the sheets The doctor was drunk and the sister was bored Home was a weatherboard housing trust unit A low cyclone fence and a sparse gravel drive Dad was a truckie from Adelaide to Melbourne Two trips a week just to keep them alive The first sentence for Stewie was going to school In prison-grey trousers he marched in the yard His mum shed a tear at his vaselined pushback Clutching a ruler, his name on a card ‘Step forward Stewart Bedson’, the headmaster said It seemed like Stewie was always in strife ‘Step forward Stewart Bedson’, the magistrate said ‘This time 10 years... next time, life’ Grades 1 through 7 passed pretty quickly Detention and caning and one million lines Stewie could write just enough to get by Stewie could read all the shoplifting signs There was a bond for a biro and a fine for some fags Another kid's bike, leading up to a car Photographs, fingerprints, juvenile courthouse A year in McNally's for going too far ‘Step forward Stewart Bedson’, the magistrate said Over pine-panelled wood leaned the face of the law ‘We think you're a threat to property and justice Three years up the creek, while we make sure’ A robbery with violence for retaliation For beatings and bashings at the hands of the screws Time in and time out and time and again Is this what they mean by paying your dues? Some people had plenty while others had none For the same working week it seemed year after year Worked over by coppers for tipping the scales Life wasn't meant to be easy. ‘Step forward Stewart Bedson’, the magistrate said Over pine-panelled wood leaned the face of the law ‘We think you're a threat to property and justice Three years up the creek, while we make sure’ Ward 8 at the Q.E., somewhere down Woodville A smoky grey Thursday - take out your sword Stewie was born, there was blood on the sheets The doctor was drunk and the sister was bored Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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