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Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 16 Sep 20 - 09:12 PM Impressions of the outback in the late 19th century don't come better than this. ACROSS THE WARREGO (Jim Grahame) I dreamt some dreams of dried up streams Streams that never flow Of men and things misfortune brings Across the Warrego And I could see old faces there Old faces grim and sad Old mates of mine that tramped with me And some are tramping yet And I dreamt then of other men All trudging to and fro With empty bags and cruel swags Across the Warrego And most of them looked straight ahead A few were looking back The bush had claimed their souls and left Their bodies on the track And in my sleep I saw the sheep Heard them bleating low The ringing flocks, the stringing flocks Across the Warrego The young and strong were in the lead The old and weak behind With lagging feet and dragging feet And some of them were blind And in my dreams I saw the teams The teams I used to know The long long teams, the strong strong teams Across the Warrego And lurching wool bales strained the ropes That lashed them fore and aft And every ounce of horse flesh pulled From leader to the shaft I dreamt of nights by campfire lights The flicker and the glow The great white moon, the black gin’s croon Beyond the Warrego And I could hear the bullock bells A-ringing on the plains And thirsty kangaroos loped in And bounded out again And in the scrub I saw a pub A name I do not know But it was there to cash the cheques Across the Warrego A graveyard stood right out in front Two pepper trees were near The goats were camping underneath A skillion at the rear And in my dreams a camel team Was winding in and out Its swaying packs and blistered backs The messengers of drought And as they crossed the sandy ridge The sun went down below I saw them on the skyline then Beyond the Warrego And in the night I woke in fright My pulse was far from slow I thought that I was on the road Beyond the Warrego I thought a mirage danced ahead A dry plain at my back And I was trudging trudging on Alone along the track Youtube clip In 1890, Lawson went to work in Brisbane for 'The Boomerang'. When that collapsed in the depression of 1890-91, he decided to go up country in search of work. With a mate, Jim Grahame, he swagged it to Bourke and out to Hungerford. They worked as house painters and around the sheds as pickers-up, pressers or scourers when shearing was on. Although it was not a long trip, Lawson drew extensive copy from it. Jim Grahame (spelled with and without an 'e'), whose real name was James Gordon, came from Creswick in Victoria and is said to have been born 'under the flap of a tilted cart'. He had intended to become a jockey, with the help of Adam Lindsay Gordon, but went jackarooing instead. The outback certainly made a deep impression on him. Grahame on Lawson --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Sep 20 - 01:25 AM I tried to correct the date of Gulgong FF competition but it wouldn't take. The winners of the Illawarra (2014-20) & Gulgong (2017-19) Parody competitions are available to download sandra |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Sep 20 - 01:23 AM Noel Gardner won the Dale & John Dengate Parody competition at Illawarra Folk Festival in 2018 & also appeared at the 2020 Memorial zoom get-together Speaking of excellent Australian songs - the winners of the Illawarra (2014-20) & Gulgong (2017-20) Parody competitions are available to download here |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 16 Sep 20 - 12:49 AM Ah, that's a noice one, Stew; never heard it before. R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 15 Sep 20 - 11:40 PM THE DECLARATION (Neilson/Wyndham-Read) Now I shall love you till the birds Have lost the way to sing Until there be no tenderness Upon the face of spring And I shall love you till a babe Shall neither laugh nor cry When men no more are wanderers And women’s tears are dry And I shall love you till the trees Know neither sun nor rain When morning brings no mystery And love can leave no pain And I shall love you till there be No grace in hearts of men When a girl’s eyes will glow no love I’ll love you until then Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 10:58 PM STORYTIME: Back in 87, I was performing with the Darwin mob at the 21st National Folk Festival in Alice Springs, NT. It was only the 2nd time The Nash had happened outside of a capital city and the 1st was also in The Alice, in 1980. (BtW, it only happened twice more : 1989 was Maleny, Qld and 1990 was Kuranda, Qld, and both of which were financially very successful, somewhat unusual for NFFs up til then). Our lad from The Top End, Paul Lawler, entered into the Declan Affley Songwriting Award competition, his semi-autobiographical song “Son of Rome”***. We all had high hopes for Lawls’ excellent entry. Imagine our chagrin, when a bloody ‘Quoinslander’ walked away with the prize!!! One “Noel Gardner” had come west, to sing his mate’s song in the comp. His mate was Mark Gillett, a Kiwi-born-and-raised Queenslander, and the song was “Watching The Obi Flow”. Many years later, with Paul and I living together in Maleny, Qld and running the ABOFOTS folkclub (where the afore-mentioned Mark Gillett was often welcomed!), well, my sister Alex (who was also at that Alice National), took up with a Sunshine Coast bloke who was a singer-songwriter ..... and now, Noel Gardner is my Brother-in-Law!! The winning song is below. Oh, and Paul’s ‘pipped’ song*** will be posted soon :) WATCHING THE OBI FLOW ~ Mark Gillett (Hinterland Band) The city no longer gave me thrills, so I thought I’d move up to the hills Draw the dole to pay my scratch, sing my songs and tend my patch and Watch The Obi Flow, I’d Watch The Obi Flow Sing my songs and tend my patch and Watch The Obi Flow. Well this countryside had eased my mind, I thought I’d left my cares behind But I have found what many knew : the city will catch up with you No matter how far you go, it doesn’t matter how far you go The city will catch up with you no matter how far you go. Coz down in the gorge where the trees were tall, they’ve gone and built a mighty wall And from a lake that’s dark and still, turned The Obi through the hills To the Sunshine Coast below, to the Sunshine Coast below They’ve turned The Obi through the hills to the Sunshine Coast below. Well, Maleny’s sewage flows right through, and the cow sheds drain to The Obi – POOH!! The water looks a trifle rough, you wouldn’t want to drink the stuff But my, the lawn should grow, my my, the lawns will grow You wouldn’t want to drink this stuff, but my, the lawns will grow. Now down in the gorge where the waters flow, or on the slopes where the bunyas grow Once they bulldoze, burn, and wreck, no earthly power will bring it back And the kids will never know, you can tell’em but they won’t know No earthly power will bring it back and the kids’ll never know. Well, my little house was high and dry, till the Shire Inspector he dropped by Said this house should never have been, tear it down and start again Before the next big blow, it’ll fall down in the next big blow Tear it down and start again, before the next big blow. So I’ll move to Maroochy by the sea, get me a job in a factory And when I come home to my flat, I’ll just turn on my kitchen tap And Watch The Obi Flow, I’ll Watch The Obi Flow I’ll just turn on my kitchen tap and Watch The Obi Flow. I’ll Watch The Obi Flow, I’ll Watch The Obi Flow Just turn on my kitchen tap and Watch The Obi Flow. And Watch The Obi Flow, I’ll be Watching The Obi Flow Just turn on my kitchen tap and ..... (spoken) : Watch The Obi Obi Flow : drip - drip - drip First track of 4 from The Hinterland Band’s EP “Against the Flow” c.1985 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFoIDwyZ0XA with Mark Gillett (also on banjo), Noel Gardner, Jim Maloney, Paul Vella. This song is still in Noel Gardner’s repertoire, but doesn’t seem to be recorded elsewhere. The posthumous CD of Mark’s recordings (Mark Gillett, 1953 – 2007) proposed by friends at his Wake, is apparently still a work-in-progress ..... PS The Obi Obi Creek [which drops around 435m over its 53.2km length], was named after a noted warrior of the local Aboriginal ‘Kabi Kabi’ people. Cheers, R-J (and yes, OK, it's a top little number!!! Thanks to Noel for correcting my lyrics :) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 15 Sep 20 - 10:56 PM Jeez, I finally realised that again I hadn't signed in. And Neilson's best-loved poem. THE ORANGE TREE (Neilson/O'Sullivan The young girl stood beside me. I Saw not what her young eyes could see: A light, she said, not of the sky Lives somewhere in the orange tree. Is it, I said, of east or west? The heartbeat of a luminous boy Who with his faltering flute confessed Only the edges of his joy? Was he, I said, borne to the blue In a mad escapade of Spring Ere he could make a fond adieu To his love in the blossoming? Listen! the young girl said. There calls no voice, no music beats on me But it is almost sound: it falls This evening on the orange tree Does he, I said, so fear the spring Ere the white sap too far can climb? See in the full gold evening All happenings of the olden time? Is he so goaded by the green? Does the compulsion of the dew Make him unknowable but keen Asking with beauty of the blue? Listen! the young girl said. For all Your hapless talk you fail to see There is a light, a step, a call This evening on the orange tree Is it, 1 said, a waste of love Imperishably old in pain Moving as an affrighted dove Under the sunlight or the rain? Is it a fluttering heart that gave Too willingly and was reviled? Is it the stammering at a grave, The last word of a little child? Silence! the young girl said. Oh, why Why will you talk to weary me? Plague me no longer now, for I Am listening like the orange tree Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 15 Sep 20 - 10:32 PM Cathie O'Sullivan put a tune to this lovely poem by John Shaw Neilson. STONY TOWN (J.S.Neilson/C.O’Sullivan) If ever I go to Stony Town, I’ll go as to a fair With bells and men and a dance-girl with a heat-wave in her hair I’ll ask the birds that live on the road; for I dream (though it may not be) That the eldest song was a forest thought and the singer was a tree Oh, Stony Town is a hard town! It buys and sells and buys It will not pity the plights of youth or any love in the eyes No curve they follow in Stony Town, but the straight line and the square And the girl shall dance them a royal dance, like a blue wren at his prayer Oh, Stony Town is a hard town! It sells and buys and sells Merry men three I will take with me, and seven and twenty bells The bells will laugh and the men will laugh, and the girl shall shine so fair With the scent of love and cinnamon dust shaken out of her hair Her skirts shall be of the gossamer, full thirty inches high And her lips shall move as the flowers move to see the winds go by The men will laugh, and the bells will laugh, to find the world so young And the girl shall go as a velvet bird, with a quick step on her tongue She shall cry aloud that a million moons for a lover is not long And her mouth shall be as the green honey in the honey-eater’s song If ever I go to Stony Town, I’ll go as to a fair, And the girl shall shake with the cinnamon and the heat-wave in her hair Youtube clip John Shaw Neilson --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 15 Sep 20 - 09:32 PM Bernard Carney, a West Australian singer/songwriter, has written a delightful song for his grand-children - Tian, Joe and Dan. R-J has already posted one of his songs. THE FEATHER FOOT FAIRY (Bernard Carney) Now gather ‘round folks, I’ll sing you a song Of a feather foot fairy named Tian Chorus: She never grew old and she never grew young She knew every song that had ever been sung And she played in the moon and the stars and sun And she was there when the world began The feather foot fairy named Tian The feathers on her feet were oh so fine She could fly through the mists of time She’d fly ten zillion years or more And she often had lunch with a dinosaur And the dinosaur’s house had the strangest things There were butterfly bats with rainbow wings And the hills were covered in purple trees Where the starfish bird sang delicussly Now ‘delicussly’ is not a real word But it’s often used by the starfish bird And if you’re wondering how I know Well the feather foot fairy told me so And she should know - ‘cos Chorus Now the feather foot fairy named Tian She was there when the world began And she watched all the oceans come and go And her only friend was a fossil named Joe. Now Joe was asleep for a million years ’til she woke him up with her feather foot tears And they played in the sands of time so free And they slept upstairs in the fossilott tree Now the fossilot tree in quite absurd, But it’s often used by the starfish bird And if you’re wondering how I know Well the featherf oot fairy told me so And she should know - ‘cos Chorus Now Tian took Joe on the trout sea trail In a plastic boat with a polythene sail And they dived to the bottom in an old tin can And met with a big seahorse called Dan Now Dan had a pancake stuck to his bum And he brewed his tea in a kettle drum And he knew every horse that lived in the sea And he talked to them equifishously Now ‘equifishously’ is not a real word But it’s often used by the starfish bird And if you’re wondering how I know Well the feather foot fairy told me so And she should know - ‘cos Chorus Now the feather foot fairy and seahorse Dan Took fossil Joe to the big trout dam And they all held hands and disappeared And travelled ahead 10 thousand years. The future all looked a little bit blurred But the first thing they saw was the starfish bird And if you’re wondering how I know Well the feather foot fairy told me so And she should know - ‘cos Chorus Yutube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 15 Sep 20 - 09:24 PM Well done, Sandra. Despite queries from Mysha and R-J, we still haven't had an answer as to whether this thread's focus could be expanded to include songs from our Kiwi brothers/sisters in arms. I reckon it would be a good idea. It would be good to hear in this regard from our thread mediator or Joe. R-J has already posted 'Packing my things'. it should be noted, however, that the attribution to 'Phil Colquhoun' is incorrect. The author of the song is unknown. It was collected by NEIL Colquhoun who reconstructed the music from material collected. His informant was Alistair Swan. In respect of corrections, I had a yarn with Phil Gray of Loaded Dog about 'Glenburgh Wool' by Jack Sorensen the lyrics of which I posted on 6 September. He rejects the addition of the Wendy Evans chorus. He argue that it is inappropriate to the subject of the song. The song is about transportation of wool by camel trains, not about shearers. I agree. Chuck out the chorus! --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Sep 20 - 06:51 AM it took me 2 days! I've emailed it to you as a doc - easy to search sandra |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 06:18 AM Oh, I'm so glad you've done that, Sandra!! I kept thinking I should "make a list" soon, but couldn't quite summon the energy to start!! Excellent Post. Thanks, R-J :) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Sep 20 - 06:04 AM Since 16th August we have posted 144 songs, well done, us! ----------- 1. Date: 16 Aug 20 - 11:00 AM ANDERSON'S COAST © John Warner 8/5/93 2. Date: 18 Aug 20 - 10:41 AM "Now I'm easy" (no words) 3. Date: 18 Aug 20 - 08:11 PM Battler's ballad 4. Date: 18 Aug 20 - 08:53 PM Do You Think That I Do Not Know? 5. Date: 18 Aug 20 - 10:00 PM SERVICE SONG lyrics and Music: Harry Robertson Arranged by Evan Mathieson 6 & 7 - Date: 19 Aug 20 - 02:12 AM One of the has-beens by Don Henderson & One of the has-beens (trad) 8 + 9 Date: 19 Aug 20 - 02:44 PM Where the Brumbies Come to Water + Reedy Lagoon 10. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 08:04 PM He fades away Alistair Hulett 11. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 08:21 PM Suicide town Alistair Hulett 12. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 08:37 PM Rabbit Trapper 13. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 08:48 PM WHERE THE CANE FIRES BURN (Bill Scott) 14. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 09:02 PM HEY RAIN (Bill Scott) 15. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 09:33 PM Brown skin baby 16. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 09:59 PM Phyl Lobl has written so many great songs lyrics 17. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 10:00 PM Dorothy Hewett's SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA 18. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 10:11 PM Dorothy Hewett's Weevils in the flour + original poem 19. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 10:16 PM BARE LEGGED KATE words: John Dengate 20. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 10:48 PM My apologies, the transcription that I posted above of 'Sailor home from the sea' needs severe correction. I copied and pasted it from a Mudcat thread. Martyn's version varies a little from Hewett's original, but this is what he sings: SAILOR HOME FROM THE SEA 21. Date: 19 Aug 20 - 11:35 PM THE BROKEN-DOWN SQUATTER (Charles Flower) 22. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 07:36 AM MY DEAR DARWIN © Paul Lawler, 1983 23. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 09:40 AM Australian version of Stephen Foster's 'Gentle Annie'. 24. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 10:17 AM JOHNNY STEWART DROVER (Chris Buch) 25. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 10:45 AM Will Ogilvie, WHEN THE BRUMBIES COME TO WATER 26. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 11:02 AM Waltzing Matilda 27. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 11:04 AM I've just made a quick list of traditional songs, collected & re-popularised in the revival of the 50s/60s. They were all published by the Bush Music Club in Singabout (1956-67) Maggie May, Nine Miles from Gundagai, The Neumerella Shore, The Wild Colonial Boy, The Black Velvet Band & The Old Bark Hut, The Drover's Dream, Wild Rover, Old Black Billy (written in 1938 but thought to be trad. when it was collected), and a couple of other classics which strangely enough were not published in Singabout! - Moreton Bay & Reedy River lyrics & video of Chris Kempster singing 28. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 11:46 AM Gerry Hallom The Outside Track 29. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 08:48 PM AND WHEN THEY DANCE (Roy Abbott) 30. Date: 20 Aug 20 - 09:19 PM WATCHERS OF THE WATER (Paul Hemphill) 31. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 07:56 AM very famous songs in copyright Redgum - I was only 19 lyrics I was only 19 video Paul Kelly & Kev Carmody - From little things big things grow 32. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 08:22 PM TIME IS A TEMPEST John Broomhall / John Thompson 33. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 08:30 PM John Dengate The Answer's Ireland (Tune Rody McCorley) 34. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 08:59 PM AFTER ALL (Henry Lawson/Garnet Rogers) 35. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 09:42 PM THE SLIPRAIL AND THE SPUR (Henry Lawson) 35. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 10:08 PM THE SWAGGIES HAVE ALL WALTZED MATILDA AWAY (Alistair Hulett) 36. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 10:22 PM PAST CARIN’ (Henry Lawson) 37. Date: 21 Aug 20 - 11:52 PM THE REEDY LAGOON (post 50) ====================== 39. Date: 22 Aug 20 - 10:23 PM Ted Egan's 'Sayonara Nakamura' 40. Date: 22 Aug 20 - 10:44 PM Back to Broome - Ted Egan 41. Date: 23 Aug 20 - 10:17 PM NORTHWARD TO THE SHEDS (Will Ogilvie) 42. Date: 24 Aug 20 - 10:02 PM LAST COAL TRAIN (Paul Wookey) 43. Date: 24 Aug 20 - 10:24 PM SERGEANT SMALL 44. Date: 24 Aug 20 - 11:21 PM DUSTY GRAVEL ROAD (Alan Mann) 45. Date: 24 Aug 20 - 11:37 PM THE POISON TRAIN (Michael O'Rourke) 46. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 12:19 AM PADDY'S BACK (Alan Ralph) 47. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 09:08 PM CALL OF THE NORTH (J.Sorensen/R.Rummery) 48. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 09:25 PM THE WINDMILL RUN (Alan Mann) 49. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 10:07 PM DOWN THE RIVER (H. Lawson/I. MacDougall) 50. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 10:41 PM KITTY KANE (John Warner) 51. Date: 25 Aug 20 - 11:15 PM ON THE DEATH OF MR HOLT (John Manifold/Paul Lawler) 52. Date: 26 Aug 20 - 10:57 PM THE SHAME OF GOING BACK (Henry Lawson) 53. Date: 27 Aug 20 - 12:37 AM THE PEOPLE HAVE SONGS (Miguel Heatwole) 54. Date: 27 Aug 20 - 01:25 AM THE SIEGE OF UNION STREET (words & music by Alistair Hulett) 55. Date: 27 Aug 20 - 10:50 PM WINNIPEG IN WINTER (Alan Mann) 56. Date: 27 Aug 20 - 11:41 PM AWAY TO TINTINARA (Mike O'Connor) 57. Date: 28 Aug 20 - 09:04 PM WHEN YOU'RE FLUSH (T.Brittain/R.Rummery) 58. Date: 28 Aug 20 - 09:53 PM MENZIES' SHOUT (HAVE A DRINK ON ME) (Alan Mann) 59. Date: 28 Aug 20 - 11:20 PM SONG OF ARTESIAN WATER (Paterson/O'Sullivan) 60. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 01:35 AM WITH THE CATTLE (Paterson/Hallom) 61. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 10:04 AM Kevin Baker - Snowy River Men - video 62. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 10:52 AM Kevin Baker - Superstar 63. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 11:08 AM THE RABBITER Words and music: Stan Wakefield 64. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 10:37 PM BRUNSWICK ROAD (Steve Groves & Danny Bourke) 65. Date: 29 Aug 20 - 11:03 PM SHEARING IN A BAR (Duke Tritton) 66. Date: 30 Aug 20 - 07:14 PM LEWIS ISLAND LUGGER (M.Murray & L.Silvester) 67. Date: 30 Aug 20 - 07:57 PM BENEATH ULURU (Dave Oakes) 68. Date: 30 Aug 20 - 10:36 PM SHIP REPAIRING MEN (Harry Robertson) 69. Date: 30 Aug 20 - 11:14 PM HOMELESS MAN (Harry Robertson) 70. Date: 30 Aug 20 - 11:43 PM WEE POT STOVE (Harry Robertson) 71. Date: 31 Aug 20 - 12:27 AM Reedy River. 72. Date: 31 Aug 20 - 07:37 AM Weevils in the Flour by Dorothy Hewitt in 1962 (post 100) ===================== 73. Date: 31 Aug 20 - 07:29 PM SONG OF THE WHEAT (Paterson/Hallom) 74. Date: 01 Sep 20 - 07:08 PM This one, relating to the red centre, is by a Scot. SINGING LAND (Dougie Maclean) 75. Date: 01 Sep 20 - 07:21 PM BAW BAW BIG BILL (Terry Piper) 76. Date: 01 Sep 20 - 07:54 PM HANGING ON FOR THE RAIN (Anne Infante) 77. Date: 01 Sep 20 - 08:59 PM FROM LITTLE THINGS BIG THINGS GROW (Paul Kelly/Kev Carmody) 78. Date: 01 Sep 20 - 09:22 PM NO MORE BOOMERANG (Kath Walker) Oodgeroo Noonuccal 79. Date: 02 Sep 20 - 08:25 PM THIRTY TON LINE (Don Henderson) 80. Date: 02 Sep 20 - 11:31 PM RAKE AND A RAMBLING MAN (Don Henderson) 81. Date: 03 Sep 20 - 08:44 PM BONNIE JESS (T.Spencer/G.Shearston) 82. Date: 03 Sep 20 - 08:59 PM GIRLS IN OUR TOWN (Bob Hudson) 83. Date: 03 Sep 20 - 09:24 PM NED KELLY'S FAREWELL TO GRETA (Traditional) 84. Date: 03 Sep 20 - 10:39 PM IRISH GIRLS (WILL STEAL YOUR HEART AWAY) (Gary Shearston) 85. Date: 04 Sep 20 - 07:50 PM THE KELLY'S TURNING (Larry King) 86. Date: 04 Sep 20 - 08:29 PM SONG OF THE SHEETMETAL WORKER (John Dengate) 87. Date: 04 Sep 20 - 09:12 PM DIAMENTINA DROVER (Hugh McDonald) 88. Date: 04 Sep 20 - 09:40 PM I WAS ONLY NINETEEN (A walk in the light green) (John Schumann) 89. Date: 06 Sep 20 - 12:48 AM COURTING THE NET (Bob Wilson) 90. Date: 06 Sep 20 - 08:20 PM THE MAN WITH THE CONCERTINA {Stewart/Rummery/Kevans) 91. Date: 06 Sep 20 - 09:31 PM THE GLENBURGH WOOL (Jack Sorensen) 92. Date: 06 Sep 20 - 11:18 PM JAIL AWAY FREMANTLE (W.Evans/A.Ferguson) 93. Date: 07 Sep 20 - 10:50 PM THE TOWN OF KIANDRA (THE WEE ONE) 94. Date: 07 Sep 20 - 11:44 PM HUMPING THE DRUM (Steam Shuttle) 95 & 96. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 03:51 AM Back of the Milky Way (Humping the Drum) - lyrics & audio Lyrics to Graham's songs, all with audio. The Country Knows The Rest by Graham Seal with audio link. 97. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 08:18 PM Enda Kenny's Earl Grey 98. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 09:28 PM THE SANDY HOLLOW LINE (Duke Tritton) 99. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 09:49 PM THE STREETS OF FORBES (THE DEATH OF BEN HALL) 100. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 10:39 PM THE PUSH ON THE CORNER 101. Date: 08 Sep 20 - 11:26 PM BOURKE STREET ON SATURDAY NIGHT (P.C. Cole & Fred Hall) 102. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 12:54 AM NORTHWARDS TO THE SHEDS (W.Ogilvie/G.Hallom 103. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 02:08 AM Gurindji Blues Ted Egan 104. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 02:38 AM the bush girl (henry lawson) 105. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 03:21 AM YIL LULL ~ Joe Geia 106. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 04:19 AM THE GREEN MAN ~ John Thompson 107. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 05:36 AM DAVEY LOWSTON 108. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 06:06 AM COONAWARRA [HAS] THREE SHADOWS ~ Judith Crossley (post 200) ============= 109. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 07:36 AM FANNIE BAY ~ Doug & Andy Tainsh / and possibly David Charles 110. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 08:00 AM Miner’s Washing ~ John Warner 111. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 08:26 AM THE STATION COOK ~ trad Oz 112. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 09:03 AM NZ - PACKING MY THINGS ~ Phil Colquhoun 113. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 08:53 PM THE FREE SELECTOR'S DAUGHTER (Lawson/Hallom) 114. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 09:58 PM THE FIZZER (Gerry Hallom) 115. Date: 09 Sep 20 - 10:13 PM BOSS LADY (Bob Sharp) 116. Date: 10 Sep 20 - 08:14 PM THE BALLAD OF 1891 (H.Palmer/D.Jacobs) 117. Date: 10 Sep 20 - 08:45 PM WALTJIM BAT MATILDA (Ali Mills) 118. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 12:27 AM Little England by late Kiwi-Quoinslander, Mark Gillet. 119. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 02:49 AM THE DROVER'S BOY ~ Ted Egan 120. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 03:05 AM THE RUSTY FORD CORTINA ~ Mark Gillett 121. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 03:23 AM BILL AND THE BEAR - John Thompson 122. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 04:23 AM SUN ARISE ~ Rolf Harris & Harry Butler 123. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:12 PM Turning Steel (The Factory Lad) © Colin Dryden 1969 124. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:26 PM OCEAN LINER (Barry Skipsey) 125. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:45 PM YUENDUMU FLAGON WAGON (Wendy Baarda/Bloodwood) 126. Date: 11 Sep 20 - 11:21 PM "The Year of the Drum" ~ Wendy Joseph 127. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:12 PM Pass the Song Along ~ Bernard Carney. 128. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:19 PM KALGOORLIE PIPELINE ~ Alan Ferguson / trad Irish tune 129. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:31 PM THE DEATH OF BEN HALL 130. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:49 PM MATT SAVAGE: BOSS DROVER (Ted Egan) 131. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:52 PM WARATAH AND WATTLE ~ Frances Patterson (& Henry Lawson) 132. Date: 12 Sep 20 - 11:35 PM ADELAIDE RIVER (V.McGinness/J.McGinness) 133. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 02:49 AM RANGITIKI [© BOB WILSON 2014] 134. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 05:14 AM GREEN AMONG THE GOLD ~ Steve Barnes 135. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 07:37 AM ORE TRAIN BLUES © BOB WILSON 2013 136. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 08:52 PM PIONEERS (F.Ophel/R.Rummery) 137. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 09:50 PM THUNDERBOLT'S DREAM (Trad/Anon) 138. Date: 13 Sep 20 - 10:07 PM NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN (Mudie/Rummery) 139. Date: 14 Sep 20 - 08:52 PM As sung by Martyn Wyndham- Read. TOMAHAWKING FRED 140. Date: 14 Sep 20 - 09:43 PM FREEDOM ON THE WALLABY (Henry Lawson) 141. Date: 14 Sep 20 - 10:16 PM THE SHEARERS (H.Lawson/R.Rummery) (post 200) =============== 142. Date: 15 Sep 20 - 03:59 AM WARRANDYTE MORNING ~ Mark Leehy (PARADIDDLE) 143. Date: 15 Sep 20 - 04:04 AM Bring Out The Banners ©1997 John Warner 144. Date: 15 Sep 20 - 04:08 AM The Miner’s Way ~ Sally Harris (Gone Molly) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 04:08 AM The Miner’s Way ~ Sally Harris (Gone Molly) Cold tunnels, black as night That’s The Miner’s Way Toiling by the candlelight Half a shilling in my pay. Pick and hammer, wedge and wheel That’s The Miner’s Way Blackened lungs that never heal. Half a shilling in my pay. Born to the yoke of misery Not enough to feed our families, While the rich are counting out their pounds We must send our children underground. Working for the rich man’s purse That’s The Miner’s Way Poverty, the worker’s curse Half a shilling in my pay. 12 long hours in the deep That’s The Miner’s Way Still we face a famished sleep Half a shilling in my pay. Born to the yoke of misery Not enough to feed our families, While the rich are counting out their pounds We must send our children underground. When the land no wealth reveals That’s The Miner’s Way Parting wages bankers steal Half a shilling in my pay. Cast out like a deadly blight That’s The Miner’s Way Lords and Ladies dance tonight That’s the bloody miner’s way, That’s the bloody miner’s way, That’s ….. The Miner’s Way. Gone Molly were a delightful duo (singer-songwriter Sally Harris and Rebecca Wright on cello and vocals) and are now a delightful trio with the addition of Lachlan Baldwin on vocals and multi instruments. Sally’s songs often have that quality of making you wonder if it’s traditional :) and are also often great for singing along with! Listen here : https://gonemolly.bandcamp.com/track/the-miners-way They have a CD and an EP so far. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 04:04 AM Bring Out The Banners ©1997 John Warner In faded photo, like a dream, A locomotive under steam Rolls with the ranks of marching feet And union banners on the street. Ch. Bring out the banners once again, You union women, union men, That all around may plainly see The power of our unity. I've seen those banners richly made With symbols fair of craft and trade, The union's names in red and gold, Their aspirations printed bold. Boilermakers, smiths and cooks, Stevedores with cargo hooks, Declare their union strong and proud, Rank on rank before the crowd. They won the eight-hour working day, They won our right to honest pay, Victorious their banners shone, How dare we lose what they have won? Today, when those who rule divide, We must be standing side by side, Our rights were bought with tears and pain, Bring out the banners once again. (Tune: Oxford or See Amid The Winter's Snow by John Goss. 1800-1880) As a good lefty folkie :) My Paul loved to sing "BOTB" in Maleny; this is how they honour John’s song and its sentiments in Minneapolis, MN : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9EqdD7_toA |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 03:59 AM WARRANDYTE MORNING ~ Mark Leehy (PARADIDDLE) Dragonfly morning in the summer heat You bring no warning anytime you feel, And we’ll drift through the air with a tumbling motion And we’ll sift through the sands of an endless ocean. Warrandyte morning in the summer haze If you catch me yawning, wake me up today, And we’ll drift through the air with a tumbling motion And we’ll sift through the sands of an endless ocean. I’ve had the days of dreaming, but today they’ve all gone home I’ve never really had to ramble, but I feel I’m coming home. Dragonfly morning in the summer haze You bring the dawning of my summer days, And we’ll drift through the air with a tumbling motion And we’ll sift through the sands of an endless ocean. I’m coming home But I’ve felt times when I was far beyond my mind……. In a Warrandyte morning in the summer haze If you catch me yawning, wake me up today. From their “Wait Till the Word Gets Around” - 1st of 3 LPs : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db0v2nnUSgY Warrandyte is an old town in a beautiful area about 25kms NE of Melbourne’s CBD . Dunno if it is now possibly a little suburban?? - but the pics still show it as lovely! (if a little bushfire-prone…..) Mark Leehy was a member of Paradiddle folk band from 1978 and he and some other members are part of Bushfire Press. Plus, I believe Mark is still connected with Music in Schools programs and bush dances. Cheers, R-J (this song was a great favourite of my late partner, Paul Lawler)……. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 15 Sep 20 - 03:55 AM Excellent! I look forward, Graham, to working my way through listening to your tracks. R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Sep 20 - 01:53 AM Seal Songs - Songs by Graham Seal Seal Songs - Stream Shuttle bio & tracks Steam Shuttle at Sydney Opera House, 2nd Bush Music Festival 1979 Review of Steam Shuttle LP, 1977 |
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Subject: RE: Steamshuttle From: GUEST Date: 15 Sep 20 - 12:46 AM Hi Mudcatters Sandra Nixon alerted me to this thread and suggested I post on Steamshuttle and my songs. The easiest way to access all this is from my music blog at https://sealsongs.blogspot.com/ I have a selection there, arranged by song title (lyric, link to an audio recording). Just click on the button and it takes you to the recording on my Soundcloud site. There is also a button for Steamshuttle, which takes you to a selection of tracks from the LP, a bit of info about the band, as well as some unreleased tracks intended for a follow-up that didn’t happen. Happy to answer any questions (g.seal@curtin.edu.au) and keep up the good work on a great project. GS |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 14 Sep 20 - 10:16 PM Here's another Lawson poem for which Bob Rummery provided a tune: THE SHEARERS (H.Lawson/R.Rummery) No church-bell rings them from the Track, No pulpit lights their blindness– ‘Tis hardship, drought, and homelessness That teach those bushmen kindness: The mateship born, in barren lands, Of toil and thirst and danger, The camp-fare for the wanderer set, The first place to the stranger. They do the best they can today– Take no thought of the morrow; Their way is not the old-world way– They live to lend and borrow. When shearing’s done and cheques gone wrong, They call it “time to slither”– They saddle up and say “So-long!” And ride the Lord knows whither. And though he may be brown or black, Or wrong man there, or right man, The mate that’s steadfast to his mates They call that man a “white man!” They tramp in mateship side by side– The Protestant and Roman– They call no biped lord or sir, And touch their hat to no man! They carry in their swags perhaps, A portrait and a letter– And, maybe, deep down in their hearts, The hope of “something better.” Where lonely miles are long to ride, And long, hot days recurrent, There’s lots of time to think of men They might have been–but weren’t. They turn their faces to the west And leave the world behind them (Their drought-dry graves are seldom set Where even mates can find them). They know too little of the world To rise to wealth or greatness; But in these lines I gladly pay My tribute to their straightness It can be found on Loaded Dog 'That there dog o' mine' CD. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 14 Sep 20 - 09:43 PM Once again, I forgot to login. Of course, this Lawson poem should be among any collection of Australian 'folk songs'. FREEDOM ON THE WALLABY (Henry Lawson) Australia's a big country An' Freedom's humping bluey, An' Freedom's on the wallaby Oh! don't you hear 'er cooey? She's just begun to boomerang, She'll knock the tyrants silly, She's goin' to light another fire And boil another billy. Our fathers toiled for bitter bread While loafers thrived beside 'em, But food to eat and clothes to wear, Their native land denied 'em. An' so they left their native land In spite of their devotion, An' so they came, or if they stole, Were sent across the ocean. Then Freedom couldn't stand the glare O' Royalty's regalia, She left the loafers where they were, An' came out to Australia. But now across the mighty main The chains have come ter bind her – She little thought to see again The wrongs she left behind her. Our parents toil'd to make a home – Hard grubbin 'twas an' clearin' – They wasn't crowded much with lords When they was pioneering. But now that we have made the land A garden full of promise, Old Greed must crook 'is dirty hand And come ter take it from us. So we must fly a rebel flag, As others did before us, And we must sing a rebel song And join in rebel chorus. We'll make the tyrants feel the sting O' those that they would throttle; They needn't say the fault is ours If blood should stain the wattle! There are plenty of renditions available on the Net. Unfortunately, my favourite is not - Bob Rummery singing it on Loaded Dog 'Dusty gravel road'. Loaded Dog faithfully keep to Lawson's text. Decades ago, I put together the following intro for a themed concert of Oz songs. It may be of interest: The depression of the early 1890s led to an explosion of the antagonisms that had been simmering between capital and labour. Strikes and lockouts were the order of the day. The shearers' strike of 1891 brought Australia close to the brink of civil war at a time when working people throughout the world were demanding social justice, better pay and improved working conditions. The powerful squatters were aided and abetted by colonial governments, the military and the police. At Barcaldine, over 1500 troopers with cannon and gattling guns confronted 1000 armed shearers who were attacking a train loaded with scabs. This led to hundreds of shearers being arrested and woodsheds being burned to the ground. Lawson published 'Freedom on the Wallaby' in 'The Worker' in Brisbane on 16 May 1891. It was his comment on the use of the military to put down the shearers' strike and some stanzas were read out in the Queensland parliament amid calls for his arrest for sedition. The poem took to the bush and grew itself a tune. A.G. Stephens once said of one of Lawson's poems and would have said of many 'this is not high poetry, but the passion, the grip of it, make it valuable and, in Australia, memorable. It is interesting to note that, as early as 1889, Lawson was writing: 'I don't think I'd live for a week under the freedom or tyranny of unionism, universal brotherhood, glorious liberty or whatever you like to call it'. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 14 Sep 20 - 08:52 PM As sung by Martyn Wyndham- Read. TOMAHAWKING FRED Now some shearing I have done, and some prizes I have won Through knuckling down so close against the skin But I'd rather tomahawk every day and shear a flock For that's the only way to make some tin Chorus I am just about to head for the Darling River shed To turn a hundred out I know the plan Just give me sufficient cash and you'll see me make a splash For I'm Tomahawking Fred, the lady's man Put me on a shearing floor and I’ll lay you five to four That I'd give any ringer ten sheep start Oh when I’m on the whipping side then away from me they glide Just like any bullet or a dart Chorus Oh of me you might have read for I'm Tomahawking Fred In shearing sheds me fame has travelled far I'm the don of the Riverine, amongst the shearers cut a shine And our tar-boy says I never call for tar Chorus Wire in and go ahead, for I'm Tomahawking Fred In a shearing shed, my lads, I cut a shine There is Roberts and Jack Gunn, shearing laurels they have won But my tally's never under ninety-nine Chorus Youtube clip This belter of a shearing song was preserved for us by the self-styled 'last of the bushrangers', Jack Bradshaw, who had done a bit of shearing when he wasn't horse stealing or planning bank robberies. He served 20 years from 1880 for bank robbery and some business over a stolen cheque. In jail, he put together his 'Highway Robbery Under Arms Without Shedding Blood' and 'Twenty Years of Prison Life in the Gaols of NSW'. These included a number of traditional songs, including this one. It appears in Stewart and Keesing' edition of 'Old Bush Songs' under the title 'Some Shearing I Have Done'. Evidently, the ballad is based on a music hall song 'Fashionable Fred'. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 13 Sep 20 - 10:07 PM Bob Rummery put a tune to Ian Mudie's poem about Australian soldiers in New Guinea in WW2. NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN (Mudie/Rummery) Are you there, Peter Lalor, are you there? Ghost with gold-dust in your hair And lean Stuart do you ride to seek your northern tide? Where in greens they're slowly swinging Through the mud, too tired for singing Where the poison of New Guinea fills the ai Are you there, untiring Eyre, are you there? With your heart beyond compare Are you there, you brave wild Kellys where heroes on their bellies Through the jungle now are creeping May their women have no weeping When snipers from their tree-tops cruelly stare? You ghosts that walk beside Do you watch them now with pride? As through green hell and glory, they carry on your story Where in mud their feet are sinking And in dreams they're always thinking Of their homes and of the cobbers who have died --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 13 Sep 20 - 09:59 PM Uralla is just an hour north of here, their local museum has an excellent Thunderbolt display. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 13 Sep 20 - 09:50 PM THUNDERBOLT'S DREAM (Trad/Anon) One night in Uralla scrub as I lay Strange fancies came o'er me and I thought it was day I thought it was day yet I knew it was night My dreams they all vanished and I woke in a fright I saw scenes of a picnic in a faraway town Of music and dancing and sports all around My mother and father enjoying the fun And schoolmates with whom I once ventured to run Yes my dreams they all vanished and I woke with a jolt To find myself still the outlaw Thunderbolt But the music kept playing, there was a dance on nearby No one would know me so I strolled on inside We were having a spell, we'd just finished a dance When a trooper rode up and his horse it did prance I could tell by his looks he was more than a colt So I thought to myself, 'You'll suit Thunderbolt' While the trooper engaged in having a dance I made for the door, to the horse I soon pranced I sprang to the stirrup, in the saddle with one bound I said, 'My young fellow a rider you've found' Over rivers and valleys and mountains we flew And from the green grass swept the bright morning dew The trooper gave chase but he hadn't a chance With his head hanging down he rode back to the dance To that young policeman a lesson I've taught No more he'll be heard in any police court It was a hundred good miles I made on that colt They put a thousand bright sovereigns on bold Thunderbolt The song is the opening track of Bob Rummery's 'Man with the concertina'. Here is less spirited rendition than Bob's - Bob's nephew, Mark Rummery, and Barry McDonald. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 13 Sep 20 - 08:52 PM R-J, well said. Thanks for posting a link to Val McGinness's 'Shake Hands Dance'. Lovely. Sandra, yes. PIONEERS (F.Ophel/R.Rummery) They said, 'Now here is gold The cloth of gold unrolled Lies spread about our feet Now fortune smiles and sweet' The mulga hid the face of fate Watching with ruthless eyes of hate 'Now wealth is ours', they said 'Great wealth and riches red Our journeying is done Guerdon and gold are won' Red were the written words they signed And scenting blood the wild dog whined They said, 'Now ours is fame And honoured glorious name - The name of pioneers And honour as of seers' They turned to take the homeward track And dreamed a joyous welcome back No man knows where they lie None heard their last death cry Unmarked their grave by mound But at the last trump sound Perchance some god who all things hears Will give them praise as pioneers This one is on Bob Rummery's 'Man with the concertina' CD. Bob's note: A poem written by Frederick Ophel in June 1906. A story on WA's goldfields in the early 1890s told that the first prospectors to peg Coolgardie found pegs in the ground with indecipherable writing in red ink. No one knows who pegged the ground'. You can find a rendition at about the 45-min mark of Chloe and Jason's tribute to Bob. Youtube --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 13 Sep 20 - 09:40 AM does that mean I have to get back to work? |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 07:48 AM Sorry if Stewie and I have put anyone else off from posting, but there's just so much good music out there (much of it not heard outside of Oz festivals or folkclubs), and when the spirit moves you, well, ya just gotta let it take ya :)) But I think I'm having a break for a coupla days now anyway .... Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 07:37 AM ORE TRAIN BLUES © BOB WILSON 2013 V.1 He got a job way out west carting iron ore From the outback mines of the Pilbara to the West Australian shore The hours were long, but the pay was good, but there wasn’t much to do Except strum the ukulele and sing train songs with the crew. CH.1 and they sang: Freight train, Graveyard train, Blow that Lonesome Whistle train The Indian Pacific and the Abalinga Mail Night train, Morning train Roll in m’Baby’s Arms train Picking up the tempo with the rattling of the rails. V.2 Now the bosses and the union called a meeting in the yard They had heard about this trio with the engineer and guard “It’s workplace health and safety, it’s like talking on your phone.” But he knew it wasn’t the music, they just didn’t like the tone. CH.2 and they sang: Ghost train, Poison train, not bound for glory, This train And they all sang la la la la, when They Drove Old Dixie Down Bridal train, Salvation train, Get on Board Little Children train He could have been the King of the Road but he never got the crown. V.3 The boss bought high-tech robots from Korea and Japan And the maiden hands-free journey went pretty much to plan They said: “It’s a boring job, we’ll find you something else to do.” Now he’s in a control room, sharing train songs with the crew. CH.3 and they sang: Freight train, Graveyard train, Blow that Lonesome Whistle train The Indian Pacific and the Abalinga Mail Night train, Morning train Roll in m’Baby’s Arms train Picking up the tempo with the rattling of the rails. CH.4 and they sang: Mail train, Slow train, Desper-ados Waiting for a Train Homeward Bound, John Henry, Engine Engine Number Nine Peace train, Freedom train, Robert Johnston’s Love in Vain And they all sang like Dylan: well, I'm walkin' down the line And they all sang like Dylan: well, I'm walkin' down the line. For all you lovers of Train Songs - another from Bob & Laurel Wilson (aka The Goodwills) and a great one to try and sing along, esp with the 4 chorus variations!! You'll find it here : https://www.thegoodwills.com/store/music-by-the-goodwills/the-last-waterhole/ on their latest CD "The Last Waterhole". Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 05:14 AM GREEN AMONG THE GOLD ~ Steve Barnes 1. Dusty plains and iron chains met Erin's sons and daughters Cast upon a barren land, a far-off distant shore They dreamed of misty mountains and their home across the water They sang of Connemara and the home they'd see no more. Now limestone walls are all that's left of times of pain and failure This country yields the secrets of the beauty that it holds And the tunes of Erin's Isle are now the music of Australia For Irish hands have woven strands of green among the gold. Ch. And so beneath the southern cross they sang their songs of Ireland Who sent her sons and daughters there in the hungry days of old They play their jigs and reels beneath the skies of their new homeland For Irish hands have woven strands of green among the gold. 2. Times were hard at home and so they took a crazy notion To start a brand new life upon the far side of the globe And now they find their hearts are stranded somewhere in mid ocean Though their days are full of sunshine and their future's full of hope, Their children sing of a droving life, of shearers, and bushrangers They learn to play the music and to dance the steps of old Though their hearts are in Australia they never will be strangers To the land they left behind them; they're the green among the gold. I didn’t find a recording by WA composers Steve & Ros Barnes, so here is an a cappella version by the Germany-based trio IONTACH : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx1Slp02jE0 Steve Barnes was for many years the Artistic Director of Fairbridge Folk Festival, at Pinjarra in Western Australia. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 04:20 AM When you posted "On the Death of Harold Holt" by JS Manifold, Stewie, I had clean forgotten that it was already up on Paul's YT channel at his 15th National Folk Festival concert in Brisbane at Easter 1981 :)) (I said I thought I was going ga-ga :( It was quite a few posts back, so I'll repeat the lyrics : HAROLD HOLT*** poem by John Streeter Manifold music by Paul Oswald Lawler Only a week before Christmas The happiest day of the year They held a wake for Harold Holt And the big wig guests came here Bonny Prince Charlie came o’er the sea With Wilson who never smiles And L B J from the U S A And the king of the cannibal isles Chaps from Siam and South Vietnam And the Philippines too I think Some for the sake of the free free world And some for the free free drink They made long speeches and shed loud tears To propitiate Harold’s ghost And the king of the cannibal isles got up To propose a final toast He said we have had such a splendid time Such generous Christmas cheer We hope you’ll be able to drown A Prime Minister every year ***JSM’s title was “On the Death of Mr Holt” The track is at 12:55 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kGADIvdG_c Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 02:49 AM RANGITIKI [© BOB WILSON 2014] 1. Life was spartan in England years after the war Few jobs, low wages, prospects were poor No better in Scotland or Ireland too Uncle Jim emigrated so we joined the queue It was life on the prairies or in old Sydney town Dunedin was mentioned, with a worrisome frown Nine families, one bathroom, it was not hard to choose Except for the day they told their parents the news. ch. When the Rangitiki, Rangitane, Rangitata sailed upon the seas They carried troops in the war, then took migrants to the colonies The commonwealth of nations welcomed them with open arms They brought teachers and tradesmen and laborers to work the farms. 2. My dad said “they’ll take us if we’re breathing and warm.” There was ice on the windows, it was a terrible storm He had one small piece of paper to say who we were Paid five english pounds for the seagoing fare We all got vaccinations and smallpox scars Stayed with auntie in London, saw the changing of the guard She drove us to Tilbury on a drizzly day With sad music playing, we sailed away. Ch. When the Rangitiki, Rangitane, Rangitata sailed upon the seas They carried troops in the war, then took migrants to the colonies The commonwealth of nations welcomed them with open arms They brought teachers and tradesmen and laborers to work the farms. People in the new land helped put us at our ease They made fun of our accents but no-one called us refugees Yet we sought asylum in our modest anglo-saxon way Now one in four is born somewhere else, or so they say, 3. There are pictures of her children hanging on the wall Wearing academic gowns, standing proud and tall Some have been to England, some have been to France One moved to Manitoba, a refugee romance Sometimes with her family gathered all around She thinks of what we got for those five english pounds We work and we save and we give what we can To those seeking refuge from their troubled lands. We work and we save and we give what we can To refugees from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan From Burma, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, (spoken) Ch. When the Rangitiki, Rangitane, Rangitata sailed upon the seas, When the Rangitiki, Rangitane, Rangitata sailed upon the seas, When the Rangitiki, Rangitane, Rangitata sailed upon the seas. Here is the link to The Goodwills YT presentation of this song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idnXHKWl01A&t=297s And here is Bob's Blog where he explains the background story : https://bobwords.com.au/rangitiki-migrants-story/ This track is from their latest CD "The Last Waterhole" and their previous recording "Loungeroom Legends", has another great favourite of mine : "Impressions of New Zealand" - a companion migrant song to this one. Watch their YT presentation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3gCGksoS_8 Bob Wilson [The Goodwills] is a lovely songwriter and The Goodwills (now of Warwick, Qld) have 4 CDs , which contain mostly Bob's originals. He paints great pictures with his words and gentle humour. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 13 Sep 20 - 02:25 AM Thanks Stew! I'm very fond of Val's "Adelaide River' song!! Hopefully one day it will make it online. Here is the sound of the regenerated Darwin String Bands in The Darwin Rondalla and the famous Shake Hands dance : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4XPSNHT7E Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Sep 20 - 11:35 PM Some additional information re 'Waltjim bat Matilda' posted above. Ali Mills is the grand-niece of the late Val McGinness who had an old-time string band in pre-WW2 Darwin. Val was the writer of 'Waltjim but Matilda' (original had 'but' not 'bat') and Ali adapted it by adding some Gurindji and Larrakia words. Jeff Corfield, who lived in Darwin for many years, wrote a book in tribute to the life and music of Val McGinness whom he described as 'one of the last of Darwin's old string band musicians: 'String Bands and Shake Hands'. Val died in 1988. Shortly before Val's death, Jeff made extensive recordings of his songs and tunes and these have been deposited in the Northern Territory Archives. Val's brother, John (Jack), was also a musician. In relation to 'Waltjim but Matilda', Val told Jeff in 1988: We (Johnny and I) would start off singing 'once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong' and the rest of the band would play with us. When we'd finish that first verse, I'd come in and say 'hey you fella, you chingim that song wrong way!' (and they'd say) 'yeah, which right way you chingim?' and I'd say 'you blow that bamboo (that didgeridoo) and I'll chingim proper way for you' ... and Johnny would get the guitar and he'd go dung dung a dung - make noise like a didgeridoo and I'd sing it see! Here is one of Val's songs. His brother wrote the music. ADELAIDE RIVER (V.McGinness/J.McGinness) Have you been on the beautiful Adelaide River? Have you ever seen kangaroos and wallabies at play? Trees are ever green on the beautiful Adelaide River That is where my heart is and where I long to stay Bamboo trees sway in the breeze while moon is rising high Waters rolling, lovers strolling, just like you and I Night birds calling, shadows falling, over silver streams Oh how grand to hold your hand just like I do in dreams We fell in love on the beautiful Adelaide River Moon rose above, lighting love's glorious way You were in my arms on the beautiful Adelaide River Darling, I love you for ever and a day --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Sep 20 - 11:19 PM I am still interested in finding songs relating to C.Y. O'Connor, the brilliant Irish-born engineer who planned/built the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme (aka The Kalgoorlie Pipeline - from Mundaring in the Darling Range of Perth), 1896-1903, amongst other projects in West Aussie and New Zealand. He was hounded to take his own life less than 12 months before the taps were successfully turned on, by MSM rants (esp The Sunday Times) and politicians like Alexander Forrest (though his brother, John Forrest, was a supporter). I have posted songs I have found so far in the following thread : https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=48647&messages=31#4071699 Cheers, R-J (not sure why the Blicky Machine doesn't work for Mudcat threads - I only get 404 messages!) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:52 PM WARATAH AND WATTLE ~ Frances Patterson (& Henry Lawson) Though poor and in trouble I wander alone With a rebel cockade in my hand Though friends may desert me and kindred disown My country will never do that! You may sing of the Shamrock, the Thistle, the Rose Or the Three-in-a-Bunch, if you will But I know of a country that’s gathered all those And I love the Great Land where the Waratah grows And the Wattle bough blooms on the hill. In Dreamtime, they tell us, the Great Spirits came They wandered and traveled the land They raised up the mountains and flattened the plains They laid down the rocks and the sand They carved out a course for the long river’s way They planted the forests in shade The great power of forming is joined to their way And the tracks that they traveled are still here today Under the roads we have made. Now under the Wattle I wander alone And I think of the loss and the gain To the land where we live we no longer belong Although it is held in our name This great earth which has borne us we want to disown We have deserted our land We are separate now and we live quite alone And we try to grow roots in a place that we own And bitterly don’t understand And bitterly, we won’t understand. I learnt this great song in the 80s from the singing of Lynne Tracey (now back to being Lynne Muir), who is a most beautiful artist - calligrapher in Victoria and now sings classical music rather than folk. Though the first verse is Lawson's, Frances Paterson of Sydney, wrote the next two and composed the music. If you find Lawson's poem being sung on YT, it's pretty dire, and the tune definitely does not fit this song. Frances recorded her song in 1987 on an album of originals called "Sol Y Sombra" - I cannot find the song online, but I have ordered the LP from EBay! Frances was also in bands like "Okapi Guitar Band" performing "AfroPop" - great-sounding dance music. She died in 2018. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:49 PM MATT SAVAGE: BOSS DROVER (Ted Egan) At the six-mile in Wyndham the word passed around Matt Savage, the boss drover, has just come to town His plant's on the common, he's looking for men 'Cos he's taking a mob into Queensland He's a legend in the outback, he's a man among men Matt Savage, the boss drover, and he's riding again Two thousand store bullocks, wild ones at that That's the mob that he's taking into Queensland Chorus: Matt Savage, the boss drover, he'll take a mob over Taking the bullocks to Queensland, ah ha! Matt Savage, the boss drover, he'll take a mob over Taking the bullocks to Queensland Six of us ringers with cigarette swags Signed up by Matt Savage and we've each got six nags The cook's all hung over but the boss drover knows That he'll travel ok into Queensland First night, star bright, cattle travelling well Hear the jingle of the hobbles, hear the Condamine bell Sing a song as we watch them, make the buggers lie down Or they'll rush all the way into Queensland Chorus Meat for the packbags as we pass through Wave Hill There's a big Vestey's bullock so we're in for the kill Grilled rib-bones tonight by the campfire's light We'll be fit when we finally hit Queensland But we're haunted by ghosts on the Murranji Track Dead men, dead bullocks, cursed outback Cattle dry-staging and the boss drover's raging Hard times on the way into Queensland Chorus The Murranji's dry but at Newcastle Waters We'll be dancing in the bar with old Bullwaddy's daughter Then it's back in the saddle, keep pushing them cattle Gotta take 'em along into Queensland And when the bullocks all rushed, led by the big roan Matt Savage on the night-horse, he turned them alone He's been on the road now for about forty years Boss drover on the stock routes to Queensland Chorus Four months on the road and the Tableland's bare And it's heat, and it's dust, and there's flies everywhere But when we get to Camooweal, we won't give a damn and we'll Go riding along into Queensland And there's the railway, there's the siding, delivery Dajarra Then as quick as a flash we'll be into the bar Of the pub for a blowout and a gutful of rum 'Cos we just brought a mob into Queensland Ted noted: Bullwaddy Bates was a legendary figure who came on to the Barkly Tableland, acquired several Jingili women as concubines and set up Beetaloo and OT Stations. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bates (or Bathern, which was his correct name) recognised his mix-race children and bequeathed the properties to them when he died. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:31 PM THE DEATH OF BEN HALL Come all Australian sons with me, for a hero has been slain Cowardly butchered in his sleep, upon the Lachlan Plains. He never robbed a needy man, as all the records show Staunch and loyal to his mates, and manly to the foe. No brand of Cain e’er stamped his brow, no widow’s curse did fall When tales are read, the squatter’s dread, the name of bold Ben Hall. When first he left his trusty mates, the cause I ne’er did hear The bloodhounds of the law heard this, and after him did steer. Then savagely, they murdered him, those cowardly bluecoat imps Who were led on to where he lay, by informing peelers’ pimps. No more he’ll mount his gallant steed, or range the hills so high The widow’s friend in poverty, bold Ben Hall – goodbye. Pray do not stay your seemly grief, but let the teardrops fall For all Australia mourns today, the death of bold Ben Hall. It’s a pity that the version poignantly sung (in my memory!) by TONY LAVIN (Wild Colonial Boys) does not appear to be online. It was on their 1971 “Glenrowan to the Gulf” LP. WCB were Jacko Kevans, Bob McInnes, Jim Fingleton, Bill Morgan, Tony Lavin, and originally, Declan Affley. They all had a bit part in Tony Richardson’s 1970 film “Ned Kelly” (yes, the Mick Jagger version) – did they even get credited?? IMHO, t’would have been better if they had featured in the soundtrack instead of the Yanks (i.e. Shel Silverstein comps with Waylon Jennings & Kris Kristofferson & Tom Ghent singing, FFS!!!!) But yes, it’s all a long time ago now - and the remakes of Ned just keep on coming :) Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:19 PM KALGOORLIE PIPELINE ~ Alan Ferguson / trad Irish tune Ch. Way Way over the desert, the daylight is fading The camp fires grow bright at the close of the day And over the Darlings, our loved ones are waiting Beyond the Great Ocean, in Ireland far away. Way out in the diggings, the miners are toiling Dry blowing gold in the bright blazing sun They're cursing the price of the water they're drinking And praying O'Connor will get the job done. 300 miles we have toiled for O'Connor Swinging our hammers and heaving the lines A desert in front and a pipeline behind us And C. Y. O'Connor will get there in time. chorus..... Political wrangles have led to this pipeline And I cursed the day that I joined on meself To Kalgoorlie, soon, the water is flowing But that damned Irish foreman will see me in Hell. From Mundaring we're known as the wild pipeline navvies We sing and we booze 'round the campfire at night Through all the long days of typhoid and sickness Laying this pipeline for O'Connor's lone fight. Ch. Way over the desert, the daylight is fading The camp fires grow bright at the close of the day And over the Darlings, our loved ones are waiting Beyond the Great Ocean, in Ireland far away. A song from the pen of Alan Ferguson - half of The Settlers (with Sean Roche) from WA and from their 1979 album "Bound for Western Australia" for WA's 150th anniversary celebrations. The original LP had a wonderful accompanying history/lyric booklet, which sadly, the later CD edition lacked. SUCH a shame that this whole record has not been placed online. Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 12 Sep 20 - 09:12 PM A simple happy song for Sunday, to be sung by saints and sinners alike!! Pass the Song Along ~ Bernard Carney. You can Sing and I can Sing So let’s all Sing together Lift your voice and pass the song along, Sing your joy, Sing your love And we can Sing forever Lift your voice and pass the song along. Share a simple melody When you hit some nasty weather Lift your voice and pass the song along, Don’t care what you sound like If we’re singing it together Lift your voice and pass the song along. Pass the song along, the song is loud, the song is strong The song is old, the song is new, the song is free, The song is helping someone out, The song is laugh and dance and shout The song is anything you want the song to be. So you can Sing and I can Sing So let’s all Sing together Lift your voice and pass the song along, Sing your joy, Sing your love And we can Sing forever Lift your voice and pass the song along. Lift your voice and pass the song along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmKTzRrEBmA Bernard has over 40 years working full-time in the Oz entertainment industry, with numerous overseas and interstate gigs (he resides in WA), has released many CDs, and also works with the “Spirit of the Streets” choir and “Working Voices” combined unions choir. http://www.bernardcarney.com/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Sep 20 - 12:34 AM R-J, I had the WABO album, but I gave it to Pembo years ago to convert to CD. He never got a 'round tuit' and I don't know what has happened to his stuff. I have the words to 'Matt Savage' in one of Ted's songbooks. I'll type them out tomorrow. Here is a link to a spirited rendition of 'The Rabbiters' for which Sandra posted the lyrics earlier in this thread. Beaut song. Mucky Duck BB --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Sep 20 - 11:21 PM Stewie, do you have WABO's "The Timbercutters Song" that Tropical Ear used to sing?? ("Keep them logs rolling boys, Down to the mill my boys, Keep them logs a-rolling down ....") How about "Matt Savage - The Boss Drover" - Ted Egan/Bloodwood??? Cheers, R-J BtW, someone mentioned "The Year of the Drum" "This song from Wendy Joseph describes the tragic effects of the World Wars on several generations of the people of Mannum and the use of music to entice young men to war. Mannum is a small town on the lower Murray River and has the distinction of having lost more men per head of population in both World Wars than any other town in South Australia." Here is Wongawilli's version : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj7g5v-891s "The Year of the Drum" ~ Wendy Joseph My name is Jack Gresham, I grew up in Mannum, That river boat town I loved well, I married Meg Davis, we had us two children, One day our family bliss turned to Hell. For in nineteen fourteen, 'twas the year of the drum, The guns and the Government called me to come, Past melaleuca and tall shining gums, I drifted away down the Murray. My name is Meg Davis and I work down at Shearers, Making wagons and stirrups and hames, The war it is raging, the men are all fighting, The women toil here making fuel for the flames. For it's nineteen fifteen and the men have all gone, They're fighting in Europe so we carry on, We're keeping the candles lit bright here at home, To light their way back up the Murray. My name it is Mary and I am an orphan, My father was killed in the war, My mother Meg Davis, an upstanding lady, She drowned in the Murray the year I turned four. It was nineteen sixteen when the telegram came, The death of her soldier its message proclaimed, My Mum lost her footing due to tears and the rain, She slipped on the banks of the Murray. My name it is Billy and I am a soldier, I just got my orders to-day, My wife's name is Mary, she's as fair as a sunset, I hate to be leaving her lonely this way. But the year's forty two, 'tis the year of the drum, The guns and the Government call me to come, Past melaleuca and tall shining gums, I'm drifting away down the Murray. But the year doesn't matter, there's always a drum, The guns and the Governments call men to come, But the town still grows strong in her tall shining sons, While her daughters light lamps by the Murray. RjB |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:45 PM Here's another one from the NT. Wendy Baarda was a long-time resident at the Yuendumu Aboriginal community out from Alice Springs. Bloodwood, a well-regarded bush band from Alice Springs, adapted a poem that she wrote many years ago. It relates to the serious problem of illegal grog-running into the community. YUENDUMU FLAGON WAGON (Wendy Baarda/Bloodwood) (Chorus) Engine roarin’, tailpipe draggin’ Yuendumu flagon wagon Made it home again Every time, rain or shine Cops are waitin’ far behind Kids clear out and the women are cryin’ Daddy’s comin’ home with a load of wine Airstrip out and the road is clay Rain coming down every night and day No tucker in the store but they dropped in the pay There’s a big mob of flagon in the camp today Chorus Flagon wagon caught in a bog Rain comin’ down, no jack, no log No food, no fire, no blankets, no dog Seven day living off nothing but grog Chorus Every time, rain or shine Cops are waitin’ far behind Kids clear out and the women are cryin’ Daddy’s comin’ home with a load of wine Copper up ahead, too late, cut short ‘Hey black feller, what’s that you bought’ Ten jerry cans full of Four Crown port Talk about it two weeks later in court Chorus A hundred dollar down, hey man you’re on Win this round, get a car and I’m gone Another flagon wagon doin’ the run Up and down the Track to Aileron Chorus Every time, rain or shine Cops are waitin’ far behind Kids clear out and the women are cryin’ Daddy’s comin’ home with a load of wine The song may be found on the 2-CD set 'Bloodwood: the Collection'. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Andrez Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:33 PM Link to Factory Lad by Colin Dryden. https://soundcloud.com/nomeshome/factory-lad-turning-steel-by Cheers, Andrez |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:26 PM Barry Skipsey is a singer/songwriter and professional photographer from Alice Springs. He has written many fine songs. This one is a session favourite in the Northern Territory. OCEAN LINER (Barry Skipsey) When I was fishing back in the west Rollin’ on the foamin’ sea I dream of them pretty girls back on the shore And I wish they was here with me Chorus Step on board the ocean liner Step on board without delay, me lads Step on board there’s nothin’ finer And together we’ll sail away Well, I made up me mind to take to the wave On hearing of a good return So the very next mornin’, I found myself prawnn’ Me stomach it began to churn Chorus I was workin’ twenty four hours a day Me eyes hangin’ out of me head Twenty four hours barely makin’ a wage I wish I was back in me bed Chorus Seven cents a kilo for kings, they said Eight cents a kilo endeavours At ten cents a kilo for tiger prawns For that they want the best out of you Chorus I’m a long way from mother out here on the waves A long way from family And a bloody long way from being a tap dancer That my mother so wanted me to be Chorus The skipper is a big man, he stands so high His head pokes up through the riggin’ And a crew of old dragons and they’re so high I think they’ve left the land of the living Chorus So I’m eatin’ and thinkin’, and sortin’ prawns Till they flamin’ well come out of me ears And the cook gives me the shits in more ways than one So I think I’m on my very last run Chorus Here is a rendition at Top Half Folk Festival in Alice Springs - ragged but right. Youtube clip It's hard to believe that prawns (or shrimps as they are called in the US) were ever that cheap. These days, you almost have to take out a bank loan to purchase a box. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Andrez Date: 11 Sep 20 - 10:12 PM Another great one from days gone by. Turning Steel (The Factory Lad) A song by Colin Dryden ©Colin Dryden 1969 You wake up in the morning, the sky's as black as night, Your mother's shouting up the stairs, you know she's winning the fight, You hurry to the breakfast table and grab a bite to eat, Then out the door and up the road, and through the factory gate. Chorus: Turning steel how do you feel, as in the chuck you spin. If you felt like me you'd roll right out and never roll back in. Cold and dark the morning as you squeeze in the gate. As you clock in, the bell will ring - eight hours is your fate. Off comes the coat and up go the sleeves and "right lads" is the cry. With one eye on the clock, the other on your lathe, you wish that time could fly. But time can't fly as fast as a lathe, and work you must - The grinding, groaning spinning metal, the hot air and the dust. And many's the time I'm with me girl and we're walking through the park, While gazing down at the spinning steel or the welder's blinding spark. Well, old Tom, he left last week - his final bell did ring. His hair as white as the face beneath his oily sunken skin. But he made a speech and he said "good-bye" to a life time working here, As I shook his hand, I thought of hell - a lathe for forty years. When my time comes, as come it must, why then I'll leave this place. I'll walk right out past the chargehand's desk and never turn my face. Out through the gates, into the sun, and I'll leave it all behind, With but one regret for the lads I've left, to carry on the grind. Cheers, Andrez |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Sep 20 - 04:23 AM SUN ARISE ~ Rolf Harris & Harry Butler Sun arise, she bring in the morning. Sun arise, bring in the morning, fluttering her skirts all around. Sun arise, she come with the dawning. Sun arise, come with the dawning, spreading all the light all around. Sun arise, on the kangaroo paw. Sun arise, on the kangaroo paw, glistening the dew all around. Sun arise, filling all the hollows. Sun arise, filling all the hollows, lighting up the hills all around. Sun arise, come with the dawning, Sun arise, she come every day. Sun arise, bring in the morning, Sun arise! Every, every, every, every, day. She drive away the darkness. Every day, drive away the darkness. Bringing back the warmth to the ground. Sun arise, oh, oh, Sun arise, oh, oh. Spreading all the light all around. Sun arise, bring in the morning. Sun arise, bring in the morning, Sun arise, bring in the morning, Spreading all the light all around. Regardless of the circumstances of Rolf’s recent falling from grace and his consequent punishments, I have always maintained that this 1960 song was important, in that it introduced the feel and sound of Aboriginal music to a wide audience, both in Oz and the UK. Remember that Aboriginal music - as heard by the general populace - in those days, was pretty much limited to Jimmy Little’s country style “Royal Telephone” and Harold Blair’s classical singing. After all, The Authorities considered The Aborigines as “a dying race” (or so they seemed to hope.....) But as a West Australian growing up in the ‘burbs of the 50s-60s, I really loved this song (as did my Mother!) – and we weren’t alone – it was often heard on the radio and it is still popular today and has been covered by many artists. “ In his autobiography Rolf Harris recalls the writing of Sun Arise: Another song from that time was 'Sun Arise' which was inspired by the Aboriginal music that Harry Butler had introduced to me. (pp. 159-160) Harry Butler and I wrote 'Sun Arise' together, trying to capture the magic of Aboriginal music by reproducing the repetition of lyrics and music that make it so mesmerizing. The lyrics of the song came from a story Harry told me about Aboriginal beliefs. Some tribes see the sun as a goddess. Each time she wakes in the morning, her skirts of light gradually cover more and more of the land, bringing back warmth and light to the air. (p. 161) - Rolf Harris, Can You Tell Me What It Is Yet? London, Bantam Press, 2001 “ Here is a clip using mostly scenes of nature and Aboriginal life to illustrate – perhaps try to maintain some perspective and not let the odd pic of Rolf disturb your sensibilities : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwtnBm8glPE And with that, I’m taking a break for the night (to await the sun arise - coz "Che gelida manina" :) Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Sep 20 - 03:23 AM BILL AND THE BEAR - John Thompson 1. Come listen now, good people here To a story of renown of the day a hundred years ago when the circus came to town Mr Wirth and all his gallant crew They raised the big top high And all the folk for miles around Gathered under a canvas sky Ch. And were you there in the clear night air when William Sinclair he fought the bear Were you there to see William Sinclair When he wrestled the bear to the ground 2. There were dancing ponies and tumbling clowns The best you ever did see A lion tamer and a high wire act A girl on the flying trapeze There was a fat ring-master in a big top hat And he slashed his whip through the air With a roar and a growl, a cage went clang It was Samson the mighty bear 3. He was ten feet high, he was nine feet wide A mountain of muscle and fur A mighty beast just as black as the coal The ground shook with his roar Then the man with the whip He called for quiet not a sound from those who were there I've a crisp ten pounds for any man here Who's brave enough to wrestle a bear. 4. Bill and his family had come to see the show his youngest newly born The strongest man to ever walk the range He'd carry his weight in corn he sized up the beast, with a glance at his wife he slowly raised his hand "I'll have a go", he heard himself say then up struck the band 5. Stripped to the waist, bill entered the ring Circling and bouncing round First left, then right, 'til he lunged right in The crowd didn't make a sound They twisted and they turned as they wrestled and they grappled At the skin and the muscle and the hair With a mighty roar, Bill threw Samson down He raised his fist in the air 6. You've never heard a roar quite like it The shouts split the midnight air Bill was raised above all the heads of the crowd to the cheers of everyone there And to this day, when you see the name of the famous Bill Sinclair Raise your glass and drink to the health Of the only man to ever beat the bear. The true story of a Glaswegian emigrant to Australia, William Sinclair, who became famous in the Maleny District of South-East Queensland for defeating a bear in a wrestling match when a circus visited Landsborough in the early 20th Century. John says his post is dedicated to Bill's grandson, Leslie Norman ("Nugget") Sinclair who died at the age of 92 on 26 August, 2011. With a good chorus for joining in on, this track is on Cloudstreet's 'Circus of Desires' album; but this is a link to a local(ish) live performance of John & Nicole & Emma : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnWcE0ukutU Landsborough is just a few Kays down the bottom of the hill from me, in Qld's Sunshine Coast Hinterland!! Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Sep 20 - 03:05 AM THE RUSTY FORD CORTINA ~ Mark Gillett The vinyl on the dashboard has all faded And I can’t believe the speedo’s reading true Coz it’s been 10 long years today Since I purchased this old station - wagon An’ I’ll drive this hack till the driving’s done. Ch. For the rain always falls on my rusty Ford Cortina Bits keep falling off and get left behind And the muffler’s mighty roar Always causes a sensation An’ I’ll drive this hack till the driving’s done. Seems when I start it up each morning That it’s gonna take me half the day For there’s only one headlight And it isn’t very bright An’ it bucks & jumps and handles like a dray. Sometimes I think, I’ll buy myself a new one But they cost so much, I always change my mind And the tailgate rattles on and on And the front end’s most peculiar But I’ll drive this hack till the driving’s done. Mark wrote this parody c.early 80s - with apologies to Hugh McDonald! Here is Hugh's song and his amended story of the writing of "The Diamantina Drover" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoWJWEr7DO4 Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 11 Sep 20 - 02:49 AM THE DROVER'S BOY ~ Ted Egan They couldn't understand why the drover cried as they buried the drover's boy, For the drover had always seemed so hard to the men in his employ. A bolting horse, a stirrup lost, and the drover's boy was dead The shovelled dirt, and a mumbled word And it's back to the road ahead And forget about…..the drover's boy. They couldn't understand why the drover cut a lock of the dead boy's hair, Put it in the band of his battered old hat as they watched him standing there. And he told them "Take the cattle on; I'll sit with the boy awhile" A silent thought, a pipe to smoke And it's ride another mile, And forget about …..the drover's boy. They couldn't make out why the drover and the boy always camped so far away, For the tall white man and the slim black boy had never had much to say. And the boy would be gone at the break of dawn; tail the horses, carry on While the drover roused the sleeping men Daylight - hit the road again, And follow…..the drover's boy. In the Camooweal pub they talked about the death of the drover's boy, They drank their rum with the stranger who'd come from the Kimberley round Fitzroy. And he told them of the massacre in the West; barest details, guess the rest Shoot the bucks, grab a gin, Cut her hair, break her in, And call her a boy…..the drover's boy. So when they build that stockman's hall of fame and they talk about the droving game, Remember the girl who was bedmate and guide Rode with the drover side by side Watched the bullocks, flayed the hide Faithful wife, but never a bride Bred his sons for the cattle runs Don't weep…..for the drover's boy, Don't mourn….. for the drover's boy, But don't for-get! The Drover's Boy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ9a0qr7ORY Great song; great story; great bloke. I'm sure it's been discussed on The Cat before. Cheers, R-J |
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