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Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Feb 21 - 08:15 AM TEDDY SHEEAN - FOREVER EIGHTEEN Garth Porter & Lee Kernaghan & Colin Buchanan The bow cut the swell on a course set for Timor The Armidale plowed through the waves The enemy found us, sent bombs and torpedoes Out-gunned and out-numbered we prayed Abandon the ship! came the call through the chaos Jump for your lives, the ship’s going down, And I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. The blood and the oil coated men in the water The stern rose and then disappeared We clung to the wreckage and still they came at us Till the silence of evening drew near We floated two whalers and a raft from the flotsam We hung on and waited for help to arrive, I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. The men who survived owe their lives to the lad The boy who stood strong and held on and fought on till the end I saw Teddy Sheean He was wounded and bleeding, strapped to his oerlikon gun And he kept on firing as he was dragged under So noble for someone so young - forever eighteen We'll never forget Teddy Sheean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QCP8xX6Mmw Lee Kernaghan sings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z1DxP2YtOU Teddy’s final service that helped save fellow sailors on the sinking corvette, HMAS Armidale, under Japanese bomber and fighter airfire, in the Timor Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon the AA gun Teddy strapped himself into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Sheean Teddy’s Story - and Govt Denials for almost 80 years Teddy was posthumously awarded the VC in August 2020, for his heroic deeds in 1942. (I note that it took some 78 years for this award to be finally approved, after years of vigorous campaigning. And yet, just recently, an Australian sporting star (born the same year Teddy Sheean died), was awarded yet another gong (an AC - she already had an MBE and an AO, plus other numerous accolades for her well-deserved tennis prowess). After retiring in 1977 from being a champion ball-belter, she eventually became a happy-clappy preacher of the same persuasion as our current prime minister and well-known for her outspoken racist and homophobic views. One can only presume that she is now being rewarded for this ‘christian’? behaviour. Strange, our societal priorities. And they wonder why so many of us have scant respect for ‘The Authorities’ .....) Spirit of the Anzacs is an album by Australian country singer, Lee Kernaghan. It was released in Australia in 2015. The deluxe 2017 edition contained 20 songs and I note that we have so far featured 6 of those songs in our Mudcat thread! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqFDN1WdxI&list=OLAK5uy_lCulVvQDuF2H7-NXFx2im4QcjvQroSZH4 “Teddy Sheean 0003” a song by Greg Wells : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2b1-mIdTzE R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 04 Feb 21 - 10:46 PM We have posted a number of songs in this thread either written or performed, by John Thompson (& Nicole Murray) of CLOUDSREET. Please post in John's OBIT thread if you are so moved : /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=169289&messages=4 This recent thread also has info : /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=168955&messages=8 Cheers, R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 06 Feb 21 - 05:07 AM R-J, my apologies for not answering your query re Priestley and Harding - I have been busy with stuff in the real world. I do not have any of their albums. As you say, there's some great NZ music and, like Canada, NZ punches above its weight in terms of producing some first-rate singer/songwriters. It is pertinent to point out that today is the anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. A Maori song related to the treaty: Click Wiki entry: Treaty of Waitangi A lighter piece: T of W in the office And this one that was possibly inspired by Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson's infamous 'Living next door to Alan': Living next door to Maoris --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 06 Feb 21 - 10:04 PM This parody of 'Soon may the Wellerman come' turned up recently on the NZ Folk Song site. THE NEEDLEMAN I’ll tell you how this all began A jungle virus in Wuhan First it went from bat to man Then round the world it flew. The tourists flocked here, more and more, And down on us the Covid bore Jacinta roused her team and swore To lay that virus low. Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go . . . FOR A COFFEE! YEAHHH! The world’s upturned, so much disorder We’re now locked down inside our border. An' I've became a loo roll hoarder 'Cause I still have to go! It's 40 weeks or even more Since I kissed my sweet Elenore The frustration's now at Level Four We're ready to explode! Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go... AN’ MAKE LOVE AGAIN! As far as I know, the fight’s still on We still need masks, the bug’s not gone The Needleman's not yet made his call To jab our oldies, sick, and all. Soon may the Needleman come An' vaccinate us one by one One day when the Covid is gone We can drop our masks and go... ANYWHERE WE WANT TO! YEAHHH! --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 07 Feb 21 - 12:54 AM BUDDY BREATHING Mike Harding Buddy-Breathing, sharing air Deep-sea diving, taking care Just make one mistake and you’ll be drowned, Behind the mask, below the surface Diving through uncharted waters Going where no footprints can be found. Choose the surface, play it safe Or take a chance beneath the waves The ripples spread and fade where you went down. Buddy-Breathing, brave the water Make no assumptions, trust your partner When words don’t work, you’ll learn to read the signs, Conditions change, the tide advances Never take this life for granted From far below you won’t know sea from sky. Declare intentions when you dive Indifferent water will drown your cries Buddy-Breathing, share that vital line. Buddy-Breathing, sharing air Deep-sea diving, taking care Just make one mistake and you’ll be drowned, Diving deep down into love No marker on the sea above Going where no footprints can be found The ripples spread and fade where you went down The ripples spread and fade …………… My new favourite song, from the singing of Kiwis, Mike Harding and Chris Priestley! :) Listen here to Mike, with Chris on harmony, from April, 2011 in NZ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6JQvH0n2to I like these guys and here is a compilation of some of their songs from that 2011 tour of South Island, called “Kiwi Connections” where they showcased EnZed songwriters : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqf0gObvyA [As regards scuba diving, I enjoyed this activity when young and fit but gave it up after my first (daytime) dive with a group in Darwin Harbour – where I could not see my hand in front of me : JEEEZUZ. Not sure whether the dive companies still do that, considering the increases in the croc populations ….. But just before I arrived, in 1983, Tim Proctor’s Fannie Bay Dive Shop team attempted a Guinness Book of Records, record-breaking attempt of an underwater crossing from Darwin to Mandorah – driving a Toyota Landcruiser : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-18/how-a-car-drove-across-darwin-harbour-35-years-ago/10009608 ] R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 02:50 AM A Few Songs About MINNIE DEAN “The Magdalene Laundry” and other such films and reports, have brought to light many sad tales of infant/child/mother mistreatment and mortality, particularly in Ireland and the US, with many babies and children lost to mothers, not only from a weak constitution or disease, but through institutional neglect (some deliberate), and some from perhaps even outright killing? - with the potentially “lucky” ones on-sold to well-heeled buyers. Events perpetrated by Govt and Religious institutions which, rather than “caring” for, were seemingly intent on punishing mothers who were unmarried and/or poor, and were therefore apparently grossly distasteful and immoral, particularly to many of those “great minds and small hearts” of the Victorian era. This NZ song refers to the only woman hanged in NZ (in 1895) and who, it seems, was someone who lovingly took care of the evidence of your daughter’s shame, or the mother with far too many mouths to feed, and who thus enabled families to continue to live in polite society. Minnie (born Williamina McCulloch, in Scotland), is still the sad but interesting subject of books and conjecture – was she a monster, was she a long-time sufferer of post-partum depression – was she some sort of public service for assauging society’s guilty moral attitudes – or was she, as she claimed standing on the hangman’s trapdoor - Innocent? Trial by media is not a modern thing, by any means. Interestingly (to me!), Minnie Dean of Winton (north of Invercargill), was allegedly “plying her trade of baby-farming” around the time and place my GGGrandfather was rearing his family in South Island, post his goldmining exploits and now a nearby Waianiwa farmer and Invercargill pub-owner. As a publican, he no doubt heard much gossip and many a tale concerning this local woman! There is much to read on-line. But try these : https://adventure.nunn.nz/2019/10/30/the-strange-sad-case-of-minnie-dean/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/minnie_dean.shtml https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/black-sheep/story/2018761597/baby-farmer-the-story-of-minnie-dean https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2d7/dean-williamina THE BALLAD OF MINNIE DEAN [1] Helen Henderson [ Helen was brought up in Invercargill. "Minnie was like the bogeyman of our town when I was a kid," she says. "If you were giving cheek to your mum or being naughty it was like: 'You better watch or I'll send you off to Minnie Dean's farm and you'll never be heard of again.' http://www.folksong.org.nz/minniedean/index.html ] Chorus Minnie Dean, Minnie Dean, she's gonna ge'cha And take you away on the afternoon train. Oh, you'd better be good, coz Minnie Dean's gonna ge'cha And you'll never, ever, be heard of again. 1. She dressed in black and she carried a hat in a hat box when early to the station she came, And on her way back, she'd always wear the hat Invercargill to Winton, on the 5 o'clock train. 2. She was so sweet and gracious to the girls and the ladies A home for their babies she said she'd provide, It was all done in private and money was provided As she wrapped up their little ones and took them away. Bridge: Here lie the children nobody wanted Minnie died for her sins and the people they cried They cried for themselves and they cried for their children They cried for Minnie and for closing their eyes. 3. She dressed in black and she carried a hat in a hat box when early to the courthouse she came, "Judge, I'm innocent" she said, "They just disappeared" (“They got lost in the garden” “They crawled under the bed”) But they hanged her from the gallows until she was dead. . . . No, you'll never be heard of again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLvvllCWH4 Helen Henderson Other songs about Minnie Dean : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r64jMxUacYw Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders (who would be recognisable to ABC viewers from his musical appearances in “The Beauiful Lie” drama, in 2015) THE BALLAD OF MINNIE DEAN [2] Marlon Williams Minnie was a mother to a hundred or more In Winton town Red-faced mamas coming knocking on her door With a whole ten pounds Winter in the south makes the heart beat slow But hearts beat slower in the garden below. Then three went missing and the men start digging in the ground (ground) Men start digging in the ground (three found) Bring poor Minnie downtown But a woman won't hang in Winton town. Hundreds in the room when Minnie stood trial Many more outside Oh Minnie, you're accused of a serious crime: Infanticide The crowd all cheered as the gavel rang But have mercy on the soul of the women you hang. Then they carried her away and the crowd all followed her down (down) The crowd all followed her down (three found) Everybody gathered round To see a woman hang in Winton town Oh see a woman hang in Winton town. MINNIE DEAN [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqj9UUvdf5Y – BULLETBELT (NZ) – perhaps only press play if you enjoy the effects of thrash-death metal :) MINNIE DEAN [4] “….. written by Marylyn Hayes and Brendon Fairbairn. It is on the Passing time CD, Invercargill, N.Z. 2000, by New Zealand celtic folk music group Run the Cutter.” Which I haven’t yet found on-line …… R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Feb 21 - 06:19 AM 4 songs listed, no. 3 has comment "BULLETBELT (NZ) – perhaps only press play if you enjoy the effects of thrash-death metal" Years ago I was on a CBD bus when 4 classical students from the Conservatorium got on (violins, viola & cello!) & entertained us. Alas they didn't bring along their double bass, my favourite instrument, but it really wouldn't have fitted. They said another group - heavy Metal students - were on another bus - driver & passengers were glad we were not on that bus. I must ask my friend who teaches at The Con if they still send students out on buses (pre-covid of course!) sandra |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 07:22 AM TEA AND SUGAR Helen Henderson Out here, there’s nothing for miles No trees, no water, just an endless sky Out where the only sound of people Is the news on the radio at suppertime. Red sun rising and the river bed’s dry Light up a cigarette, watch the world roll by I got one cold beer and my throat is burning Gonna wash away all this trouble and strife. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” Somewhere out on the Nullarbor Plain I said me a prayer for my only daughter I bought me a ticket on the gravy train. I got some dreams and my grandfather’s bible A picture of you, an old paper sack A bottle of whiskey and some tea and sugar I’m bound for nowhere down this railroad track. Once upon a time this desert was an ocean Of fishes in the water, swimming for their lives Now there’s nothing but this blue horizon A trail of tears in an indigo sky. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” …………. I’m weary of the world and everything in it I’m tired of living; I’m chilled to the bone I’ll buy me a ticket on the “Tea & Sugar” I’ll ride that train to the end of the line. I’ll take me away from the people and places I’ll take me away from the worry and pain Bleach my bones clean and white In the sun, in the sand, of the Nullarbor Plain I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar” Somewhere out on the Nullarbor Plain Said me a prayer for my only daughter I bought her a ticket on the gravy train. I left my soul on ”The Tea and Sugar”…………….. ……. Said me a prayer; bought me a ticket ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlL0SrcXxts Helen Henderson (NZ) and band BIO - https://www.muzic.net.nz/artists/3794/helen-henderson and https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/82430540/kiwi-singer-helen-henderson-comes-full-circle Here are a couple of the mini docos on YT on this famous train, the “Tea & Sugar”, that ran weekly from 1917 to 1996 between Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia (some 1051 miles), to service the remote settlements of fettlers (rail workers) and others : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vAh-p0-cPA This CFU doco from 1954 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOlNnLN8i08 This Yank doco from 1986 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyu9g8k7RwY This FAC doco from 1925 : Shows construction of the line (including hand ploughing using a Camel Team!) The digging/ploughing of the numerous covered dams for the engine, which used 280 tons of water per trip. (however, the dam water ended up being mostly too brackish for steam engine use!) The telegraph line all the way alongside the track. 2+ 1/2 Million sleepers used for the rail (now that’s a lotta old growth forest …..) and More. But all-in-all, a bloody hard slog! (and no one wears gloves! Bet all their backs were Fkd!) R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 08 Feb 21 - 07:55 AM Continuing the Nullarbor theme : Stewie posted Kasey Chambers’ “Nullarbor Song” on Nov 1st last year, but here is a later composition : NULLARBOR, THE BIGGEST BACKYARD Kasey Chambers When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world It went on for miles and miles as wide as it was high Down to the horizon all the way up to the sky And every now and then I heard a Mile Tree cry my name, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world Covered up with red dirt, as far as I could see I shared it with the railway and the aborigines Southwest of Ooldea all the way down to the sea - and back, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world The sun would shine until the day I asked for it to rain Counting down the sleeps until the “Tea and Sugar” train Ten cents on the track for days before it ever came - and went, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world Sitting 'round the campfire that started from a spark Rolling down the Gunbarrel Highway in the dark Making sure that I had all the room here in my heart - for the Nullarbor, When I was a little girl, I had the biggest backyard in the world ……. c.2010 Kasey at Tamworth in 2011 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMNdLzYluY0 R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 09 Feb 21 - 08:30 PM JOHN SMITH A.B. (w. D.H. Rogers attrib/m. N.Colquhoun) When the southern gale is blowing hard And the watch are all on topsail yard When five come down where six went up There’s one less to share the bite and sup Chorus Instead of the stone and the carven verse This is his epitaph curt and terse John Smith A.B. drowned in latitude fifty-three A heavy gale and a following’ sea A name is missed when the roll they call A hand the less for the mainsail haul They steal his rags and his bags and bed Little it matters to him who’s dead Chorus We’ve lost the way to the open sea We’ve missed the doom we hoped to free For the big ships runnin’ their eastin’ down Are far from the din of Sydney town Chorus Sailing ships began to visit New Zealand around the 1790s, a few on the lookout for tall timbers but most hunting for whale. At this time whalebone was used for strength and flexibility where steel is now used and whale oil kept the cotton- and woollen-mill machinery lubricated. The tall straight kauri could be used for masts and spars and flax made excellent rope - for these were the great days of sail, the "impressed" sailor, the "run-away-to-sea" and the able-bodied Jack Smith. 'Song of a Young Country' p6. Youtube clip Here's a link to information re 'Soon may the wellerman come' on the NZ folk song site. I meant to post it when I posted the lyrics: Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 10 Feb 21 - 06:55 PM Homeless Beaver (to the tune of Drunken Sailor) John Thompson In '48 in Idaho For houses the animals had to go. They turned for help to a man named Elmo, Fish and Game employee Chorus: What shall we do with a homeless beaver? x3 Throw him from an airplane! Beavers, they move way too slow. From Payette Lake they had to go. Their leader was called Geronimo. He was fine and brave and furry. Elmo Heter was the man. Elmo had a cunning plan. I will do what no one else can, Transplant all the beavers! The beavers their demise were facin'. They had to get to Chamberlain Basin. Against the clock Elmo was racin'. We must save the beavers! He thought of parachutes, we don't know why, To take the beavers through the sky. A dumb idea, but worth a try. A load of airborne beavers! Elmo put them into boxes, Boxes with automatic locks as Would open when they hit the rockses. Freedom for the beavers! The beavers live there to this day, They tell their tales, they have their say. It is to Elmo that they pray, The sky-god of the beavers! --------------------------------------------------- I'm not sure about the end of the second and start of the third lines in the next-to-last verse. Track 12 on the Cloudstreet CD "Clouded House". From the liner notes: "The headline said, 'In 1948, Idaho airlifted 76 beavers to a new habitat, dropping them via parachute.' A splendidly true story." Recording here. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 10 Feb 21 - 07:05 PM The Land of Bright Gold John Thompson I will go to the land of bright gold A place of peace and plenty Where everyone's story is told And grief and sorrow can't find me I will enter the palace of dreams A place of peace and plenty Where magic is just as it seems And grief and sorrow can't find me I will walk through the towering trees A place of peace and plenty Where the leaves sing the song of the breeze And grief and sorrow can't find me I will go to the cave of the King A place of peace and plenty And we'll sit there together and sing And grief and sorrow can't find me I will dance in the garden of love A place of peace and plenty Where our souls can soar high up above And grief and sorrow can't find me I will climb to the mountains of peace A place of peace and plenty The place where all anger will cease And grief and sorrow can't find me I will sleep in the warmth of the sun A place of peace and plenty Where all who are gone will be one And grief and sorrow can't find me I will go to the land of bright gold A place of peace and plenty Where everyone's story is told And grief and sorrow can't find me -------------------------------------------------- Track 13 on the Cloudstreet CD, The Land of Bright Gold. From the liner notes: "John wrote this piece while thinking of the hopes that people carry for the 'other place' that they imagine will be better. It is this type of dreaming that drives us to believe in the next world, or to travel to the far side of the globe in search of new lives." Recording here. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 12 Feb 21 - 07:52 PM Fred Smith has a particular interest in the USA, having worked there for a year in 2006-2007. Here is a recent song about the election of Joe Biden, written before the invasion of the Capitol. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honour or dishonour, to the latest generation. Abraham Lincoln, December 1, 1862. LONG RUN WILMINGTON JOE (Fred Smith) Wasn’t such a long time ago… November 2020 Three weeks before the snow fell upon the land of plenty Couple thousand people a day were succumbing to infection, Health workers tired and frayed, I was watching the election The primaries were anyone’s show, Joe talked reconciliation Clyburn had lived through Jim Crow, helped Joe win the nomination The President still put on his shows in the midst of the pandemic 30,000 people would go, guess his crowd ain’t academics TikTok and Twitter, the broken and the bitter listen in to orange man blow Each to their own bubbles making up their troubles in their own reality show Tuesday came around soon, boarded windows braced for violence In the end it went pretty smooth, millions voted there in silence Florida was quick to succumb then went Texas and Ohio Lots of people start to feel numb, is the red mirage a lie though? Michigan the first to turn blue, mail-in counting, Donald scolding Minnesota, Wisconsin too, you could feel the blue wall holding Nevada started tipping, Georgia started flipping for the first time since ’92 Even Arizona, Joe won Maricopa and the Goldwater state slid in blue They just kept on counting in Allegheny County on a Pittsburgh factory floor Out in Philadelphia things are looking healthier and they still kept counting some more Officials looking weary, it's turning blue in Erie, even Fox News says it is so Folks all went insane and, when Joe won Pennsylvania, the champagne started to flow Long run Wilmington Joe, now you’re feeling presidential, Plant the seeds and let ‘em all grow, feeling healing is essential Instrumental break Long run Wilmington Joe, coming in to Union Station Riding on a sliver of hope, to the coming generation There is a beaut video of the song on YT. Fred explained the genesis of the song: In early November, I was confined to my room for two weeks COVID isolation when a colleague tested positive. I figured out how to make my television work and watched the US elections unfold. I was inspired to see election officials and ordinary citizens working to make the democratic process work in the face of background noise. Sound governance and due process are boring, but better than the alternative. Here is an offering for my friends in America… He was yet to see 'the alternative' occur. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:09 AM 3 days & no songs????? Four Strong Women © Maurie Mulheron 1996 Chorus: It took a hammer, an act of love To turn that jet Hawk into a dove It took some courage, it took some strength To stop that fighter from dealing death Into the hangar, into the plane Now use your hammer to stop the pain There's steady breathing as your work starts Four strong women, four beating hearts You sang of justice, you rang the bell You drove your hammer through Timor's hell You won your freedom but you won more You stopped a death plane from making war Four strong women with hammers high Beating ploughshares for a peaceful sky They know the struggle, they know the cause Whoever profits keeps making wars Coda: Four strong women, four beating hearts Notes Many thanks to Maurie Mulheron for permission to add this song to the Union Songs site. Maurie writes: This song celebrates the actions of four British women, Andrea Needham, Joanna Wilson, Lotta Kronlid and Angie Zeltner, who are members of the peace group, Ploughshares. In January 1996, they broke into the high security hangar owned by British Aerospace in Lancashire. Their purpose was to disarm one of the newly built Hawk jets. These jets were due for delivery to the Indonesian Government who use the jet Hawk against the villagers of East Timor. The four women had researched the plane well, learning its control panel layout and serial number. Months were spent monitoring the security and general operations of the British aerospace site at Warton until they were sure that they had located the exact plane destined for Indonesia. Once they had made a positive identification, Jet ZH 955, they made their last minute preparations. They quit their flats, said their farewells, bought some tools - bolt-cutters, crowbars and small hammers, and made their way to the airfield. After an agonising period waiting for the right moment, the four women broke into the hangar and set about destroying the war machine. They developed a steady rhythm, once they realised that the security was not coming. Over a period of about an hour the women methodically destroyed the plane's weapons system with their hammers. As Andrea Needham explains, "I have to admit I thought it might be a kind of religious experience but it felt like work - a job. It was like, here is a weapon that will hurt people, so this is what we have to do to stop it." When they finished, they placed banners and streamers over the plane, sang songs of peace and dropped small seeds (of hope) everywhere. As well, they placed a video in the cockpit of John Pilger's documentary on East Timor which has footage of eyewitness accounts of the planes in action. Eventually they were arrested and charged. They faced heavy prison sentences. At their trial they argued from a difficult position: that their crime was justified because its intent was to prevent a larger crime, genocide, from occurring. As the John Pilger documentary had been found at the scene of the crime, the women were able to show the video to the jury. On the sixth day of the trial, the jury turned in a majority verdict of not guilty. Their defence had been accepted. British Aerospace were stunned. On the steps of the courthouse, crowded with supporters, journalists and photographers, a company representative stepped forward to serve an injunction ordering the women not to trespass on the company's property. Angie Zeltner took the papers and, grinning broadly, promptly tore them up. Four strong women! For more information, see the article "If I Had a Hammer" by Jane Wheatley in HQ magazine, (September/October 1996) and pages 313-322 of John Pilger's "Hidden Agendas" (Vintage, 1998). Ploughshares has a web site: http://tridentploughshares.org/ no video or audio |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:17 AM another of Maurie's songs source - Australian Society for the Study of Labour History To mark the centenary of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, we include in this issue of The Hummer two songs about teachers and the challenges of working in the NSW State education system. I’m Changing our Name to Grammar Words & Music by Maurie Mulheron (2001) Oh, the cost of education makes me flinch As public schools start to feel the pinch. From each dollar we have gained Little has remained; No, our economic future is no cinch. But amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray If we can make State Aid come back our way, So, I’ve devised a plan of action, Worked it out to the last fraction, And I’m going into action here today. Chorus I’m changing our name to Grammar, And I’m heading down to Canberra you see I’ll tell those bureaucrats What they did for St Ignats Will be perfectly acceptable to me. I’m changing our name to Grammar, And I’m heading for that great receiving line So, when they hand a million grand out I’ll be standing with my hand out, Yes, I’ll get mine! When the P&C are screaming “Where’s the dough?” I’ll be proud to tell them all where they can go They won’t have to scream or holler, They’ll get ev’ry last dollar From where endless streams of money seem to flow I’ll be proud to tell them all what they can do It’s a matter of a simple form or two, ‘Cause for private education, there’s so much remuneration In Canberra the cheque waits for you. Chorus Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime, We’ve been struggling in an unrelenting climb; We were hardly up and walking Before money started talking And subsidies were an awful crime. Now it’s been that way for a millennium or two Now it seems there is a different point of view If you’re enrolling at St Joey’s No need to spend your dough ‘Cause Canberra will pay the fees for you! Chorus (with last 3 lines repeated) lyrics, no audio Based on I'm Changing My Name to Chrysler (Words and music by Tom Paxton, copyright Pax Music, ASCAP) Used by permission. Additional words by Maurie Mulheron no wonder I can remember the tune! |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 07:21 AM source - Australian Society for the Study of Labour History To mark the centenary of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, we include in this issue of The Hummer two songs about teachers and the challenges of working in the NSW State education system Twenty-nine kids, Lyrics by Sydney Trade Union Choir (2012), based on Sixteen Tons (Merle Travis 1947) and The Teacher’s Lament (Anon, 1950s) Now, some people say a teacher’s made out of steel, But a teacher’s made of stuff that can think and feel. A mind and a body with a heart and soul, An ability to teach the shy and the bold. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter don’t you call me to that Heavenly Gate, I owe my soul to the youth of this state. I woke this morning, it was cloudy and cool, I picked up my briefcase and I drove to the school. The copier’s jammed; I just can’t win And there’s playground duty before the bell rings. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter, don’t you call me to that Celestial Shore, I got 29 kids and they’re sending me more. There’s a kid in every seat from wall to wall, Any more that come will have to stand in the hall. They’re breathing down my neck; they’re walking on my toes, They’re telling me their joys and I’m sharing (all) their woes. Chorus I teach 29 kids and what do I get? Younger in heart and nothing to regret. St Peter, don’t you call me, I can’t leave here; I’ll have 29 students again next year. The bell rings at three but I’m not through, With marking and assessments and reports to do. The pressure is on, I have to flee, ‘Cause I’ve got to get back for the P & C. Chorus I teach 29 kids, I’m putting them first, But education’s goin’ from bad to worse ! Devolution’s a con – it just ain’t right, So we have to stick together and win this fight. And win this fight, and win this fight Yes, we have to stick together and win this fight! no video or audio |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:31 AM I've been looking in Union songs & saw lots of songs we've missed! how could we leave this out? DON'T BE TOO POLITE, GIRLS, © Glen Tomasetti 1969 Tune "All Among The Wool" We're really on the way, girls, really on the way, Hooray for equal pay, girls, hooray for equal pay, They're going to give it to most of us, in spite of all their fears But do they really need to make us wait three years. Chorus Don't be too polite girls, don't be too polite, Show a little fight girls, show a little fight, Don't be fearful of offending, in case you get the sack Just recognise your value and we won't look back. I sew up shirts and trousers in the clothing trade, Since men don't do the job I can't ask to be better paid The people at the top rarely offer something more Unless the people underneath are walking out the door. They say a man needs more to feed his children and his wife, Well, what are the needs of a woman who leads a double working life? When the whistle blows for knock-off it's not her time for fun She goes home to start the job that's not paid and never done. Don't be too afraid girls, don't be too afraid, We're clearly underpaid girls, clearly underpaid, Tho' equal pay in principle is every woman's right To turn that into practice, we must show a little fight. We can't afford to pay you, say the masters in their wrath But woman says "Just cut your coat according to the cloth" If the economy won't stand then here's the answer boys, "Cut out the wild extravagance on the new war toys". All among the bull girls, all among the bull, Keep your hearts full girls, keep your hearts full What good is a man as a doormat, or following at heel? It's not their balls we're after, it's a fair square deal. Notes Many thanks to Choir Choir Pants On Fire from New Zealand for permission to add their version of this song to the Union Songs collection. The song was written by Glen Tomasetti who was a well know Melbourne folk singer, writer and political activist. The song is still in use in demonstrations in Australia and has been widely used in films and as a theme song for women's radio and International Women's Day celebrations. It was first sung on Channel 7 television in the current affairs program "This Week". In the introduction to 'Songs From A Seat In The Carriage', a folio of her songs published in 1970, Glen wrote: 'In Charles Dickens 'A Tale of Two Cities' the Marquis St Evremonde rides through the streets of Paris in his carriage. It runs down a child and as the father crouches in the mud, howling like a wild animal over the body of his son, the Marquis dispenses two coins and gives the order, DRIVE ON'. Australia's traditional image identifies us with the poor from whom we are mostly descended. In world society today, however, Australia is part of the old regime, which protects and enlarges its riches at any cost to other people. Occasionally we throw out our loose change and drive on. These songs were written from a seat in that carriage'." Audio |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:48 AM or this one by Kevin McCarthy, coordinator of the Denis O'Keeffe Memorial Australian Songs Session @ The National? BATTLE FOR BENELONG, © Kevin McCarthy 2007 It was on a bleak November day John Howard came undone the day he took for granted the people of Bennelong consumed with pride and vanity convinced he had it won dismissed the polls and he backed himself in the Battle for Bennelong When Maxine McKew raised her hand to run in Bennelong Howard scoffed: is this a joke? the nerve of this woman but she campaigned long and she campaigned hard she set her sights on John Maxine had come to give her all in the Battle for Bennelong To Australia’s ultra neo-cons John Howard was their man his economic miracle put wealth into their hand but eleven years of fear and hate had roused the Aussie mob and the battlers rose and had their say that day in Bennelong yeh the battlers rose and they had their say in the battle for Bennelong Now on polling day it soon emerged the contest would be tight Labor prayed whileLiberals choked those numbers can’t be right neck and neck, too close to call but when the count was done by a short half head, Maxine had won the Battle for Bennelong [CHEER] Now Maxine McKew has won a place in Australian history the reporter from the ABC brought Howard to his knees with Buckleys chance, and against the odds she took the bastard on and Maxine McKew claimed victory in the Battle for Bennelong yes Maxine McKew made history that day in Bennelong Notes Many thanks to Kevin "Blarney" McCarthy editor of the Blarney Bulletin at http://www.blarneybulletin.com/ for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Find more of Kevin's work in this collection Journalist Maxine McKew was Labor candidate in Sydney seat of Bennelong, a seat Prime Minister John Howard had held for 33 years. Her victory was the icing on the cake of the Labor win on 24 Novembr 2007, a win that decimated John Howard's Liberal party and installed the Labor Federal Government of Kevin Rudd. Audio My folk club met that night & I was lucky enough to get some great photos as one of the audience kept popping outside to listen to the counts. When she interrupted to tell us Labor had won - faces went from shock to cheers but the exhausted bloke in the Union t-shirt who was slumped down in the front row barely raised an eyelid. Unfortunately I didn't publish any of those photos. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 15 Feb 21 - 08:52 AM WHY CAN'T WE GIVE REFUGE TO A REFUGEE? © Bernard Carney 2002 We are the lucky country we have hearts enough to care We can speak our minds in freedom we have boundless plains to share We don't deny our mateship regardless of the cost And our doors are always open to the lonely and the lost Well that was how it once was we were proud to make the claim But a darkening of spirit now has crept across our name For the way we treat our weakest is what the world will see When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee This world's known so much chaos there's a shadow through the lands I search the stars for answers but I just don't understand When broken souls in need of help cried out for us to hear We could have offered hope and love instead we offered fear The fear of drab detention locked like dingos in a pound The fear of no horizon on this so called Christian ground And every rule our country makes reflects on you and me When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee And the sharp eyes of the world can see just what we're coming to We who have so much but cannot share it with the few Reacting to the symptoms never thinking of the cause When hunger and injustice are the enemies of us all For the faceless wounded spirits locked behind the razor wire We rally for their freedom with our consciences on fire And our hearts become the harder and we harbour bigotry When we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee And I fly no flag of Jesus speak no politicians creed But sing the song of human beings crying out in need And I'll sing it ever louder until all the wounds are healed Til they know our hearts are open even though their lips are sealed For we are the lucky country and we have hearts enough to care We can speak our minds in freedom we have boundless plains to share And we've always known compassion and rejoiced in being free But we can't give refuge to a refugee Why can't we give refuge to a refugee Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Unions in Australia have been active in the campaign to change the country's treatment of refugees particularly those the government labels "Illegal Immigrants", and locks up in purpose built privately run jails they call "Detention Camps". These camps are made inaccessible to relatives, lawyers and even politicians. The government describes it's treatment of the refugees as "A Deterent to people smugglers". It narrowly won the 2001 Federal Election by whipping up hysteria on the issue, spreading lies like children being thrown overboard by their parents. Audio |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GerryM Date: 16 Feb 21 - 04:44 AM Back to Broome, by Ted Egan, was mentioned (way) upthread, with a link to lyrics in another thread, and to a recording on Youtube. I'd like to have the lyrics in this thread, so here goes. I took these lyrics from the recording, which leaves out many of the stanzas in the earlier lyrics post, and includes one stanza the older post doesn't. I guess Ted Egan didn't always sing it the same way. The four lines starting "I'm takin' you back to Broome today" are sung, preferably in call-and-response style, before each stanza, and the chorus is sung after each stanza. BACK TO BROOME (Ted Egan) I'm takin' you back to Broome today What'll we do when we get to Broome? All aboard the lugger, we're on our way What'll we do in Broome? I'm takin' you back to Broome today And you'll see all the luggers in Roebuck Bay See all the beautiful local girls See Old Tom Ellies cleaning pearls That's what you do in Broome CHORUS: So it's: Haul away! Heave away! Up with the anchor chain – two! three! four! Haul away! Heave away! We're goin' back to Broome again! (x2 last time) I'm takin' you back to Broome with me And if you want to learn about history Sit in the shade of a Tamarind tree Meet Unsinkable Kennedy And he'll tell you all about Broome. We'll take a walk to Chinatown At the Roebuck Pub, we'll knock one down Broome's the place of great renown The people are black, white, yellow, and brown It's Technicolor in Broome. There's a pearling master so astute There's a Japanese diver lookin' ever so cute Sovereign buttons on a starched white suit A mouth full of golden teeth to boot And He's properly flash in Broome. I'm takin' you back to Broome, me dears At the Conti Pub have a few cold beers There's Con Gill's cockatoo, block yer ears The greatest swearer heard in years And he's cursing his luck in Broome. Hear Captain Tallboys tell a tale On the verandah in front of Streeter & Male At the Governor Broome we'll quaff an ale Watch the luggers as they set sail They're sailing today from Broome. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:02 AM LOVE IS THE ANSWER, © James Paterson & Denise Alexander 2006 Verse 1 When they say they're giving you democracy We know it's lies, it's the height of hypocracy Corporations don't care about the have nots Ruthless, immoral, it's all about the profits Verse 2 It's no wonder people are starting to hate us We plunder countries, invade them like a rapist Now everyone is suspicious of their neighbours It must be true cos I read it in the papers Sub Chorus But forgiveness is beauty You know that empires don't last All this war and destruction Why can't we learn, can't we learn from the past Chorus That Love can bring changes ( woh, oh, oh, oh, oh ) Yes "Love is the answer", it's what we're looking for When there's violence and hatred ( woh, oh, oh, oh, oh ) Then "Love is the answer", it's what we're looking for Verse 3 We were told there was weapons of mass destruction They bombed the place and said they had no option They use the war to help them win elections It's time to GetUp and give them our objections Verse 4 Don't you know there's going to be a backlash What's wrong with talking, does it leave you feeling breathless Life is sacred can you hear the voice of reason No more killing in the name of freedom Sub Chorus Forgiveness is beauty ( It's the highest form of love ) You know that empires don't last ( They all come crumbling down ) All this war & destruction ( Senseless deaths ) Why can't we learn, can't we learn from the past Chorus Love can bring changes ( woh, oh, oh, oh, oh ) Yes "Love is the Answer" it's what we're looking for When there's violence and hatred ( woh, oh, oh, oh, oh ) Yes "Love is the Answer", it's what we're looking for Life is so sacred " Love is the Answer", and what we're looking for In a world full of hatred Then "Love is the Answer", and what we're looking for Notes Many thanks to James Paterson & Denise Alexander for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. They are members of The Borderers (Celtic / Irish band based in Adelaide, South Australia) and wrote the song in response to the continuing war in Iraq. Love is the Answer is sung here by the Borderers and is on their CD "A Time For Change" Visit the Borderers website at http://theborderers.com.au/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:06 AM STAND TOGETHER © 1996 Bernard Carney Audio Chorus We will all stand together and sing a union song We will all stand together and know that we belong To the strength of the future In a common working bond Stand together and sing a union song There's trouble fast approaching And the skies are overcast But let us not lose sight of All the lessons of the past The victories that were fought for In battles loud and long By the millions who sang a union song United we will bargain But divided we will fall Injustice to the one will mean Injustice to us all But when we stand together The future will belong To the millions who sing a union song (optional May Day verse) It was on the first of May That I heard the union say Eight hours of decent working For eight hours of decent pay And we won't forget the reasons Why were marching here today With the millions who sing a union song Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to use this song about which he writes: "The song was written in August 96 during the second wave of changes to the West Australian Industrial relations laws and has been sung at all the union rallies since. It's one of a series of songs written for the union campaign against the law changes and ended in the establishment of the Workers Embassy behind Parliament House in June 97 which exists today as Solidarity Park." Visit his Bernard's website at: http://bernardcarney.com/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:13 AM AUNTY © Bernard Carney Audio 21 years ago Bernard said - "This is an old song which may be updated and used again at present if anyone has the time" tune: Solidarity Forever They've cut my Aunty's pension She can hardly pay the rent They're planning little nips and tucks That total 10 (or 20 or possibly more) per cent They're beating down her budget 'til she's at the begging bowl And hundreds of her staff Are going to end up in a hole Her doctor says she's overweight She looks so thin to me He's issued a prescription for cosmetic surgery But everybody knows she's going to be an amputee But her voice goes marching on Help to save our favourite Aunty Help to save our favourite Aunty Help to save our favourite Aunty And let her voice go marching on Her mouth is just a little wide Her tongue is far too long They'll do a quick reshaping So they sing a different song Her ears will only hear too much They really must be tamed She'll still be known as Aunty But she just won't sound the same My aunty's looking different now They're cutting at her still They've told her about sponsorship To help to pay the bills And when her independence starts to Trickle down the drain She'll still be known as Aunty But she just won't think the same So rally for your aunty She will need your full support She's the only independent voice That won't be sold or bought She's known across Australia In the country and the town So let her voice go marching on Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. He Writes "This is an old song which may be updated and used again at present if anyone has the time" Aunty in Australia is a common often affectionate reference to the national broadcaster the ABC. This publicly owned broadcaster has set the standard for Australian television and radio for over 60 years. It now (December 2000) faces destruction as the reactionary and vengeful Federal Government takes the gloves off in an attempt to ensure that "cash for comment" becomes the norm in Australian journalism. Visit the ABC website at: http://www.abc.net.au/ Visit Bernard's website at: http://www.bernardcarney.com |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:16 AM HERE'S TO YOU FRANKLN. © Dave de Hugard 1983 Audio Well come all you people far and near And to this story lend an ear It's to ask you all to make a stand On a crucial issue now at hand At the Franklin River a fight's being fought And bulldozers roar and time it's short So this is a call for your support To keep the Franklin Flowing Chorus Here's to you Franklin as you roll along And your forests and your mountains is a wild river song And may you still be there when we're long gone So Franklin you keep on flowing Now this HEC well they're blind of course And they're wearing blinkers like an old draft horse Oh but puffed with power too blind to see The extent of their stupidity And if you've got your doubts the fact remains It's up to us to make the change So it's backs to the wheel for the long term gains And we'll keep the Franklin Flowing We must stay the hand of this scheming pack They'd carve up this country at the drop of a hat Oh Lake Pedder disappeared at the stroke of a pen And if they have their way they'll do it again They'll take the Franklin River too Except for people like me and you So I reckon we can see this through And keep the Franklin Flowing And I like the cackle of the kookaburra's song And the bubble of the of the water as she rolls along And the Huon pines have been standing there Two thousand years and never a care Then there's the caves where the earliest men Sheltered while this river ran Oh there'e no place here for a hydro dam So keep the Franklin Flowing Final Chorus Here's to you Franklin as you roll along And your forests and your mountains is a wild river song And may you still be there when we're long gone So Franklin you keep on flowing So Franklin just keep on flowing Notes Many thanks to Dave de Hugard for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. 'Here's to you Franklin' was written in 1983, part of the national protest against the Hydro Electricity Commission's (HEC) plan to build a dam on the Franklin River in Tasmania's wild south-west. Visit Dave's website at http://www.dehugard.com/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:19 AM DESTITUTION ROAD by Alistair Hulett Audio In the Year Of The Sheep and the burnin’ time They cut our young men in their prime The old Scots way was a hangin’ crime For the Gaels of Caledonia There’s a den for the fox, a hedge for the hare A nest in the tree for the birds of the air But in a’ Scotland there’s no place there for the Gaels of Caledonia Chorus: But there’s no use getting’ frantic It’s time tae hump yer load Across the wild Atlantic On the Destitution Road The bailiff came wi’ the writ and a’ And the gallant lads of the Forty Twa They drove ye oot in the sleet and snaw The Gaels of Caledonia When yer house was burned and yer crops as well Ye stood and wept in the blackened shell And the winter moor was a living hell For the Gaels of Caledonia The plague and the famine they dragged ye doon As ye made yer way tae Glesga toon Where ye’d heard o’ a ship that was sailin’ soon For the shores of Nova Scotia And ye sold yer gear, ye paid yer fare Wi’ yer heid held high though yer heart was sair And ye bid farewell forever mair Tae the glens of Caledonia The land was cleared and the deal was made Noo an English lord in a tartan plaid He struts and stares as the memories fade Of the Gaels of Caledonia And he hunts the deer in the lonely glen That once was home to a thousand men And the wind on the moor sings a sad refrain For the Gaels of Caledonia Notes Many thanks to Alistair Hulett for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Alistair writes: The time in Scotland known as the Highland Clearances was a government led assault on the non-English speaking tribal societies - the clansfolk, that had existed there for countless centuries. From it’s inception in 1792, when it was called in Gaelic by its victims Bliadhna nan Caorach, meaning The Year Of the Sheep, till it finally ended nearly eighty years later, this was a period of incredible violence and cruelty carried out in the name of modernisation. Wool was seen by the clan chiefs as a better source of profit than rent, and the government agreed. Many sold their lands to southern capitalist farmers while others carried out the clearings themselves. In all cases the military gave assistance in what amounted to a programme of ‘ethnic cleansing’. Hard on the heels of The Year of the Sheep came The Year of the Burnings, when any hope of return was put to the torch and destroyed. Capitalist farming methods and the introduction of sheep to the glens gave rise a process of physical and cultural genocide that has left the Scottish Highlands barren of its human population to this day. The passage out of the Highlands in those times was known as The Destitution Road. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Feb 21 - 07:26 AM BETTER TIMES © Miguel Heatwole 2000 video, 2017 winner of Alistair Hulett memorial Songs For Social Justice There are better times comin' if you don't pay any tax On the profits that your companies make off their workers' backs Your friends are influential and they can get things done So don't forget that big donation to the campaign fund Better times, better times, Better times are on their way that's what politicians say So if you've got one in your pocket better times are here to stay There are better times comin' 'cause your pay is gonna drop And this will bring employment ‘though you can't afford to shop When demand for goods and services has fallen through the floor Employers won't be laying off their workers anymore Better times, better times, Better times are on their way if you take a cut in pay And never join a union just do what your bosses say There are better times comin' 'cause the market isn’t slow So if 'share' to you means only what's in your portfolio Invest and speculate, strip assets, make the prices soar Make a killing, oil-drilling, or when there is a war Better times, better times Better times are on their way when the stockmarket you play The only way to win is when you make the people pay There are better times comin'. If it troubles you to think Just say poverty's the fault of people living on the brink Why not tune in to talkback? You'll get all the help you need To blame the poor on welfare not the ruling class’s greed Better times, better times Better times are on their way just ring up and have your say If the facts are not much use to you, you’re thinking the right way I want to live in hard times the way it was before In the bad old days when unions flexed their muscles for the poor When the public good was not for sale, and education free When we lived in our society not their economy Hard times, Hard times Come on, let the hard times roll, let's see justice take its toll There'll be hard times for the wealthy when we take back what they stole "Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears" The weeping of the wealthy is music to my soul! Notes Many thanks to Miguel Heatwole for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 16 Feb 21 - 09:00 PM THE SOUTHERN CROSS IS CALLING ME (Joe Paolacci) He hasn't had a break you know for 27 years Non-stop in a barber shop he owns near Station Pier He came from sunny Naples, just after World War II With aching heart, he played his part and bid his folks adieu Chorus: So goodbye sunny Naples, my loving family too The Southern Cross is calling me to build a life that's new I'm off to see Australia, the work is plenty there My bag is packed, I won't look back - I'll make a pile, I swear He took a boat to Melbourne where employment was in plenty He got a job with a yankee mob in a motor car assembly He rented up in Carlton, and money carefully spent With families four and sometimes more, he shared his every cent. 'G'day mate!' they say to him, he answers 'Same to you' He feels so queer, they all drink beer and yell, 'It's your shout Blue!' And this goes on till six o'clock when the barman yells 'It's time!' And it's down the hatch, there's a bus to catch on the Gardenvale line He met a girl from Williamstown and courted her at Mass She stole his heart right from the start, a freckled Aussie lass They looked up Father Murphy, got married with great haste And they honeymooned in a tiny room they found in Elgin Place. He hasn't had a break you know for 27 years Non-stop in a barber shop, he owns near Station Pier He came from sunny Naples, just after World War II And with aching heart, he played his part and bid his folks adieu This stands out in that it is not about Irish, Scots or English immigrants. It was posted to the forum a couple of decades ago by Bob Bolton. Evidently, Joe was 2-years-old when he came to Australia and the song was based on his father's experiences and that of other Italian immigrants. It seems that Joe's dad had a good experience. Apart from being racist, Australians could be offensive and derogatory towards European immigrants. I recall that, in some circles, a line was drawn down the middle of Europe - on one side 'bloody dagoes' and, on the other, 'bloody balts'. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 19 Feb 21 - 09:14 AM SIX RIBBONS Jon James English & Mario Millo If I were a minstrel, I’d sing you six love songs To tell all the world of the love that we share If I were a merchant, I’d bring you six diamonds With six blood red roses for my love to wear, But I am a simple man, a poor common farmer So take my six ribbons to tie back your hair. Yellow and brown, blue as the sky Red as my blood, green as your eye If I were a nobleman, I'd bring you six carriages With six snow white horses to take you anywhere If I were the emperor (yellow and brown) I'd build you six palaces (blue as the sky) With six hundred servants (red as my blood) For comforting fare (green as your eyes), But I am a simple man, a poor common farmer So take my six ribbons to tie back your hair If I were a minstrel, I’d sing you six love songs To tell all the world of the love that we share So be not afraid my love, you’re never alone love While you wear my ribbons, tying back your hair, Once I was a simple man, a poor common farmer I gave you six ribbons, to tie back your hair. Tooralee, tooralie, all I can share Is only six ribbons to tie back your hair Tooralee, tooralie, all I can share I gave you six ribbons to tie back your hair. "Six Ribbons" is a popular 1978 folk-style song by the late Australian singer-songwriter-musician-actor, Jon English and is included on the soundtrack of the Australian miniseries, "Against the Wind". See 13 Eps here : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMcMa0lpJo2wOPJM_P0kPnaA-x-U-j6Nm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9W5lQNFb-M : Jon English sings "Six Ribbons", with scenes from the ABC-TV historical drama. Jon’s WIKI page : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_English R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 19 Feb 21 - 06:54 PM IRISH LORDS (w.Charles H. Souter/m.Martyn Wyndham-Read) The barley grass was two feet high, the billabongs were full The brolgas danced a minuet, the world seemed made of wool The nights were never wearisome, the days were never slow When first I went to Irish Lords on the road to Ivanhoe The frost was on the barley grass as we passed the homestead rails A darling jackass piped us in with his turns and trills and scales Youth and health and happiness sat on the saddle bow And Mary lived at Irish Lords on the road to Ivanhoe And everywhere was happiness, the fates were fair and kind We drank the very wine of life, we never looked behind And Mary, Mary everywhere, was flitting to and fro When first we went to Irish Lords, on the road to Ivanhoe The window on a leafy byre where the golden banksia grew Stared like a dead man's glassy eye for the roof had fallen through No flowers in her garden-bed, and her voice stilled long ago When last I went to Irish Lords on the road to Ivanhoe Irish Lords is a sheep station near Ivanhoe in the far west of NSW. Martyn gives some background in his intro to the song here: Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 03:50 AM GARDENS OF DEATH © Bernard Carney 1995 Audio Every fifteen minutes somewhere In a burnt out village somewhere There'll be a flash against the sky Another homeless farmer somewhere Stumbles on a mine And for every one survivor two will die Pastures of plenty now are sown with destruction Growing only uncertainty and fear Lethal reminders of a never ending war Taking lifetimes of misery to clear For the mines have been planted like Bad seed in the ground Deadly silent sentinels that wait without a sound The legacy of conflict indiscriminate and wild And they know no distinction Be it soldier be it child So scream your disapproval with every angry breath And fight to put an end to all these Gardens of death Who will remove them when the fighting is over What could the price of peace be worth How can we talk of turning swords into ploughshares When countless million mines infest the earth Young fingers playing find them bright and attractive Made of plastic like a friendly coloured toy Another generation learns to live without a limb For these are the tactics they employ For the mines have been planted like Bad seed in the ground Deadly silent sentinels that wait without a sound The legacy of conflict indiscriminate and wild And they know no distinction Be it soldier mother child So scream your disapproval with every angry breath And fight to put an end to all these Gardens of death Who are the companies that profit from this slaughter Who are the people they employ What drives a person to invent a smarter way Of making more efficient methods to destroy Who are the countries now that still refuse to ban them But wear their good intentions like a mask Who are the parties in this shameless pollution These are the questions we must ask For the mines are still planted In their millions every year Barely detectable impossible to clear Sprayed across the countryside landing where they will Denying future access always waiting for the kill So scream your disapproval with every angry breath So the world can put an end to all these Gardens of death Every fifteen minutes somewhere Every fifteen minutes somewhere Every fifteen minutes Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. This song won the West Australian Music industry songwriting award in 1995 and has subsequently been coupled with landmine images from around the world taken by Melbourne photographer John Rodsted and made into a five minute video by the International Red Cross in Geneva entitled "Shattered Lives". The Australian Red Cross have also made the song into a CD single together with a Greg Arnold song "They colour in the Landmines". The song is also on the Bernard Carney & Peter Grayling CD " No Time Like The Future" Visit Bernard's web site at: http://www.bernardcarney.com/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 03:53 AM WARSONG © Bernard Carney 1991 no audio or video Time for our minds to be taken from war The news is so boring and dreary More broken bones for a hungry dow jones And the people have all become weary The job has been done by the media's gun The establishment grows ever stronger No need to worry what's right or whats wrong Don't think about this any longer While the wars of the world rage on Each newscaster's bulletin bombards our brains Each article softens our thinking Each new righteous reason will mask and conceal The hole into which we are sinking The voices of protest grow quieter each day The crackpots who screamed against violence Are labelled as peaceniks and sent on their way The majority slides into silence And the wars of the world rage on When the young men and women caught up in this mess Join the ranks of the wounded and dying The media mutters of duty and honour And love of our country And the national flag will be flying Flying for a new world order of countries Flying for the new troops we're sending Flying for the old rules that fuel all the fires And prevent all these wars from ending While the wars of the world rage on Time for our minds to be taken from war The news is so boring and dreary More broken bones for a hungry dow jones And the people have all become weary Notes Many thanks to Bernard Carney for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Bernard writes: "This was written during the 1991 Gulf War as a response to the way mainstream media soothed us into thinking it was all for the greater good . We were shown aerial views of direct hits but the human cost was never counted. It seems to be happening again." Warsong is on Bernard's CD "No Time Like The Future" BJCD981 1998 Vists his website at: http://www.bernardcarney.com |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 03:56 AM ROTTEN TO THE CORE © Martin Cubby and Mithra Cox 2009 Audio The banks are made of marble With a guard at every door Ripping off the workers The farmers and the poor Giving credit come and get it Isn't that what banks are for But they know you can't repay it And they're beating down your door Refrain: And the banks are made of marble With a guard at every door And the monument of capital Is rotten to the core Down on dirty Wall Street The truth is hard to find Lay a dirty greenback down You've got a dirty lie Up on hollow Main Street The truth is what you're told A happy life it can be bought A happy life is sold The vultures at the top Are in their towers of glass and steel Hard hands at the bottom They're scrounging their next meal The ones who built the mansions Pressed the suits and parked the car They can't afford the rent And so it's on the credit card So lay your money down now Don't you worry be at ease Snort another line of credit From the nice Chinese Keep buying shoes and TVs Pay it back another day Everyone's got to keep shopping Or they'll take your house away Notes Many thanks to Martin Cubby, Mithra Cox and The Lurkers for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection Visit The Lurkers website at http://www.lurkers.com.au/ |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 03:58 AM THEY'RE KEEPING A FILE ON ME © Mithra Cox 2009 Audio Im pulling on my big floppy shoes I'm zipping up my latex fat suit I'm dressed as a clown but they're writing it all down They're keeping a file on me Chorus: They're keeping a file on me They're keeping it meticulously What I said and who I met they'll make sure they don't forget They're keeping a file on me We're reaching consensus tonight Democracy's not black and white We'll be here til three but we'll get there peacefully But it's being recorded for my asio file We're dancing in the alley til dawn Cause the party was long since shut down But they're starting to get hostile and your joyful brimming smile Is on a photo your asio file Instrumental My file’s a long litany Of peace, love and harmony I never realised that being fair and just and kind Was considered living dangerously |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 04:00 AM THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LAWS © John Dengate 2006 Tune variant of Flash Jack from Gundagai Audio The industrial relations laws are good for you and me They'll stimulate employment and foster industry They'll make Australia wealthier I'm sure you'll all agree The industrial relations laws are good for you and me Johnny Howard told me and he is very wise Johnny Howard told me and Johnny never lies And I don't begrudge the millions they spent to advertise We'll be more like America hooray you lucky guys The industrial relations laws will lght the road ahead Scrap the regulations and trust the boss instead Keep away from unions they're terrorists or reds Now I'm off to see the doctor he's examining my head |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 04:07 AM Anastasia's Petticoat © 2003 Phyl Lobl audio The miners of Eureka have long been brought to fame, Its time the wives who stood by them were honoured with the same. Many were prepared to die but weren't allowed to fight, They sewed Eureka's flag instead, the flag of blue and white. CHORUS And the stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle. Of that December morning when hot blood stained the wattle. The miners push for justice came in 1854, They stumbled into trouble, then into civil war. Anastasia felt it right that she should also join the fight, Though a white lawn petticoat seemed too slight an offering for the cause. Henry Ross had planned the flag he hoped would prove to be, A flag to unify all those who scorned the licence fee. Armed with scissors thread and thimble miners wives worked on that symbol, Sewing with their hearts a-tremble, stitching for the cause. On Bakery Hill the flag first flew, brave against the cloud, It gave the speakers heart and hope when they addressed the crowd. Mid calls for solidarity for justice and for liberty, The petticoat stars shone constantly dancing for the cause. It led the marchers down the road that ran from Creswick town, To flower on the stockade pole till King had it torn down. With Ross soon dead from musket shot, the troopers used the flag for sport, They dragged it through the mud and thought they’d killed the miners cause. The stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle, Of that December morning, when hot blood stained the wattle. The stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle, Of that December morning, when hot blood stained the wattle. Written & Sung by Phyl Lobl 2003-4 Arranged and accompanied by Michael Roberts Written for the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Uprising, this song tells the story of the Eureka Flag. Henry Ross, a miner who migrated from Canada was credited with designing the flag but credit for the sewing of the flag has gone to a group of women. One of those women, Anastasia Withers, was said to have sacrificed a white lawn petticoat to fashion the stars. Perhaps when Australia does become a Republic a simple solution to the flag question would be to reclaim the Eureka flag from the various groups who have since utilised it and it can become a fitting symbol for a southern democracy. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 04:10 AM WESTGATE WIDOW - Words & Music: Phyl Lobl, arranged and accompanied by Michael Roberts Audio Westgate you took my pal, My laughing, drinking, joking pal. You stopped his laughter when you fell, When you came down. You welders and you tough dogmen, I beg you will you listen then. When with concrete and steel you spin, I beg you to take care. For we'll be a long time lonely now, A long time lonely. Westgate you took my man, How I curse your rotten span. I'll have to manage best I can, Since you came down. You designing and you planning men, I beg you will you listen then. When with concrete and steel you spin, I beg you to take care. For we'll be a long time lonely now, A long time lonely. In 1970 the Westgate Bridge collapse killed thirty five people I wrote this song in the following week. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 21 - 04:21 AM COWPER WHARF - Words & Music: Phyl Lobl Our first troopship to Iraq sailed from Cowper Wharf in 2003. I watched her sail with a heavy heart. This Audio comes from a concert organised by Wayne Richmond with the 'Loosely Woven' concert group. I went down to the Cowper wharf one day, To watch the ship Kanimbla in her coat of battle grey, Raise the anchor to the flag and sail away. The wheels of war return and turn, Why don't we ever learn. The 'strong of arm' and 'bright of eye' stood tall, I don't know where their thoughts were but mine were with them all, Did they ever dare to think that they could fall. The wheels of war return and turn, Why don't we ever learn. The gulf lay in between us gaping wide, Like the flotsam on the sea they were swept up with the tide, And in the firm belief that God was on their side. The wheels of war return and turn, Why don't we ever learn. Off to defend the system at great speed, A system that depends upon half truths and guns and greed, While third world people starve or live in need. The wheels of war return and turn, Why don't we ever learn. Another time and place another day, Someone watched my father's troop ship as she sailed away, There were few would protest then about the fray. The wheels of war return and turn, But I'll keep marching in the hope that Peace by Peace we'll learn. Phyl's father was underage when he enlisted, but he was 18 when he was wounded at the Somme. video by Dingo's Breakfast of Phyl's Battle of the Somme. Phyl sang it at 1982 National Folk Festival with Declan Affley on uilleann pipes & they can be heard in the background. One image is of a very young soldier looking at the camera. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: JennieG Date: 20 Feb 21 - 06:30 AM There is a book "The forgotten rebels of Eureka" by Clare Wright, which won the Stella Prize for Australian women's writing in 2014. It's an excellent read, well researched and written - and yes, Anastasia Withers and her petticoat are in it. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 20 Feb 21 - 07:23 PM PEACE DESCENDS Paul Metsers Peace Descends Though its schedule is tight When the tatters of day weaken and fray And the wet street surrenders to night (Refrain) Peace descends Though it's just passing through When I am here and you are too Peace descends In the hurricane's eye In arms that surround with hardly a sound And never an alibi Peace descends And it's never too long Till the lovers relax and that seedy old saxophone Burns up the final song Peace descends Too late to repent When the last insult's hurled and the banners are furled And the winner can scowl at what's left of his world And the storm in our hearts is spent "From a word sheet supplied with Paul's record, In the Hurricane's Eye, SGM 279, recorded in 1983 : Little Robyn, Mudcatter" Sung here by NZ’s CHRIS PRIESTLEY (with high accolades from Paul Metsers in the Comments!) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz3kpD0NadM R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 20 Feb 21 - 08:47 PM ROLL ALONG (Paul Wookey) There’s no lonesome whistle blowin’ outside my door No hobo has ever shared my floor No highballin' friend has ever taken me away No one rides the railroad anymore I’ve never seen my name scratched upon the water-tank Never swung my old guitar aboard a train Never had to run to save my life in the railyard at night Never had to sleep in the drivin' rain So roll along And as the diesels hums goodbye Sing me another song the brakeman left behind Those old gentlemen of steam are left to rust The water-tanks might just as well run dry The hobo's weary bones, why they've long since turned to dust Leavin' only the sound of an outward bound and the whistle’s lonesome cry So roll along And as the diesels hum goodbye Sing me another song the brakeman left behind This song is from his first LP - 'Mountain Breakfast'. Paul is a fine performer and songwriter. I recall that he came to Darwin with the late Chris Duffy decades ago. Youtube clip Paul Wookey's site --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 20 Feb 21 - 11:30 PM 1868 Matt Scullion It was before Smith and Warnie, before the great Don Before Victor Trumper scored the first double ton Nine years before the first test and the baggy green Australia got its first cricket team A clever bunch of stockmen and sturdy station hands They picked the game up quickly from settlers on the land They sailed over to England unsure of their fate The tour made the headlines in 1868 Chorus They came from Jardwadjali and Wotjobaluki Some from Gunditjmara, thirteen men in all As good as anybody with the bat and ball The first Australian cricket side was Aboriginal The tourists were admired for their athletic skills The games were well-attended, nearly all the seats were filled Forty-seven matches, they even played at Lords Winning fourteen while nineteen games were drawn The standout was Unaarrimin, better known as Johnny Mullagh A wizz with the cork and willow, a real all-rounder And there was Jungunjinanuke, nicknamed Dick-a-Dick Who earned the locals’ respect and wowed the crowd with his bush tricks Chorus The team returned to Sydney after six long months Exhausted from the gruelling trip but proud of what they’d done But there was no hero’s welcome, no ticker-tape parade Most went back to the station, others sadly passed away But in the town of Harrow, there’s a piece of sacred land Called ‘Johnny Mullagh Oval’ in honour of the man There’s a cricket museum with pictures of the past Their names won’t be forgotten, their legacy will last Chorus National Museum: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-cricket-team Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_cricket_team_in_England_in_1868 FOOTNOTE: I found this recent news article* about the 19th Century Aboriginal Cricket Team and the new song, but I know nothing about Cricket (nor sport in general :) so I forwarded it to STEWIE. Wonderful bloke that he is, he very kindly transcribed it for us all to sing and enjoy!!! * https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-19/len-pascoe-turned-pioneering-indigenous-cricket-team-into-song/13166612 (story, pics, video link to song, all included) Cheers! R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Feb 21 - 10:35 PM BLACK DIAMOND DISASTER © Phyl Lobl 2005 Audio of Shayna Stewart on Singing the South, Phyl Lobl's Songline/Timeline of the Illawarra Written after reading 'Mt Kembla Mine Disaster' by Stewart Piggan & Henry Lee & supplemented by visits to the Mine Heritage Centre at Mt Kembla. The disaster occurred in July 1902. Ninety-six men and boys died. A 'happening' to mark this anniversary is held each year at Mt Kembla. The trees mentioned in the chorus grow thickly in the area. *Black diamonds had been hunted at the Kembla mine for years, A quest laced with danger that drew bitter tears. From wives and friends and children of the ninety-six who died, When a rush of fire blasted through the Kembla mountainside, The mountainside. CHORUS *Bangalow & Sassafras, Cabbage Plam and Cedar, Witnessed the mine's hot breath burn the *Casuarina. Peppermint and Lilly Pilly caught the coal dust flight, When day turned to night. A miner's light ignited in the thirty-acre *goaf Did profit motif close all minds to danger from the roof? *Wheelers, shifters, clippers and miners breathed the air. Filled with deadly *afterdamp 'cause owners didn't care, They didn't care. The owner kept his distance and purse strings tight, He'd made his wealth from miners working with no safety light. Then chose to pay for churches to buy his soul a place, While compensation payments were a national disgrace, A disgrace. Unions fought for justice through strikes and *picket lines, For miners' rights & wages and safety in the mines. I hope new working laws don't change the state of play, It must not be for nothing the miners died that day, Died that day. * References Black Diamonds - Coal Bangalow, Sassafras, Cabbage Palm, Cedar, Peppermint Gum, Lilly Pilly, Casuarina - native trees. Goaf - Area underground from which coal has been taken. Afterdamp - Mixture of gases produced in a coal mine after an explosion. Wheelers, clippers, shifters - Mine workers with tasks that involved moving the skips when they were filled by the miners. Picket Lines - Striking workers with placards line the approaches to their workplaces to protest against unfairness. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Feb 21 - 10:39 PM SIEVX © Phyl Lobl 2002 Audio On 23 October 2001 Australians first became aware of the horrific sinking of the asylum seeker vessel we now know as SIEVX with the loss of over 350 lives. There are many questions not fully answered about the circumstances of the sinking. Thanks to Edward Lear & The Jumblies for the line 'they went to sea in a sieve' & to Tony Kevin and his website for confirmation of the story. SIEV =Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel UBA = Unauthorised Boat Arrival They went to sea in a sieve they did, in SIEVX they went to sea, And some call them queue jumpers, but I say refugee Who will tell their story now if its not you or me Wives and children took the chance to become a UBA They paid their fare to freedom from South Sumatra Bay The papers told of those who found it was their only way. Abu Quassey set the price that Sonas gladly paid, To join her husband Ahmed in the plans that they had made, She could not guess the twisted web of the trap that had been laid. The overloaded boat it seems had been designed to sink A neat disruption program with a cruel political link, A program kept well hidden except to those who think. I say that there are none so blind as those who let things be, The Navy’s eyes were blind that day to any refugee, And smoke and mirrors hid the scheme that stained the Java Sea. The boat capsized inside the Zone some struggled and survived But only 44 were left when the rescue boat arrived, And Sonas told the story of the desperate and deprived. Her weary arms gave up their load, her precious burden of three Eman, Zhra and Fatimah were lost to the hungry sea. Their photo now a symbol of our inhumanity. THESE VERSES CAN BE OMMITTED Those who poison basic trust who manufacture fear, Have left us with a legacy that I find hard to bear, I hope the world can see that there are some of us who care. They went to sea in a sieve they did, in SIEVX they went to sea, And some call them queue jumpers, but I say refugee And who will tell their story now if not its not you or me. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Feb 21 - 10:46 PM DOWN WORKERS DOWN © Ian Macintosh 2006 no audio a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh6eaxv2uDg">tune - Go Down Ye Murderers (The Ballad of Tim Evans) Have you heard the bosses call? Down workers down, Have you heard the bosses call? Go down workers go down If you've heard the bosses call Part-time work or none at all, Families going to the walll Go down workers go down Do y' know what makes the bosses pleased? Down workers down, Do y' know what makes the bosses pleased? Go down workers go down You know what makes the bosses pleased, Workers begging on their knees, Business moving overseas Go down workers go down Chorus: Go down workers go down, Go down workers go down, (penultimate line of each verse) Go down workers go down Have you heard the bosses prayer? Down workers down, Have you heard the bosses prayer? Go down workers go down If you ‘ve heard the bosses prayer Low paid workers everywhere Hire and fire without a care Go down workers go down Have you seen he bosses pay? Down workers down, (Rpt) Have you seen the bosses pay Go down workers go down If you've seen the bosses pay It goets bigger every day They take the cash and run away Go down workers go down. Have you heard the bosses lies? Down workers down, (Rpt) Have you heard the bosses lies Go down workers go down You have heard the bosses lies Unions have been crim'nalized, Prosecutions on the rise Go down workers go down. Break (Twice through)Chorus Have you signed the contract yet? Down workers down, (Rpt) Have you signed the contract yet Go down workers go down If you've signed the contract yet You'll be sink further into debt You've slipped through the safety net Go down workers go down Have you seen the future friend? Down workers down, (Rpt Have you seen the future friend? Go down workers go down) If you've seen the future friend There's no conditions to defend Fight them to the bitter end Go down workers go down Go down workers go down, Go down workers go down, (last line of each verse) Go down workers go down Repeat Notes Many thanks to Ian Macintosh for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. Ian writes: "The song really wrote itself after reading about yet another massive CEO payout from one of the major corporations, the latest being the CEO of Macquarie Bank receiving a $33 million dollar bonus. At the same time the conservative Howard government enables more and more bosses to strip away working people's hard fought for rights and claims a $25 dollar a week payout for the lowest paid would be detrimental to the economy. I asked myself, just what would Ewan MacColl say about this if he still around? Written and recorded in a matter of hours - the take on the album is raw and the only take." |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Feb 21 - 10:50 PM BILLY MACLEAN - © Dennis O'Keeffe 1992, tune James Connolly Audio Where, oh where is young Billy McLean, Where, oh where is that gallant man, He's gone to organise the union, That working men they might yet be free. Then who, then who will lead the van, Then who, then who will lead the van, Then who, but our young Billy, The hero of the working man. Where, oh where, have our shearers gone, Where, oh where, is that gallant band, They've gone to fight for the workers union, That working men they might yet be free. Who carried no gun when they shot him down, Who carried no gun when they shot him down, Who, but our young Billy, To Goulburn Jail they sentenced him. This wounded man could not survive, This innocent man could not survive, They sent him home to his lonely mother, And lay him in his bed to die. Who mourns the death of this great man, Who mourns the death of this great man, Oh bury him down, in yon green garden, With union men on every side. So they buried him down, in yon green garden, With union men on every side, And they swore they would form a mighty union, That young Bill's name might be filled with pride. The song is on his CD "Matilda in a Tucker Bag" Dennis writes "Billy McLean was shot by a scab one week before the legendary Swagman Samuel Hoffmeister died at the fourmile billabong during the 1894 shearers strike. Both men lost their lives fighting for the rights of Australian workers." |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Feb 21 - 10:52 PM THE STRIKE OF 1894 © Dennis O'Keeffe 1992 Audio To earn a few bob, crutching sheep was his job, Billy was thirteen years old, Good money you'll be paid, if you shear with the blade, as a lad that's what he was told, "Son don't go shearing", his mother would say, it's a bloody rough job, And all you will get is a broken marriage, and a flee bitten Kelpie dog. With his childhood spent, young Billy went, off on his push bike with his swag, Dreams filled his head, as he stuffed meat and bread, into a Calico bag, He struggled to shear his first hundred sheep, he wasn't like Bradman at cricket, But he earn't enough money to pay for his tucker, and pay for his Union ticket. Squatters were sowing, seeds for growing, the old English working class vine, While they pissed in the pocket of the Gentlemans Club, sipping on whisky and wine, But Republican blood, again and again, through shearers veins ran like a torrent, The Squatters wanted to cut this vein, and sign the Unions death warrant. Chorus They might fool you, but they'll never fool me, A hero he died, and a hero he will be, Few men will walk where he's gone, The Union wrote music, young Billy sang the song. When men were willing, and strike camps were filling, on the banks of the Darling River, The man on the land, who never dirtied his hand, with fear, He began to shiver, Billy led a band of good Union men, out to the Grassmere Station, Where Blackleg Shearers and Troopers with guns, awaited the confrontation. Billy was shot, and Murphy they got, ambushed at the shearing shed door, We can never forget, dags and sweat, mixed with blood on the shearing shed floor, Not one Union son, had fired a gun, yet nine were arrested and tried, The coward that shot them was given a medal, and sent to Tasmania to hide. So down on the slops of Tower Hill, where the tide rolls in with the ocean, The Union gathered to bury their dead, in memory of his devotion, Take care you tyrants, who cheat and sting, the tide may turn when you die, For it's yet to be seen, if men like McLean, run the picket-line up in the sky. Notes Many thanks to Dennis O'Keeffe for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. The song is on his CD "Matilda in a Tucker Bag" Dennis writes "The second big shearing strike took place and NSW and Queensland became a battlefield. With martial law declared in Queensland, the strike of 1894 was a civil insurrection with hundreds of shearers going to jail and receiving prison terms from two to fifteen years. An unknown number of shearers lost their lives and were buried in unmarked graves. The song follows the story of Billy McLean and the part he played in the strike" |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 22 Feb 21 - 01:55 AM GALLOWAY AND STEPHENS A song by Clem Parkinson © 1985 no audio, but I have an MP4 of the song performed by Clem, courtesy of Phyl Lobl if anyone wants a copy Who were the men who led the fight that won the eight hour day? The men to whom we owe a debt we never can repay Their names will live forever though they lie beneath the clay Twas no one else but Galloway and Stephens Chorus It was Galloway and Stephens who pioneered the trail Who led the band of working men determined to prevail And so we stand together as their names we proudly hail And shout "hurrah" for Galloway and Stephens Back in the dark satanic days - a time when life was bleak The workers toiled from dawn to dusk for 60 hours a week Until they said "We'll make a stand - no time for being meek We'll put our trust in Galloway and Stephens" They were the honest working men the history books ignore To tell instead of emperors and jingoistic war And crooked politicians, worthless monarchs by the score We'd trade them all for Galloway and Stephens Notes Many thanks to Clem Parkinson for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. All building workers in Melbourne won a reduction in working hours from 60 to 48 per week in 1856. Sydney stonemasons led the way in 1855, but the first whole industry in the world to gain this reform was in Melbourne the next year. James Stephens and James Galloway led the 8 hours struggle in Melbourne. Both were stonemasons. Galloway, a Scottish migrant, became corresponding secretary of the Stonemasons Society in Melbourne, and Stephens, a Welsh migrant, its president. After a deputation and a lively public meeting between contractors and workers, the bosses agreed to honour an 8 hour day from 21 April. But that morning Stephens learnt that two contractors were refusing, so he called a meeting of 700 workers building Melbourne University, and they marched to all other building sites, including the two whose bosses were refusing the 8 hour day. All the building workers on the sites joined them, and they resolved to strike until the two bosses gave in, which they did that night. From Recorder the journal of The Society for the Study of Labour History, |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 22 Feb 21 - 01:59 AM THE JUDGE AND THE SHOP OWNER © 1967 Clem Parkinson Audio In a far away country called Woopland A very rich merchant did dwell He owned Fact'ries galore and ships by the score But something was wrong you could tell For it seems that those terrible wharfies When loading his vessels with flour Had complained of the task, even ventured to ask For an increase of sixpence an hour. Now the ship owner being fair minded (They always believe in fair play) To the wharf he did trudge with his colleague a judge To toil with the men for a day. But the very first bag that they handled Left the pair of them flat as a tack. In a state of collapse each agreed that, "Perhaps We should grant them that miserable zac." What a wonderful country is Woopland What a pity it's so far away, Though some people insist that it doesn't exist I'm going to find it someday. Notes Many thanks to Clem Parkinson for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. The Judge and the Shipowner was published in Australian Tradition, April 1967. The song took joint second prize in the competition for a song about the waterfront run by the Sydney Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation. The song is based on a famous short story by John Morrison. Clem Parkinson told me that he sent a copy to John who remarked how well he had done to fit the story into the five verses allowed by the rules of the competion. Clem sings the song on the MUA Centenary CD "With These Arms" |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 22 Feb 21 - 02:00 AM SCISSORS AND SEAMS © Graham Seal 1976, 2008 music traditional, adapted and arranged Graham Seal no audio We are women and girls from all over the world - Italy, Lebanon and Greece. We are sewing the seams of other peoples' dreams, Just trying to make ends meet. Chorus: Scissors and seams and sewing machines, A box of bobbins and spools. With the needle and thread and the hot foot-tread All a machinist's tools. We work hard all day, we don't get much pay, Have to come to work again on Monday. And for the rest of the week we eat and we pee and we sleep To the sound of the bell and the Bundy. The boss is hardly there, and he don't seem to care About all the noise and dust. We have to work in it all day, but he will only say: 'Why do you have to make a fuss?' Notes Many thanks to Graham Seal for permission to add this song to the Union Songs website. Graham writes 'Scissors and Seams' comes from my time working as a cutter and layer in a furniture factory in the early 1970s. It was a hot and dusty place, basically a giant shed, but the predominantly migrant men and women who worked there used humour and forbearance to cope with conditions that would not, hopefully, be tolerated today. The place closed down in the 90s. Good riddance. The 'Bundy' referred to in the second verse was a form of time clock. All employees had a card that they used to 'bundy in' and 'bundy out' of the job. If you forgot, you didn't get paid. A bit different to flexi-time. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 22 Feb 21 - 02:20 AM THE AXISES OF EVIL © Paul Spencer 2002 Tune: Brisbane Ladies Of all the world's ills, there is none that's more evil, More gruesome or dread than the terrorist threat, The President says that they're really awful people, And when hes not grinning, you can tell he's upset. Chorus We'll march off to war, like good little soldiers, We'll march off to war, for President Bush, Until we destroy all the Axises of Evil, For there's freedom to fight for and a lifestyle to push. George Bush is angered by the death of civilians, He finds it outrageous like anyone would, So when he kills thousands and speaks about collateral, He's not being callous, you've misunderstood. Now some bombs are dirty and cause mass destruction, But our bombs are smart and they'll solve all our woes, Starvation and grief might appear to be a crisis, But really we're helping, as everyone knows. To help foster peace we'll use words like Islamist, To make it appear that they're all so extreme, Whereas our church is pure and could never be corrupted, And of world domination, it would not even dream. So send us your children, we'll fight against terror, And suchlike emotions that lay people low, We'll fight them with guns and with lots of bloody slaughter, But don't ask who's winning or how long to go. |
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