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Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 01 Mar 21 - 09:26 PM Really nice to see your Post, Joe! BtW, the main posters (so far) on this thread, wish to ask if you'd change the name to better reflect the thread's content??? It fairly quickly moved away from being another "Rise Up Singing" booklet and became (we feel), a valuable repository and resource for Australian AND New Zealand songs - a great many of which are not easily found elsewhere + their audio links and valuable related information. So would you mind terribly if it was changed (and especially to mention the NZ content)?! Cheers! R-J and I'm sure, Stewie and Sandra :) (How about you, Gerry?!) P.S. ANY MORE OZ-KIWI SONG POSTERS HIDING OUT THERE???!!! Come and Join us!! (we do have available, alphabetical songlists of those already posted, to assist choice) |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 01 Mar 21 - 05:38 PM & here are Ecopella singing it - Ecopella is an environmental choir that sings about the beauty of our world and the struggle to protect it from exploitation and destruction. We serve the environment movement by providing activists and audiences with the opportunity of enjoying a high standard of a cappella singing. Our music’s strong environmental message encourages positive change in people’s thinking and offers encouragement to a wide variety of green organisations. & here is mudcatter Daniel Kelly's version |
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Subject: ADD: Murrumbidgee Water (Warner) From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Mar 21 - 05:15 PM Gerry Myerson sang this at the singaround. The Mudcat Café TM Thread #67948 Message #1216948 Posted By: freda underhill 30-Jun-04 - 09:11 AM Thread Name: BS: In every thread someone has to be last! Subject: ADD: MURRUMBIDGEE WATER the murrumbidgee is the river for me. and here are the words to a beautiful song by John Warner about this great Australian river.. MURRUMBIDGEE WATER Born in the highland snows, Wild in her youth's descending, Swiftly she fills and grows Out on her floodplains, winding and bending, Feeding the towering gums, Bush in creek and gully, Sharing her bounties wide, Spreading soil in plain and valley. Murrumbidgee fair, Murrumbidgee fertile, Nurturing at your breasts we who walk here for a little while. High on a ridge we stand, gazing in love and awe Over the lands you made with your gentle hands: how rich the gifts you pour. Over her years of floods, Current twisting wild and strong, Children she made in the land, Creek and anabranch, pond and billabong. Bright on the wide floodplain Glints the rippling water, Proudly side by side, Flow the mother and the daughter. Murrumbidgee fair, Murrumbidgee fertile, Nurturing at your breasts we who walk here for a little while. High on a ridge we stand, gazing in love and awe Over the lands you made with your gentle hands: how rich the gifts you pour. We have known the drought, we have seen her anger, Hurling trees in her rage, we've borne thirst and we've borne hunger. Yet for us who seek, beauty waits in hiding, In some shaded pools wait the fruits of her providing. Silver mist like hair, As the day is dawning, Marks the river's way As we hunt on a winter's morning, Duck and cod from the stream, Fruit and fungus, plant and seed, Kangaroo on the plain, See, she gives us all we need. Murrumbidgee fair, Murrumbidgee fertile, Nurturing at your breasts we who walk here for a little while. High on a ridge we stand, gazing in love and awe Over the lands you made with your gentle hands: how rich the gifts you pour. © John Warner 25.05.98 ............................................... Written by John Warner for the song and verse cycle, Yarri of Wiradjuri, which tells of the heroism of Aboriginal Australians in saving the lives of white settlers when the original township of Gundagai was destroyed by flood in 1852. Murrumbidgee Water - the second song in the cycle - celebrates the river and its importance to the indigenous people and establishes the Murrumbidgee River and Morley's Creek as the Mother and the Daughter |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 01 Mar 21 - 04:08 AM THE TORDONERS Mark Gillett Well I come from South Burnett to an old farming family, not many jobs that I can’t turn my hand to I ploughed the black soil and I’ve mustered rough country, though fat and lean seasons I’ve clung to the land, I can put down a spear, I can strip down a diesel, I can drop ‘em, tag ‘em, in paddock or pen But t’was in cattle country to the west of Kilkivan, I found me a job that I won’t do again. Well the sorghum was sown but the price was uncertain, and the spike for the final demands from the bank I drove 90 miles to a bush block near Murgon, got me a job with a Tordoning gang. Chorus : A sharp little axe and a bottle of Tordon, goodbye to the ironbark, spotties and greys Cut to the sap and then pour in the poison, a worker can clear 20 acres a day. I got 400 bucks for the week in me hand and by then the first trees were all dropping their leaves The Tree-Killer’s stink clung to me like a brand and the hills had the look of a creeping disease, When I drive by today, I try not to remember the bodies of bush creatures dead on the road Driven to slaughter by fear and by hunger, as the Tordoners poisoned their food and their homes. A sharp little axe and a bottle of Tordon, goodbye to the ironbark, spotties and greys Cut to the sap and then pour in the poison, a worker can clear 20 acres a day. Well the suckers came up so we hit ‘em with the Graslan, before the floods came on the very next week ???……….. from the hills to the gullies and killed the Sheoaks along 2 mile of creek, The company went bust and now Mistflower and Groundsel are covering the skeleton graveyard of trees The weeds are what’s stopping the rest of the topsoil from washing into somebody’s paddock downstream. A sharp little axe and a bottle of Tordon, goodbye to the ironbark, spotties and greys Cut to the sap and then pour in the poison, a worker can clear 20 acres a day. Yeah, a sharp little axe and a bottle of Tordon, goodbye to the bellbirds, they’ve all gone away Cut to the sap and then pour in the poison, a worker can clear 20 acres a day. TORDON is a Picloram-containing herbicide manufactured by DOW (AgroSciences). Also used in “Agent White” by the US Military in Vietnam when “Agent Orange” was unavailable. GRASLAN is another herbicide for regrowth and weeds, also made by DOW. Kilkivan is a small, historical, inland town, N-W of Gympie, in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of SE Queensland. Murgon is another town in the region. Ironbark, Spotted Gum, Grey Gum are all varieties of native Eucalypt trees; Sheoaks being native Casuarina trees. Mistflower and Groundsel are invasive or noxious introduced weeds. Australia, despite our beautiful and unique environment - and being prone to drought - has permitted the clearing of nearly half our forest cover in the last 200 years. It’s now a deforestation and land-clearing CRISIS, with with an MCG-sized area of forests and bushlands destroyed every two minutes, while Australia is the worst offending country in the world for mammal extinctions. [www.wilderness.org.au] Yep. Sure is “The Lucky Country” ….. Mark sang this accompanied by guitar and played his banjo, but I’ve not yet found it online :( R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 06:57 AM Re "Lies Like 'Illegal'", just found Jenny Fitzgibbon singing this Nov2014 YT upload with animation by Maleny artist, Corrie Wright : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gawCW-DFsII R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 06:29 AM LIES LIKE ‘ILLEGAL’ Jenny Fitzgibbon “Here’s a new rendition of my song “Lies Like 'Illegal'” with Jeremy Dunlop on guitar. I wrote it out of my desire for more compassion in our treatment of refugees, young and old, and thru my need to take action.” Sept 2015 Adapted from the tune of “When the Boat Comes in”. Trad – Northumberland Asylum they come seeking, In a boat that’s leaking Gets the pollies freaking, When the boat comes in No peace for Baba, No peace for Maman No peace for koodak, surely it’s a sin Zero information, goes out to the nation An abomination, When the boat comes in To ‘secure’ our borders, We give Navy orders Racists would applaud us, When the boat comes in No peace for Baba, No peace for Maman No peace for koodak, surely it’s a sin Why say a prayer, Teach our kids to care Then refuse to share, When the boat comes in Private corporations, Profit from our nation’s Freedom deprivations, When the boat comes in No peace for Baba, No peace for Maman No peace for koodak, surely it’s a sin Forked tongues a-lashing, In a right-wing fashion Why not show compassion, When the boat comes in Even though there’s no ‘queue’ - take the pain you’ve been thru To Manus or Nauru, When the boat comes in No peace for Baba, No peace for Maman No peace for koodak, surely it’s a sin Children in detention, Human rights suspension We must pay attention, When the boat comes in If I’d a son or daughter, fleeing famine or slaughter I’d cross any water, When the boat comes in No peace for Baba, No peace for Maman No peace for koodak, surely it’s a sin A label like “illegals” - Lies like “illegal” Should be illegal - When the boat comes in [Kids Out - Close Manus and Nauru now] Audio Link : https://jennyfitzgibbon.com/2015/09/13/lies-like-illegals-close-manus-and-nauru-now/ Robyn Cook hosts "Stories from the Red Couch" and her guest this Ep is Jenny Fitzgibbon : https://www.storiesfromtheredcouch.com.au/episodes-blog/tag/Jenny+fitzgibbon R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 05:23 AM YOLGNU WAYS AND YOLGNU LAWS Jenny Fitzgibbon “I wrote this in Darwin twenty years ago and recently updated it for a Remembrance event for the Indigenous warriors and their families and tribes who were killed in the wars in this country. The event is held in the Maleny RSL each year. January 2019” (based upon "Irish Ways and Irish Laws" by Moving Hearts) Since the dawn of time there was Yolgnu Ways and Yolgnu laws families of Yolgnu blood Waking to the morning, waking to the morning Then the white man came around turned them up and turned them down Telling lies of empty land While waging wars unending, brave Warriors defending In violence the white man came Genocide in all but name stole the children from the bush torn from land and living, torn from land and living Across the land invaders came clearing forest, planting grain No dreaming place lies undisturbed Even changed the rivers flowing, changed the rivers flowing 200 years of stolen land May the power of the artist’s hand keep the Yolgnu spirit high above the pain descending, above the pain descending. This dispossession carries on We ask that it may not be long Before our constitution’s graced with the voice of our First Nations, the voice of our First Nations Melody : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=havjZ1i0UWw “Irish Ways and Irish Laws” was written by John Gibbs and sung here by “Moving Hearts”. “OUR SAY” - This Yolngu doco excerpt has some good advice for us all : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn9ASZrGumE “Cut-down of a Channel 7 documentary in which Yolngu people of northeast Arnhem Land talk about their culture, the history of black and white relations, importance of land and lots more.” Uploaded 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhyBaAjlFKg "A passion for Yolngu Matha language" R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 04:25 AM PLANTING TO REAPING Jenny Fitzgibbon Spring turns to Summer the harvest is coming new moon blooms full through mist and ice chill the light on the hill tells a fortune of winter I wait for my lover I wait for him still Planting to reaping, rhubarb to berries bare feet and cotton, to thick boots and twill Laughing to weeping, short hair no longer I wait for my lover I wait for him still Seeing turns to liking, liking to meeting meetings to touch, a blush to a thrill holding of hands then hearts gently given I wait for my lover I wait for him still "Watching the rain run down the window panes on grey day, I thought about an isolated country girl waiting through the seasons for the thrill of being near her sweetheart. Jeremy got right into the feel of it with his accompaniment." Listen to a short clip of Jenny singing (with Jem Dunlop on guitar), from her CD “For the Love of It” : https://jennyfitzgibbon.com/cd-for-the-love-of-it/ R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 04:12 AM DANCING WITH THE STONES Mark Gillett The Sun sets on stone faces, looking out on the sea. Torches flare in the night air and we start our ceremony. We're gonna talk soul, pass the bowl and raise the energy. The Gods will talk and statues walk when we set the magic free How are you going? Dancing with the stones. Stand 'round the sacred ground beneath the midsummer moon. An old, grand master man throws the forbidden rune. Lost art, a crystal heart is beating to an ancient tune. You'd better jive when it comes alive, ain't nobody immune How are you going? Dancing with the stones. The whip lands on the slave bands straining at the yoke. Stone blocks as big as trucks move with every stroke. Worker's bones, the grave stones of a culture built on pain. A cruel land, desert sand, covers fields of grain. How are you going? Dancing with the stones. Thirty years beneath the lash. Raise the granite high. Come and make a place for us that's fit for us to lie. Wrapped in clinging linen, dressed in precious oil. Come and take your just reward for centuries of toil. How are you going? Dancing with the stones. The world turns, people turn and they face a brave new world. There's a wild unborn child beneath the belly curled. In her trance, giants dance. They dance the steps of dread. That's a dance that's gonna grind your bones to make their bread. How are you going? Dancing with the stones. Said you're dancing with the stones. “First performed by The Hinterland Band on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia. Written by Mark Gillett (now deceased) as a celebration of a modern Australian corroboree.” Sung here by Brisbane-SunnyCoast band, The Genre Benders (Hugh Brown), c.2004 : https://www.broadjam.com/songs/thegenrebenders/dancing-with-the-stones R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 03:53 AM Jenny's singing of this EXcellent song is one of my all-time faves!! ODE TO SOIL Paul Spencer This planet is a rock that boils and churns Continents float as the liquid turns Our island bobs like a raft at sea, or loose debris And somehow life remains. This island’s made of solid stone As dry as a crow-pecked bullock bone But a layer on top like a vellum skin, both soft and thin, Supports us all alone. The soil holds on with a mighty grip To giant roots so the trees won’t slip It clothes itself in vibrant green, a fragrant screen Through which the waters drip. The soil, the earth in slow routine Gives forth a beauty so serene A person who such splendour saw, subdued with awe, Might think some God had been. But looking close it can be found, The beauty springs from underground, A million living creatures dance, in every ounce, And miracles abound. These living things are made of soil The earth in which they live and toil And there the Earth receives and gives, the planet lives In fine and fragile soil. You can hear Paul do this song himself on: http://paul-spencer.net/2012/07/23/ode-to-soil/ And here’s a snippet of Jenny Fitzgibbon with Jeremy Dunlop from her CD “For the Love Of It” (buy it – you’ll not be disappointed!!) : https://jennyfitzgibbon.com/2013/07/03/words-to-songs-ode-to-soil-by-paul-spencer/ R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: rich-joy Date: 27 Feb 21 - 03:46 AM Here are a few more songs from the late Mark Gillett (see his Mudcat OBIT - well, he passed some 14 years ago now, so when does one stop being "late", I wonder??!!) GLASS HOUSES Mark Gillett Strong and sudden comes the flood takes the family by surprise Feel the steel it’s in your blood test the strength of family ties Poor ‘Crookneck’, eldest son Still crippled by this guilt you bear How could you do that to your Mum How could you leave her standing there? To break those bonds is shame You must admit that things can never be the same Tibrogargan’s task he knows To keep the lore from age to age since you struck that crippling blow You stand a prisoner of your rage Don’t turn your face away Your family’s future could depend on what you say Do you love the land You water it with tears Stand above the land For a million years Come brothers sisters, do not scatter now in fear of scorn Changes you were witness to were dreamed before your age was born We are one family to be steadfast through disaster is our destiny You are mother of us all Dreaming still of life to come Wait until your children call Gather us in, every one Listen here to a short clip of Jenny Fitzgibbon singing the late Mark Gillett’s composition, with Steve Cook on bouzouki, from her CD : https://jennyfitzgibbon.com/2013/07/03/words-of-songs-glass-houses-by-mark-gillett/ The Glasshouse Mountains are not far from me, just “down off the range”! Watch this clip to view each of the ancient mountains and hear the Aboriginal legend of their fractious family : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09pnCPG7SeM Watch this clip to see them closeup and learn why “they are not extinct Volcanoes, but something even more rare” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FDqWmSPFnw R-J |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 26 Feb 21 - 10:00 PM Colin Dryden's 'Factory Lad' was posted to this thread back in September last year. It was part of what has been referred to as 'The North Country Trilogy'. Although all 3 songs relate to UK, they were sung by Oz folkies, particularly in NSW. Gerry Hallom included all 3 in his compilation of Dryden recordings: Colin Dryden 'The Australian Years - Vol I'. Here are the other 2 songs: SITHER (Colin Dryden) Forty years in the mill, your day’s near done, but it’s going still. Time to be thinking o’ makin’ your will, for you’ve nowhere to go, no intentions. Weft and weave it was your game, ten thousand hours upon the frame, then walking home in the driving rain, with a brand new watch and a pension. Time now to bide, to sit and to dream, on bygone days and the changes you’ve seen, in coal and in diesel, the power of steam, black shawls, coal stockings and courting. Clogs on the frost on a cold winter’s morn, the smell of the grease and oil on the loom, and the wife wi’ the kids by the gateway at noon stand waiting for your wages on Friday. Six in the morn and it’s time to rise, sleep on, old man, you’re weary and wise, to the ways of the mill, aye, and all of the tries for a part time job in the doffing. Puffin’ and pantin’ past the mill, up to the local to get all your fill, though you’ve only got enough brass for a gill, there might be a job in the offing. But the shuttles have flown, it’s time to roam, back to the armchair and fire at home, and leave all the mill hands and weavers alone to their beer and their laughter and joking. But many’s the time why you’ve stood with the best, although the looms have near turned you deaf, they’ve all got a few miles of weaving as yet before they’ll have bested old Sither. Youtube clip PIT BOY (Colin Dryden) The times are hard, the days are long I wish I were a farmer’s son Out in the green fields all day long Away from the dark of the day Chorus When the sun is sagging in the sky The days are long, long are the sighs Down in the darkness where we bide Passing our lives away And if I were a robber bold I’d rob the rich of all their gold And if I were caught, well I’ve been told It’s better down Botany Bay Chorus And if I were a sailor, I’d sail the main And rob the ships of France and Spain Now if we lost, perhaps we’d gain For the French might raise our pay Chorus Like pit ponies down the mine Going blind without the shine Though if we do, we’ll never mind 'Cos we’ll never want the sun no more Chorus Audio Cover by Daniel Kelly For background info on the songs, here is a link (I have posted it elsewhere in this thread) to a beaut essay by the late Dermott Ryder: Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 25 Feb 21 - 09:38 PM SPIDER IN THE BATH (Marcus Turner) Chorus Here I am - is anyone about? I'm down beside the plug-hole and I can't get out, and I've been here an hour and a half Can't anybody help a little spider in the bath? I woke up feeling hungry in the middle of the night I saw a moth go by and thought ‘there goes a tasty bite’ I chased it up the mirror and along the windowsill Around behind the toothpaste tube - and then I tripped and fell, and ... Chorus The sides are steep and slippery 'cause the bath has just been cleaned And everything is cold and wet and avocado green. There's a long lumpy loofah, some pumice in a dish And all I have to talk to is this purple plastic fish and ... Chorus There's no need to be scared, 'cause I won't do you any harm Just take me to the garden where it's nice and safe and warm Then put me down real gently and I'll run back home to mother One leg after the other, after the other, after the other, after the other... ... after the other, after the other, after the other!! And ... Chorus Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 25 Feb 21 - 02:01 AM well-I-never - no.32 is Past Carin' & I remember seeing that ... good thing I only put ? next to the entry - now it is no. 2 |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: GUEST Date: 24 Feb 21 - 10:02 PM Hi Sandra, The audio for 'Fannie Bay' is song 34 on the Bushwackers' page that I posted. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 24 Feb 21 - 09:39 PM I can't see a link to Fannie Bay on the Bushwackers page you posted, so I might leave it out - |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 24 Feb 21 - 08:39 PM My apologies to R-J. She posted 'Fannie Bay' on 9 September last year. --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 24 Feb 21 - 07:46 PM Here's one that references a once notorious landmark in my home town. FANNIE BAY (D.Tainsh attrib) Tell her I'm droving down Camooweal way Or signed with pearlers for seas far away You can tell her I've gone, I'll be back some day Please don't tell her they hanged me in old Fannie Bay You can say I've gone on the old 'River Queen' It's whistle a-haunting the bullockies' dream, Down the Murray I've gone, I'll be back some day Please don't tell her they hanged me in old Fannie Bay. Chorus: And on Thursday Island the sun warms the air As the breeze from the sea blows her hair And she sits by her window and calls me Yes, she calls me. You can say the bush has called me away And I'm riding the fences for ten bob a day, Yes, I needed a job, I needed the pay Please don't tell her they hanged me in old Fannie Bay And they came to the door and they dragged me away From all that I love and I pray That it won't reach her ear 'cause I love her And she'd die for sure Just say the gold has taken me down To the places where fortunes are easily found Yes, I've gone but tell her I'll be back some day Just don't tell her they hanged me in old Fannie Bay Audio on this page: Click Some info on Fannie Bay Gaol: Click --Stewie. |
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Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia From: Stewie Date: 23 Feb 21 - 08:30 PM THE GUNDAROO BULLOCK (A.B. Paterson/Trad) Oh, there's some that breeds the Devon that's as solid as a stone And there's some that breeds the brindle which they call the Goulburn roan But amongst the breeds of cattle there are very, very few Like the hairy-whiskered bullock that they breed at Gundaroo Far away by Grabben Gullen where the Murrumbidgee flows There's a block of broken countryside where no one ever goes For the banks have gripped the squatters and the free selectors too And their stock are always stolen by the men of Gundaroo There came a low informer to the Grabben Gullen side And he said to Smith the squatter, ‘You must saddle up and ride For your bullock's in the harness-cask of Morgan Donahoo He's the greatest cattle-stealer in the whole of Gundaroo’ ‘Oh, ho!’ said Smith, the owner of the Grabben Gullen run ‘I’ll go and get the troopers by the sinking of the sun And down into his homestead tonight we'll take a ride, With warrants to identify the carcase and the hide’ That night rode down the troopers, the squatter at their head They rode into the homestead and pulled Morgan out of bed. ‘Now, show to us the carcase of the bullock that you slew The hairy-whiskered bullock that you killed in Gundaroo’ They peered into the harness-cask, and found it wasn't full But down among the brine, they saw some flesh and bits of wool ‘What's this?’, exclaimed the trooper, ‘an infant, I declare’ Said Morgan, ’Tis the carcase of an old man native bear I heard that ye were coming, so an old man bear I slew, Just to give you kindly welcome to my home in Gundaroo’ ‘The times are something awful, as you can plainly see, The banks have broke the squatters, and they've broke the likes of me We can't afford a bullock -- such expense would never do So an old man bear for breakfast is a treat in Gundaroo’ And along by Grabben Gullen where the rushing river flows, In the block of broken country where there's no one ever goes, On the upper Murrumbidgee, they're a hospitable crew But you mustn't ask for bullock when you go to Gundaroo Youtube clip --Stewie. |
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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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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 - 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 - 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: 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: 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 - 10:46 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 - 10:39 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 - 10:35 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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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 - 04:07 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 - 04:00 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 - 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 - 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 - 03:53 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 - 03:50 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 - 07:16 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 - 07:13 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 - 07:06 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 - 07:02 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: 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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