Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 06 Mar 21 - 08:56 PM Fair go, Sandra. In response to raredance's posting of a list of songs in 'Song of a young country', you commented that we have 'a few'. Of the 51 songs in the book, I have posted 26. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Mar 21 - 09:32 PM well done! gold star on it's way! |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 06 Mar 21 - 09:57 PM Thanks, Sandra. I got your email with gold star. I merely wished to point out that 'half' is more than 'a few'. I had to copy- type a goodly number of them. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 07 Mar 21 - 03:07 AM I only recognised some, & I also try not to type up words but sometimes there is no option. I asked a friend to make an OCR scan of a long song & then I copied & pasted the words, that was so much easier. sandra |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Mar 21 - 02:06 AM I'm cleaning up my drafts (some are unsent emails dating back cough, cough, years), others are interesting stuff I found in various places, including mudcat It was published in Singabout, Journal of Australian Folksong, volume 6, number 1, 1966 This song comes from one of the most valuable sources of Australian traditional song and story during the heady days of the 1950s and '60s - Harold P. C. ('Duke') Tritton. 'Duke' was a thoroughly traditional singer ... meaning that he quite cheerfully wrote new words whenever necessary in a living tradition. I seem not to have selected it for inclusion my collection Singabout - Selected Reprints, Ed Bob Bolton, Bush Music Club, Sydney, 1985. I reproduce the words recorded by Janet Wakefield (and Janet's notes) below. WILD DRIVER By 'Duke' Tritton, tune: Wild Drover (Duke wrote this in 1963 or '64 after a friend and I had driven him home several times after Club meetings. It is true that she once went through a red light and I through an orange one, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with Duke writing this song ... Janet Wakefield.) I've been a wild driver this many a year And always made sure I had plenty of beer But now I must give the whole lot away For an "on the spot copper" got me yesterday. CHORUS: So it's NO NO Never, Never no more Never Never again shall I play the wild driver no more. I had only ten schooners, which isn't a lot And sixty was the top speed I had got But I didn't give way to the man on the right There was a crash and I got such a fright. CHORUS: I had swiped three cars and a two decker bus And every one there made a terrible fuss. They all seemed to think that I was to blame And the way they abused me was a real shame. CHORUS: They threatened to lynch me, went looking for rope Things looked pretty grim, I had given up hope When the copper he came and he said, "Cut it out" "Just leave it to me and I'll deal with this lout." CHORUS: Then the copper, he pulled out his book and did say "It's fifty green smackers, the fine you will pay And I'll cancel you licence for the rest of your life And then I'll be sure that you'll keep out of strife. CHORUS: Perhaps some terms need explaining outside of the Australian context: "on the spot copper" dates the song to around the introduction of "on-the-spot fines", standardised penalties which could be paid rather than appear in court ... and trust to the mercy of the local magistrate. "ten schooners" A schooner was (at least in NSW) a beer glass holding an alleged 15 ozs ... certainly a good half bottle. Ten schooners would have meant 5 bottles of good strong beer . "sixty": Back then we still used miles per hour ... and the suburban limit was 30 mph. "smackers": Pretty common worldwide English for a note of currency. The only note in Australia's old currency that was green was the pound note. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Mar 21 - 02:14 AM oops, I copied Bob's typo - tune Wild Drover is really Wild Rover, & left off the video - Wild Rover by The Seekers |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: raredance Date: 08 Mar 21 - 03:05 AM Hi, I did not see an obvious songbook thread for the New Zealand book where it would not effectively disappear because no one would look for it there. In the for what it is worth department, I have two other volumes that are related to this thread. One is the Penguin Book of Australian BAllads by Phillip Butterss and Elizabeth Webby. It has about 150 entries that includes both folk song lyrics and other verse that may never have been sung. There is another Penguin Book of Australian Ballads by Russell Ward. I do not know the relation between the two. The other volume is Great Australian Folk Songs by Ron Edwards. It has over 300 entries. The latter book has tunes, the former does not. I have no knowledge of how many items in those two books are already in MUdcat or in this thread. Perhaps someone here has one or both of those books. I do not plan to put those contents here. This thread is already unwieldy with no alphabetical list of what is in it. Adding 450 lines of list would be insane. Rich R |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Mar 21 - 09:44 AM THE COUNTRY SONG c. Martin Pearson & John Thompson video Written and sung by John Thompson (left) & Martin Pearson (right). National Folk Festival 2008 & I was there! Note -the video does not include the 3rd verse, but all the other stuff included makes up for the lack of verse 3. Mama, get the hammer, there's a fly on Papa's head. I've been roped and thrown by Jesus in the Holy Ghost corral. I fell in a pile of you and got love all over me, But who bit the wart off Grandma's nose? Chorus: I wanna whip your cow; I wanna whip your cow, 'Cause you just can't play a sad song on a banjo, anyhow. You done tore out my heart and you stomped that sucker flat. You made toothpicks from the timbers of my heart. If the jukebox took teardrops, I'd cry all night long. You stuck my heart in an old tin can and shot it off a log. Well, I guess if you can't feel it, then it ain't really there, And the last word in lonesome is "me." Repeat chorus If I can't be number one in your life, number two on you. I can't get over you, 'til you get out from under him. I'm so miserable without you, it's almost like you're here, So I flushed you down the toilet of my heart. Repeat chorus until tired, light blue touch paper and retire |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 08 Mar 21 - 08:30 PM raredance - if you'd like a copy of the spreadsheets listing the songs, PM me with your email address & I'll send them to you. #Alphabetical Listing of Oz-NZ songs-15Aug-31Dec2020 (625 entries) #Date Posted Listing of Mudcat Oz-NZ songs-from 01Jan2021 (172 entries) Penguin Book of Australian Ballads by Philip Butterss and Elizabeth Webby, 1993 Penguin Book of Australian Ballads by Russel Ward. 1964 Great Australian Folk Songs by Ron Edwards 1991 (originally published as Big book of Australian folk song,1976) These are all classic books, Russel Ward was an academic involved in the folk revival of the 50s & Ron was a very early publisher (Rams Skull Press 1952-date) & collector. A biography of Ron is due out next year. sandra |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 09 Mar 21 - 08:21 PM I HUGGED MY MATE (Andrew London) Well I’m a kiwi through and through I’m an All Black follower just like you and I grew up watching Pine Tree on TV He’d score a try between the posts and trot on back with the other blokes with no display of joyfulness or glee and I was brought up similarly we don’t emote spontaneously and we try to avoid displaying affection publicly but something happened the other night that I’d like to share with the group tonight that signifies a strange anomaly I was having a beer with a mate, you see or a shandy it might have been actually and he told me things were grim as they could be He’d lost his job at the florist’s shop and got pulled over by a traffic cop who booked him on the spot for DIC and his wife had run off with his kids and shacked up with a friend of his who was consequently behaving quite aloof and rather smug well I don’t know what came over me but just as we got up to leave well, bugger me, I gave my mate a hug You hugged a mate? I hugged a mate You hugged a mate! I hugged a mate By the time I realised what I’d done, it was just a bit too late He was big and he was hairy, and he was understandably wary and it was scary, but I hugged my mate ‘What’s that for?’ he said to me and I mumbled about solidarity and being there for your mates when times get tough so he wandered off and I fretted a bit but he seemed to soon get over it and things got back to normal soon enough but I was down the pub just after that having a Pimms with another chap on a Thursday when they do that excellent dill and salmon quiche well he seemed distracted as we dined so I said, ’What’s on your mind?’ he said he’d heard I’d hugged my mate, and what was it like? well I said at first it was rather strange and we both felt awkward at this rearrangement of the traditional way that kiwi blokes behave but I said that a moment of intimacy had been enjoyed by my mate and me and it might have been even nicer actually, had he shaved and I said I thought we should be allowed to show affection, even in a crowd and not be afraid to let it out so everyone can tell well he looked confused and a little sad and told me how he missed his dad well stone the crows, I hugged this bloke as well You hugged a mate? I hugged me mate You hugged a mate! I hugged another mate By the time I realised what I’d done, it was just a bit too late He was big and he was hairy, and he was understandably wary and it was scary, but I hugged my mate so we’ve all gotten used to it now we seldom fret anymore about how we show affection indiscriminately and we get together, put the world to rights on our weekly Downton Abbey nights in the spa pool with a tall banana daiquiri and as Dave and I drove home last week from the ballet, I began to speak about how sensitive and caring we renaissance chaps can be and he agreed we certainly had progressed said he rather liked the way I dressed changed gear, and put his hand back on my knee You hugged your mate? I hugged my mate You hugged your mate! I hugged my mate By the time I realised what I’d done, it was just a bit too late He was big and he was hairy, and he was understandably wary and it was scary, but I hugged my mate Yeah, I was sensitive and caring and I hugged my mate So get out there, you blokes, and hug your mate Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 09 Mar 21 - 10:10 PM DREAMS MORE REAL >Mark Gillett I was travelling endlessly on the road, as in dreams I’ve often known myself to do When the feet found a friend, the path of well-worn stone, when I found myself hand-in-hand with you, The cool green air washed us free of care and its sweet smell floated on the breeze (on the breeze) And the light seemed to shine out from everywhere as it poured down golden through the trees. And if I dream of me, if I can dream of you If you should have to go, would you dream me too And if I passed you by, you I didn’t recognise Sometimes dreams can seem more real than Life. We sped on up the track, I couldn’t hold you back, you pulled me on, said we really had to go And ahead I spied past the round hillside, lofty mountains shimmering with snow, And it seemed to me like reaching out for a strawberry, almost taste it on your tongue (on your tongue) Such a promise of plenty and endless happiness, good times really just begun. And if you dream of me and if I can dream of you If you should have to go, would you dream me too And if I passed you by, you I didn’t recognise Sometimes dreams can seem more real than Life. In the wink of an eye, the time to say goodbye, you were gone, lovely dream was swept away And I tried in vain to find you again, down city streets weary and grey By the factory gates stood a fairground with travellers, pitched their tents to make a stand (make a stand) And a glad voice cried to me as if they knew me and a bonny young stranger took my hand, “You’re still searching, I see” is what he said to me “Won’t you rest with us for just a day” (just a day) “There’ll be music so sweet; share with us to eat, find beauty and comfort where you may.” And if you dream of me, if I can dream of you If you should have to go, would you dream me too And if I passed you by, you I didn’t recognise Sometimes dreams can seem more real than Life. Well I looked at the sideshow, the coloured lamp glow, the trash and the drab and the poor, And the smile on your face in that high, bright place, t’was a memory I could not ignore When I shook my head, the stranger said “We’ll meet again, as you roam” (as we roam) “May your courage endure and your love stay pure and your one true dream bring you home”, And as ever I seek a glimpse of the peak, or the high, bright country it surrounds (it surrounds) There’s a thing yet I know, where e’er I go, you will be there, you’ll be waiting to be found. And if you dream of me, if I can dream of you If you should have to go, would you dream me too And if I passed you by, you I didn’t recognise Sometimes dreams can seem more real than Life. Mark sings, accompanied by guitar and playing his banjo – but not yet found online :( R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 09 Mar 21 - 10:36 PM Mark Gillett [ NZ 1953 – 2007 QLD ] – see Mudcat obit. A sort of bluesy, down-home, banjo groove, that was a Mark favourite – but not yet found online! It was a bit of a travelling number, with verses as remembered – or made up - at the time of singing!! DAGGIN’ ROUND SUGARTOWN Mark Gillett Dag-Dag Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga, Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga, Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga..... Cut cane while days are bright, crush it and cook it right Mills roarin’ through the night Old Sugartown Namba, There’s Ted from up the hill, workin’ at Moreton Mill All dressed in ~King-Gee drill Daggin’ round in Namba, Chorus : Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Tourists with a vide-cam, takin’ snapshots of the sugar tram ~Lorry Loco’s goin’ bam-bam Old Sugartown Namba, They’re tryin’ not to stare, at that safari-suited lair With a beer gut and surfie hair Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Steppin’ out for pizza snacks, across the railway tracks In Ugg boots and trackie daks~ Daggin’ round in Namba, That Westie’s off his face, he’s decked out in perfect taste Checked shirt around his waist, he’s Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown A victim of the piercin’ craze, rings and studs in his face His Dad thinks he’s a disgrace, he’s Daggin’ round in Namba, A young girl with style to spare, pants got one little tear Sure enough, that tattoo there, she’s Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Street childrens doin’ wrong, window glass in their thongs Spray cans and OJ bottles, they’re Daggin’ round in Namba, Down by Petrie-side, banks all wet and wide Long grass where the travellers hide Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Black smokestack paints the sky, cinder flakes floatin’ by They bring tears to my eye, I’m Daggin’ round in Namba, Where did the good times go, don’t ask me coz I don’t know My memory’s as black as snow, I’m Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown I’m goin’ back some day, hope and sometimes I pray Like I never went away, to go Daggin’ round in Namba, I will forget my cares, don my kaftan and flares Boogie on down to Cemetery Square, I’ll be Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown I’ll do just what I please, hang it all out in the breeze Just like the 70s, I’ll be Daggin’ round in Namba, Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round – Daggin’ Round in Sugartown Dag-Dag Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga Dagga ……………………… YEAH! ‘Namba’ (officially, Nambour*), on Petrie Creek in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, was known for its landmark Moreton Central Mill – crushing the sugar cane in the centre of town. Until 2003, the cane ‘trains’ ran regularly in season through the town’s streets, carrying the cane from the outlying farms to the crusher. The strong smell on the air, belching steam, noise and night lights when the Mill ran 24/7 in the Crushing Season (July-December) ….. and the smoke and cinders when the farms were burning the cane thrash* ….. all the traffic giving way to the whistle of the little haulage trams, trundling along the tramway in the centre of the road - it’s all consigned to history now. And the farms? Well, some are now wasteland (but still with venomous snakes) – while many are turf farms, light industry, or particularly, housing estates optimistically built on the flood plains :) And the Mill (crushing for 106 years), is now a supermarket site, while many vacant shops line the town’s streets and the regional hospital is rebuilt elsewhere. However, a few rail engines and parts of the Mill history were saved for the Museum, built on the nearby old school site https://nambourmuseum.org.au/look-inside/ and the steel Crushers and enormous cogged wheels, have been welded into street sculptures! Nambour's a little sultry (surrounded by hills); but a town where daggy dressing and cumfy flannos (checked flannel shirts) were unashamedly okay - it's just the way it was ……. Namba wouldn’t die though and there are signs of it at last regenerating ……. perhaps even as a Regional Centre for The Arts, with performance venues and galleries, plus quirky shops and more cafes now opening up – so could be interesting!! * the name “Naamba” is from an Aboriginal word describing the bark of a prolific red-flowering bottlebrush. * just like in that great Mary Gauthier song “(Burning the) Sugar Cane” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIQgzCai3EQ ~King Gee – is an iconic, longtime Aussie workwear brand. ~trackie daks – comfortable track suit pants (often worn low-slung, resulting in an “attractive” baggy bum! :) ~Lorry Loco - from kids storybook, plus : https://www.bundysugar.com.au/education/kot.html A song by Penny Davies for Nambour, which she sings here with partner, Roger Ilott : “Don’t Let ‘Em Close Our Mill (the Sugar Mill’s the Heart of Town)” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHKl1n-mIc0 Just found this documentary called “The Last Crush : Closure of the Moreton Sugar Mill” and the flow-on effects of, first up, global issues (falling price of sugar) - plus all the rest - on the millworkers, the cane farmers, and the town itself : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHKl1n-mIc0 On a historical note, from 1863-1904, some 62,000 South Sea Islanders (men, women, children - known as Kanakas, from Melanesia) were mostly kidnapped/tricked/blackbirded to forcibly work the canefields, cottonfields, coffee plantations of Qld and Nthn NSW. Due to the new Aust'n Federation laws in 1901, the majority were forcibly deported after 1906. By all accounts, life did not improve for those who were shunted back to an island (not necessarily their original one), nor for those who got to stay : https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 09 Mar 21 - 11:02 PM Forgot to say what “Daggin Round” refers to! A Dag is pretty much the same thing in New Zealand and Australia, but perhaps the Kiwi descriptor may be a tad more complimentary?! I believe Stewie posted a Fred Dagg (John Clarke) song from EnZed, here last year? But in both countries, “Jeez, yer such a DAG!” implies that you are still accepted and loved - despite your different / quirky, appearance, habits, or behaviour! From the ANU : https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc/meanings-origins/d dag An unfashionable person; a person lacking style or character; a socially awkward adolescent, a 'nerd'. These senses of dag derive from an earlier Australian sense of dag meaning 'a "character", someone eccentric but entertainingly so'. Ultimately all these senses of dag are probably derived from the British dialect (especially in children's speech) sense of dag meaning a 'feat of skill', 'a daring feat among boys', and the phrase to have a dag at meaning 'to have a shot at'. The Australian senses of dag may have also been influenecd by the word wag (a habitual joker), and other Australian senses of dag referring to sheep (see rattle your dags below). Dag referring to an unfashionable person etc. is recorded from the 1960s. 1983 Sydney Morning Herald 24 September: Has it helped them feel more relaxed with the boys in their PD group. 'Well, most of them are dags', Julie laughs, 'but at least they're easier to talk to'. 2011 Australian Financial Review (Sydney) 11 July: Christian, while your budget may appear to be reasonable .. your dress sense is nothing less than appalling. Never ever wear a striped suit, a striped shirt and a striped tie together - just dreadful ... You look like a real dag. dag: rattle your dags Hurry up, get a move on. Dags are clumps of matted wool and dung which hang around a sheep’s rear end. When a daggy sheep runs, the dried dags knock together to make a rattling sound. The word dag (originally daglock) was a British dialect word that was borrowed into mainstream Australian English in the 1870s. The phrase is first recorded in the 1980s. 1984 S. Thorne Battler: C'mon Mum, rattle yer dags - the old girls are hungry! 2010 Countryman (Perth) 11 February: Rattle yer dags, woolclassers, time's running out to re-register yourselves with the Australian Wool Exchange. WIKI also has some interesting history and variations : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_(slang) Cheers, R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 10 Mar 21 - 10:07 PM WARNING: the songs in this post contain racist components. In his 'Big Book of Australian Folk Song', Ron Edwards published a trio of songs that were popular in the Northern Territory: 'The Buffalo Shooter's Song', 'Fanny Bay' and 'The Combo's Anthem'. All three songs reference Fannie Bay in Darwin and reflect widespread contemporary attitudes towards Aboriginal women. In his splendid presentation at the 2000 National Folk Festival in Canberra - 'White on Black: in the spirit of reconciliation' - Keith McKenry gave context to these songs. Keith has kindly given me permission to reproduce his introductory remarks: No matter where you prick a map of Australia, when the Europeans first arrived there the predominant, and often the only, source of females for male sexual gratification was Aboriginal. It didn’t take long therefore for the term ‘Black Velvet’ to enter the colonial vernacular. The craving in colonial society for women as sexual playthings became –as it has across the world – a factor in the economic interaction between communities, and a catalyst for violent confrontation, with rape commonplace, and murder and retribution not far behind. Syphilis and gonorrhoea, smallpox and measles, and other diseases previously unknown to Indigenous Australia followed as well, with catastrophic results. Despite the fear in the popular imagination of sexual violation of white women by blacks – the unspoken sub-text of The Romance of Runnibede, for example— there is scant evidence of it happening. Even in the Governor murders there was never any suggestion the women were sexually assaulted. But violation of black women by white men was so commonplace as to be hardly worth remarking upon. The supposed loose morals of black women, and their supposed desire, too, for white males, provided a fertile basis for rationalisation. As the next group of songs, from the Northern Territory states, it was just ‘a little bit of nonsense’. Keith explained earlier in his presentation that 'The Romance of Runnibede' was a 1928 silent film: Time now to return to the silver screen, and to the making in 1928 of a silent feature film based on a story by Steele Rudd, creator of the beloved characters Dad and Dave. It stars an American, Eva Novak in the role of the virginal white maid Dorothy Winchester, and Dunstan Webb, daubed with black paint, as the evil Witch-doctor Goondai ... In the same year this film is made, 1928, Fred Brooks, a dingo shooter is killed in the Northern Territory. The murderers are thought to be Aborigines. In retaliation whites, led by Constable William George Murray go on a rampage shooting dead an admitted 31 Aborigines and possibly as many as a hundred or more. Most, if not all, the Aborigines shot have no connection whatever with the killing of Brooks. A court of inquiry finds the shootings ‘justified’. In the towns and cities few people would have the faintest knowledge of the killings in the Territory. But many would go to the cinema to see the lovely Dorothy rescued from the murderous black savages in Runnibede. The 'Governor murders' relates to the July 1900 brutal killings of Mrs Mawbey, her 2 daughters, her 2 sons and a governess by 3 Aboriginals: Jimmy Governor THE BUFFALO SHOOTER'S SONG (w.Anon/m.A.Colahan) If you ever go up north among the buffalo, Then maybe at the closing of the day, You will sit and listen to those flamin’ mossies And watch the sun go down on Fanny Bay. For again to hear the crying of the curlew, And the lubras in their nagas salting hides, And to sit around the campfire by an evening And listen to those shooters telling lies. For the gins come down from Oenpelli Mission All wrapped up in Jesus when they come, But they soon forget about those Ten Commandments When you hit ’em with a snort of O.P. rum. And the strangers came and tried to take our lubras— So we waited while they had their fun, For they might have tried to catch the old red dingo Or rape a flamin’ emu on the run. And if ever there should be a piccaninny, You can bet your boots it won’t be all real black, For those shooters like their little bit of nonsense Along the Alligator River Track. Note by Ron Edwards: 'The Buffalo Shooter's Song' was composed by a group of shooters at Nourlangie in the Northern Territory in 1948. It is in the tradition of 'Fanny Bay' and 'The Combo's Anthem' and other Territorian ditties. It goes to the tune of 'Galway Bay' and comes from 'The Green Eyes are Buffaloes' by Allan Stewart. 'Galway Bay' was composed by Dr Arthur Colahan. Allan Stewart was a well-known Territory character. He was a bit of a tosser. I recall that he once stood for the Territory parliament and had his surname changed by deed poll to Allan-Stewart so that he would have first place on the ballot paper. He still lost comprehensively. FANNY BAY (w.Anon/m.A.Colahan) With a couple of little drinks to make us happy, And a couple of little beers to make us gay, And a couple of little gins to keep our strength in, You’ll find yourself at last in Fanny Bay.* Some are white and some are black and some are yellow, And some are old and some are young and gay, But what costs you thirty bob in Castlereagh Street, You can get for two and six in Fanny Bay. Note by Ron Edwards: 'Fanny Bay' was one of the slightly bawdy songs that the late Bill Harney used to enjoy singing, partly perhaps to shock the city types that he met when he came south for a holiday from the Northern Territory ... Bill did not know who had composed the song, but he said that it was very popular around the Territory. Keith McKenry also drew a distinction between these bawdy pieces and the 'thoroughly repugnant ballads of race hatred'. Fannie Bay is the registered spelling for the suburb and bay. This excerpt from NT Place Names Register is interesting: Click THE COMBO'S ANTHEM (Anon) When the stock panel slants to the last narli beast, And the smoke signals rise we will ride to the feast, Where the pandanus fairies are singing their song, And the black ducks are mating, by quiet billabong. ’Neath black velvet banners we’ll carve our way through, As we march to the strains of a didgeridoo, We love and we laugh as pale introverts sigh, We sneer at Protectors, whose laws we defy. We know each girl’s name by her track on the sand, The girls of the desert, the girls of inland, The maids of the mountains, and Lord I forgot- The sirens of seashores, the best of the lot. They are comely and dark, and the glint of their eyes, Are as dew drops that gleam on a wintry sun’s rise, And the firm rounded breasts that seductively tease, Are like seed pods that sway on squat baobab trees. So hail Borroloola! The old V.R.D. The ‘Nash’ and the hill for a cracker old spree, We are riding with cheques and we sing as we come, For a gut full of wooing, a gut full of rum. Let gin-shepherds watch when the rain clouds appear, And the ring of horse-bells tells his girls we are near, He may lock up his studs, but we’ll steal them away, To our smouldering fires till the breaking of day. So green is the grass when the early rains fall, And pull off pack bags as we answer the call, We will ride down bush tracks, and old friendships renew, To the beat of a tab-stick and didgeridoo. Ron Edwards supplied a tune at page 92 of his big book. He noted: 'The Combo's Anthem' was collected from the late Bill Harney in 1957. A combo is Territorian slang for one who lives with an Aboriginal woman. Although he described it as a 'real old nostalgic one', it is probably no older than the middle of the late thirties. It was not only white men who referred disparagingly of Aboriginal women, I once worked with a part-Aboriginal bloke, an ex-stockman, who called Aboriginal women in the bush 'spinifex fairies'. William Edward Harney --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 12 Mar 21 - 08:13 PM STEEL & SILVER (Bob McNeill) Alison, she said, walk with me tonight by the harbour We will watch the stars We'll dance among the stones And you need fear no stumble For I shall hold your hand I shall hold your hand And so with stealthy grace from town they slipped away like shadows Silent in the dark No priest or layman saw Alison led boldly By hand and step, the sand beneath her wet Between the waves and seawall Between the waves and seawall Alison, she said, let go your heavy vest That we might skip more lightly Let down your raven hair That it might fall around you Likewise your steel & silver Likewise your steel & silver And so she let them fall, and with them her resolve Always to heed the ocean And so upon the sand they laid their bodies down And as they slept the silent ocean crept The waves grew ever higher The waves grew ever higher Alison, she said, wake up the tide is high And we are hard by the seawall The waves are coming fast And I fear we are lost For we must brave the ocean For we must brave the ocean And so they turned away from the harbour wall to face the tide The swirling grey black ocean The water cold and dark pressed into their hearts By hand and brine Maidens intertwined They found them so next morning They found them so next morning Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 13 Mar 21 - 11:19 PM NEW ZEALAND WHALES (Anon) Come all you whale men who are cruising for sperm Come all you seamen who have rounded Cape Horn For our captain has told us and he says out of hand ‘There’s a thousand whale off the coast of New Zealand’ T’was early one morning just as the sun rose That a voice from the masthead cried out, ’There she blows’ Our captain cried, ‘Where away and how does he lay?’ ‘Three points on our lee, sir, scarce two miles away’ ‘Then call up all hands and be of good cheer Get your lines in your rowboats and tackle-falls clear’ We sailed off the westwind and came up apace The whaleboats were lowered and set on the chase We fought him alongside, harpoon we thrust in In just over an hour, he rolled out his fin The whale is cut-in, boys, tried-out and slowed down He’s worth more to us, boys, than five hundred pound Our ship it is laden for home we will steer There’s plenty of rum, boys, and plenty of beer We’ll spend money freely for the pretty girls ashore And when it’s all gone we’ll go whaling for more Note: These were the last days of the hand-harpoon, over a hundred years ago. Sperm and right whales were common in New Zealand waters, as they had been off the coast of Peru. The Spanish-American War meant the world’s whalers came south and Kororareka in the Bay of Islands became a busy whaling port. [’Song of a Young Country’ p 8]. Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 15 Mar 21 - 12:12 AM SAM HOLT (w.G.H. Gibson/Air: 'Ben Bolt') Oh! don’t you remember Black Alice, Sam Holt — Black Alice, so dusky and dark, The Warrego gin, with the straw through her nose, And teeth like a Moreton Bay shark. The terrible sheepwash tobacco she smoked In the gunyah down there by the lake, And the grubs that she roasted, the lizards she stewed, And the damper you taught her to bake. Oh! don’t you remember the moon’s silver sheen, And the Warrego sand ridges white? And don’t you remember those big bulldog ants We caught in our blankets at night? Oh! don’t you remember the creepers, Sam Holt, That scattered their fragrance around? And don’t you remember that broken-down colt You sold me, and swore he was sound? And don’t you remember that fiver, Sam Holt, You borrowed so frank and so free, When the publican landed your fifty-pound cheque At Tambo, your very last spree? Luck changes some natures; but yours, Sammy Holt, Was a grand one as ever I see, And I fancy I’ll whistle a good many tunes Ere you think of that fiver or me. Oh! don’t you remember the cattle you duffed, And your luck at the Sandy Creek rush, And the poker you played, and the bluffs that you bluffed, And your habits of holding a flush? And don’t you remember the pasting you got By the boys down in Callaghan’s store, When Tim Hooligan found a fifth ace in his hand, And you holding his pile upon four? You were not the cleanest potato, Sam Holt, You had not the cleanest of fins. But you made your pile on the Towers, Sam Holt, And that covers the most of your sins. They say you’ve ten thousand per annum, Sam Holt, In England, a park and a drag; Perhaps you forget you were six months ago In Queensland a-humping your swag. But who’d think to see you now dining in state With a lord and the devil knows who, You were flashing your dover, six short months ago, In a lambing camp on the Barcoo. When’s my time coming? Perhaps never, I think, And it’s likely enough your old mate Will be humping his drum on the Hughenden road To the end of the chapter of fate. This song was a parody of 'Ben Bolt', written in 1848 by Dr T.D. English. The tune was a German air arranged by N. Kneass. It was printed in the 'Melbourne Vocalist' 5th edition 1857. Charles Thatcher, the goldfields balladeer, wrote what he called a 'new version' which began: Oh! don't you remember, sweet Alice, Ben Bolt - Sweet Alice with hair hazel brown She wept with delight when you gave her a smile And trembled with fear at your frown Thatcher also wrote a mining version titled 'Jack Jolt' that was similar in structure to 'Sam Holt'. In his 'Colonial Ballads', Hugh Anderson noted that 'Sam Holt' derived in part from 'Jack Jolt'. G.Herbert Gibson, whose pen name was Ironbark, wrote 'Sam Holt' which was published in 'The Western Champion' (Blackall/Barcaldine, QLD) in May 1881. It was prefaced by this sentence: 'Overlanding Jim apostrophiseth his quondam mate who hath made his pile and gone home'. It was printed in 'The Bulletin' in 1881. This printing gave 3 notes: 'flashing your dover' = 'taking pot luck with a sheath knife'; 'Towers' = Charters Towers; the original line was 'From the Barks down at Callaghan's store' and 'Barks' was vernacular for 'Irish'. A.B. Paterson included 'Sam Holt' in his 'The Old Bush Songs' 1905. Strangely, Stewart & Keesing did not include it in their 'Enlarged and Revised' edition of 'Old Bush Songs'. It is included at page 34 of Hugh Anderson 'Colonial Ballads' 1962 edition. Anderson noted that 'Paterson, as in several other instances, took the words, not from newspapers, but from a collection of Gibson's poems'. You can also find it at page 120 of Ron Edwards' big book. This rendition by Warren Fahey omits a few stanzas: Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 15 Mar 21 - 09:59 PM This fine song gained the APRA award for song of the year at the 2021 Country Music Association of Australia golden guitar awards. THE HIGH PRICE OF SURVIVING (Shane Nicholson & Leyon Milner) There’s been mistakes and there’ll be again We’ll fall from grace every now and then Loving and losing from pillar to post The things we hold dear can hurt us the most It’s just the price of surviving we pay For sticking it out through another day But it’s better than taking the other way out Ghosts at the table, junkmail and trash I bury myself in cigarette ash I draw the curtain, there ain’t much to see The world moves along and forgets about me It’s just the price of surviving we pay For sticking it out through another day But it’s better than taking the other way out Hope, carry me now Hope, carry me now It’s gonna take us the long way around It’s just the price of surviving this life Learning to breathe through the trouble and strife When living is only being alive Then it’s just the price of surviving we pay For sticking it out through another day But it’s better than taking the other way out Youtube clip --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Mar 21 - 05:18 AM a very new song by Phyl Lobl, written at 5am this morning which makes it a bit over 15 hours old. Phyl has been singing Pete Seeger's 1966 version about LBJ for decades, video here, along with Len Chandler's original words (1964) BEANS IN MY EARS, SLOMO’S VERSION by Phyl Lobl Jenny says not to put beans in my ears, beans in my ears, beans in my ears, Jenny says not to put beans in my ears, beans in my ears. Why would I want to put beans in my ears, beans in my ears, beans in my ears? Why would I want to put beans in my ears, beans in my ears? Y’can’t hear the women with beans in your ears, beans in your ears, beans in your ears, Y’can’t hear the women with beans in your ears, beans in your ears. So y’can’t hear the words like NO & ENOUGH, NO & ENOUGH, NO & ENOUGH, Y’can’t hear the words like NO & ENOUGH with beans in your ears. Hey, Marise look at me, I've got beans in my ears beans in my ears, beans in my ears, Hey, Marise look at me, I've got beans in my ears, beans in my ears. What's that you say? I've got beans in my ears beans in my ears, beans in my ears, What's that you say? I've got beans in my ears, beans in my ears Yes too many Pollies have beans in their ears, beans in their ears, beans in their ears, Yes too many Pollies have beans in their ears, beans in their ears. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 16 Mar 21 - 05:33 AM I’d read of this happening to other Posters, but this is a first for me : my whole post just disappeared into cyberspace! :( As I just started reading the *autobiography* of the lauded Aussie singer from Victoria, DIANA TRASK, I thought I’d add this “Country-Pop” hit of hers, regularly heard on Nostalgia Radio these days. She was a familiar figure on early TV variety shows Down Under (also hosting her own), and could sing anything (she loved jazz), and became a well-known performer in America, friends with and singing with, many of the greats in Show-Biz. OH BOY (The Mood I’m In) Tony Romeo It's so warm in here Outside the night is clear Think I need a walk Have myself a little talk Sleep, baby sleep While your mama walks the street tonight To think about your daddy Boy, (oh boy) the mood I'm in The pain I feel in missin’ him Oh boy, (oh boy) I can't explain He haunts my mind and racks my brain I could comb every home, every neighbourhood bar I could ride every greyhound or railroad car Just to find him and say Hey, wherever you are Come on home, we love you, boy So I walk and weep Through the downtown streets I wander sadly Boy, (oh boy) the mood I'm in The pain I feel in missin’ him Oh boy, (oh boy) I can't explain He haunts my mind and racks my brain I could comb every home, every neighbourhood bar I could ride every greyhound and railroad car Just to find him and say Hey, wherever you are Come on home, we love you Boy, (oh boy) the mood I'm in The pain I feel in missin’ him Oh boy, (oh boy) I can't explain He haunts my mind racks my brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4oHALmefko Diana Trask performing “Oh Boy” in 1975 on “Pop! Goes the Country”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z8LJwzU4Oc This is Diana on “Sing Along with Mitch Miller” in the very early 60s, beautifully singing the ultimate Stalking song!! “ ….. In recent years, Diana has studied natural medicine and graduated with honours as a Master Herbalist ….. “ https://dianatrask.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeKgtj_MclQ an interview c. 2015 – after some 20 years, she’d gone back to singing and songwriting! [BtW, she turns 81 this June……] *Whatever Happened to Diana Trask* – a memoir by Diana Trask, with Alison Campbell Rate, published in 2010 : https://melbournebooks.com.au/uploads/product/156/diana_info_sheet.pdf R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Mar 21 - 07:11 AM July 17, 2010 Federal Election announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. A Parody for the times. HAS-BEEN HAZARDS by Phyl Lobl, 2010, Tune Trad: Cushy Butterfield/One of the Has-beens I'm one of the has-beens, a Prime Minister ex, I once used to advertise Ko-koda treks, But I stayed far too long on the political trail, I was put out to pasture by an up-start female. Now I've been overlooked by the cricketing mob.(Aughh ughugh) No that's not a cough, it's a strangulated sob. The game that they served me it just wasn't fair, You could not call it cricket but they didn't care. NOW THERE* is a new chum in line for the Lodge, (* pause to emphasize each word in capitals) But that straw-berry blonde has ex-PM's to dodge. (Repeat last line with Audience participation as chorus) I'm a has-been as well, or so the press say, But my name is still fore-front by the hand of D'Alpuget My silvery mane it still covers my head, I do not wear budgies, I'm called one instead. PAST PM's* are not helping the sheila it seems, They are too busy trying to mend broken dreams. (Audience repeats last line) I'm another of the has-beens, I freed up the banks I was all for getting rid of the Brits not the Yanks, But at least I have a musical, and though it's not the top job I still like to spar with a Budgie called Bob. NOW THIS* stella, sheila new chum, some thought she was Red But that Copper-top, that Ranga, looks blue now instead. (Audience repeats last line) I was not a PM, just up for the job, I was feisty I was frantic to strike with a left lob. But one blow too many and Howard won through, I wish I had dyed my hair now, and called myself Blue. YES THAT* Redhead is striking her light very well, She a match for Tony Abbott the chief lib-er-al (Audience repeats last line) I'm Kevin from Queensland an ex-PM too, My end it came suddenly, a bolt from The Blue My life was up-turned I did not see the trend, Unlike Mist-er Beckham I never learnt to bend. God, if it was you who decided the coup I don't understand 'cos she doesn't talk to you, All those Sundays in church had me feeling secure, Now I'm here in the wilderness, lost and unsure. BUT SHE'S* a Redhead, a Coppertop, a Ranga, a Blue, With a rival like that let's hope Abbott's gone too. (Audience repeats last line Cushy Butterfield by The Ian Campbell Folk Group |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 17 Mar 21 - 08:41 PM Six decks to Darwin' won the 'Bush Ballad of the Year' category in the 2021 golden guitar awards. It is of particular interest to me as it references my hometown. SIX DECKS TO DARWIN (D.Perrett, K.Dixon, R.Garland) Six decks to Darwin hauling up the Duncan Road I just drove out of Newry with a load of Top End gold Heading for the export ships, those drovers of the sea Six decks bound for Darwin, big heart of the Territory On the stations in the Top End they are mustering the steers For live export out of Wyndham and the Darwin Harbour piers So we got the roadtrains rolling and we’re heading out to load In this fabled series Kenworth I power up the road When the soft grey light of morning comes a-creeping through the sky The trailers are a-rattlin’ as we load the cattle high One eighty head of brahman beauties are ready for the ride And to tell you that I love the job should come as no surprise Yeah, I got six decks to Darwin hauling up the Buntine Road Just drove out of Camfield with a load of Top End gold Heading for the export ships, those drovers of the sea Six decks bound for Darwin, big heart of the Territory I glance back in my mirrors where the trailers track behind I see a dust cloud risin’ and fillin’ up the sky I’ll stop to check the cattle now and then along the way Then when we hit the bitumen, the wind will fill our sails From the red dust and the ranges to the ocean deep and blue You’ll hear the old girl growlin’ as the gear shift changes through There’s the song of travellin’ cattle to the rhythm of the road While the horses ‘neath the bonnet knuckle down and bear the load Yeah, I got six decks to Darwin hauling up the Barkly Road Just rolled out of Lake Nash with a load of Top End gold Heading for the export ships, those drovers of the sea Six decks bound for Darwin, big heart of the Territory Yeah, I got six decks to Darwin hauling up the Duncan Road Just rolled out of Rosewood with a load of Top End gold Heading for the export ships, those drovers of the sea Six decks bound for Darwin, big heart of the Territory Youtube clip Dean Perrett recorded and wrote most of the song. He explains the background in this clip: Click --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Mar 21 - 09:42 AM HOOKER REX by Don Henderson Singabout 5(2), Jan 1963, lyrics & dots, p.20, info about record p.14 There's been a lot of talk and controversy, 'Bout the White Australia policy, But there's lots of land and plenty more still, If someone doesn't have it, L.J. Hooker will. Chorus - Everywhere we look we see Hooker-Rex, Wonder where it's gonna pop up next, Maybe one day we'll live to see It inscribed on the back of our currency. Yanks and the Russians racing to the moon, In a space-ship and a rocket and a barrage balloon, When they get there a sign said "Too late!", The whole damn thing is now a Hooker Estate. I've often though a better name would be , Green-belt Hooker Proprietary, But Hooker-Australia is alright I guess, Till they start to use that apostrophe 's. published in - Oh, Pay Me. Blue & White Collar records ... For the first time in the history of Australia, a record has been issued with songs specifically aimed at promoting trade union demands. The A.C.T.U. , the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations and the High Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations ... Alas, this record does not seem to have survived in any library or collection, |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Mar 21 - 09:58 AM AUSTRALIANS LET US ALL REJOICE, by Geoff Francis & Peter Hicks 2004 Australians let us all rejoice Fr we have tasted greed; Our mortgage rates mean more to us, Than mere humanity; Our land abounds with credit cards And John Howard took us there; Don’t stop to count as your debts mount, Advance Australia fair! Don’t stop to count as your debts mount, "Advance Australia fair!" While refugees from terror sail'd, To trace wide oceans o'er, To Iraq with Little John we went, To start a bloody war. The sick, the old have all been sold, Our children's future care; They’re all worth nowt, so rise and shout, Advance Australia fair! They’re all worth nowt, so rise and shout, Advance Australia fair! do we really need this tune? source of words, email 2012. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Mar 21 - 10:01 AM HOLD THAT LINE, ©1989 Geoff Francis and Peter Hicks, Revised March 2002 lyrics & audio Oh, we're standing here together, One for all and all for one; And we'll keep right on here standing Till our victory we have won, We're united in our struggle, No, there's none us can divide We'll yield nothing to the enemy 'Cos we've justice on our side. Chorus: Hold that line! Hold that line! Sisters, brothers, never weaken, Stand and hold that picket line! Hold that line against the bosses When they try to drive us back, Hold that line against the coppers And their armed baton attacks, Hold that line against the government, 'Gainst all enemies of our class, And hold that line against the scabs too, No, we'll never let them pass. Hold that line against the World Bank And against the IMF, Hold that line and keep on holding it As long as we have breath. Hold that line against their dogma Hold that line against their creed Hold that line to save the future From their plunder and their greed. Oh, we're standing with the millions Reaching out across this world, And with those who fought before us, Our banners here unfurled.. But there's more room yet beside us, If you'll come and join our cause, For the chains that now enslave you, They are all you have to lose. Hold That Line already has quite a history. It was published in the most recent edition of the famous IWW song book. It was featured on the CD In Union is Strength. More recently this revised version was on the shortlist of six of the Wobbly Radio Workers Song Competition in 2002. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 20 Mar 21 - 10:41 PM MY TONGUE GOES BUNGLING THROUGH GEORGIA (John Dengate/Tune: Marching through Georgia) Yes, I’m a local lad, I live in Cammeray I’ve never travelled further than the beach at Byron Bay But when I pick my guitar up, I’m off and far away To Tennessee and California Chorus: Guitar! Guitar! I touch the finger board Then my accent changes from Australian strong and broad And my tongue goes bungling through Georgia I go roaming through Wyonming on my tonsils every day I play a chord and I’m abroad in sunny Santa Fe And I’ve never left the kitchen of my house in Cammeray As my tongue goes bungling through Georgia Chorus I think Australia’s very dull, our history is a bore We should be like America and have a civil war We could all kill one another and make movies by the score In accents that make sense in Georgia Chorus I do not like Australian vowels, they sound all bloody wrong They don’t go with my new blue jeans and don’t fit in my song Ah wish ah was in Dixie, that’s the place where ah belong That’s me, ma, going ‘wee-hah!’ in Georgia Chorus I know that it’s all bullshit and I know that I’m a sham I don’t know why I do it, I just don’t give a damn I’m a bloody little traitor, mate, that’s really what I am As my tongue goes bungling through Georgia Chorus From John Dengate ‘My Shout Again’. John noted: Dedicated to all the deluded Aussies who sing in pseudo-American accents. There is a direct correlation between guitar strumming and this weird metamorphosis. The song was written decades ago but, sadly, it still happens. Marching through Georgia --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Mar 21 - 12:12 AM On a recent Music Show I was listening to an interview with a country singer who spoke Australian & sang American - admittedly she, like other country stars, has spent time in Nashville, some even live there! I just emailed Dale asking if she would like to update it now that Ameralians spend time in Nashvile. (Nashvile was a typo & I was going to correct it, but left it!) so here is the song about Ameralia, published in Singabout 1(3), Winter 1956. - no audio, only dots! AMERALIA, words W.J. Mann, music Jennifer Mann Down Darling's green banks I once happened to stray, And met a young stranger was walking my way, Black bearded like Kelly, and sunburnt and strong, And all the time singing this quaint little song. Refrain: They've sent us their Marilyn and six crates of gum, And they've copped all our oil and uranium; Sing yankee sing doodle sing dinky-di dink, We're the United States of Australia (Inc.) I gave him a good day, and I said how'd you be? And how'd you expect me to bloody well be? Fair dinkum, before you all lonely I stand, The last bloody Aussie that's left in this land. The blade in my razor I wished to renew, So I went to the shop and they showed me a few, But the sign USA on each one appeared, And that's why I'm wearing this dirty great beard. From Chicago, Sears Roebuck came here to try To put us in debt till we flaming well die, These time payment experts are exceedingly tough, Quite prepared to take over where Kelly left off. For Ben Hall and Kelly are long dead and gone, But Hoppalong Cassidy and Crockett live on; Our stockmen are cowboys, our stockyards corrals, Our duffers are rustlers, our sheilas are dolls. When you remember how history was made, By the diggers who died at Eureka Stockade, You'll agree we have heroes to equal the best That ever came out of the Yankee wild west. Then I gave him my hand and I let out a cheer, And I said "Fair Go, Aussie! There's two of us here." Now I've told you this story so you'll understand There are still a few Aussies alive in this land. Ameralia byW.J. Mann with a tune by his 16 year old daughter Jennifer Ameralia byW.J. Mann with a tune by his 16 year old daughter Jennifer, page2 from page 6 - Meet Jennifer Mann - 16 years Jenny Mann ... has written tunes for poems by David Martin, Merv Lilley, Mary Gilmore and her father, Jim Mann. Jim Mann is related to working-class leader Thomas Mann. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 21 Mar 21 - 04:29 AM LOVE’S LABOURS LOST (aka Back Seat of the Holden) Paul Lawler Well I went to the dance on the Friday night Met a little girl, such a pretty, pretty sight She said that she wouldn’t, but I thought that she might Lie with me, in the back seat of the Holden. Well her eyes were blue and her hair was gold She said my advances were very, very bold Although she said no, I thought she’d get rolled With me in the back seat of the Holden. Well in comes Don Juan and he asks her for a dance There was a wilt in me trousers; something happened to me lance And I knew that this bloke, would take away me chance For to lie in the back seat of the Holden. Well I watched him drink his Martini dry And knew that a visit to the lavatory was nigh The door hit him faster than he undid his fly I was off to the back seat of the Holden. With Don Juan’s nose flat, I carried on the quest To try and get this little lady safely on the nest I said, you look tired, why don’t you have a rest Lie with me in the back seat of the Holden. Well we walked to the car, I was full of hope - I was also full of beer - but still I thought I’d cope But after the kissing - and just before the grope - I fell asleep … in the back seat of the Holden. (the late) Paul Lawler, Darwin 1984 © In these current climes, possibly a rather non-PC song!! But this self-deprecating little ditty (which, however, Paul swore was not autobiographical!!), was very popular in its time in Darwin’s folk scene. He wrote it to be accompanied by his appalachian dulcimer, as in this Top End Folk Club recording from the song’s early days : go to 30:34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7PsCsWL6Pk&t=15s R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 21 Mar 21 - 04:32 AM CHARITY BEGINS AT ROME Paul Lawler My belly it is swollen; I’m sorry I can’t stand The food I want I cannot get from this barren land For your well-intentioned powdered milk Thanks, but don’t you see That sipping life just once a week prolongs my agony. And the Pope said : Happy Christmas Happy Easter, everyone In Nomine Patris Et fillet mignon If you’d sent an IUD to stop brother, or a tractor for my dad I may not have made it to my teens, but, I might have been a lad A drilling rig for water could save parts of this land I cannot eat the secondhand clothes sold by thieving bands. If Rome had sent some help to us, here in the Sudan Their supposed Christian ethic, might have helped me be a man But Catholics is politics, a sham, a bloody lie The Vatican grows rich and fat, but as for me I die. © Paul O. Lawler, Darwin, 1985 1985 famine news : https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/08/famine-refugees-united-nations-sudan-ethiopia-africa This song hasn’t made it to Paul’s posthumous YT channel yet – but one day soon! R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 21 Mar 21 - 04:40 AM FRANKLIN’S RIVER Ken Ferguson “For John Franklin, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Dieman’s Land in the 1840s, a trip to the West Coast was a welcome respite from the political jungle of Hobart Town. A contrast that has more recent reverberations.” KF, 1990 A winding path has led us here From Derwent to Arrowsmith’s quartz grey peak Lowering forest and sodden heath Aching bones and rattling teeth The clouds above, the earth beneath Leaving the world behind. And all this way the forest’s hush No barking dog nor settler’s axe Just the cry of a cockatoo Or rarer still, a kangaroo In the groves that the sorrowing native knew All trace of him is gone. And the rain falls down on Franklin’s river So much that the water and air are one Watercolour hues and a fragile beauty Free from the restless hand of man. Now on the shining river’s side We lie in Eden’s innocent vale The serpent glides but the fruit is free Of poisoned word or traitor’s creed Of envy’s leer or careless greed Like Man before The Fall. And the rain falls down on Franklin’s river So much that the water and air are one Watercolour hues and a fragile beauty Free from the restless hand of man. Ken Ferguson, 1990. From his 1997 CD “Basic Blue”. (the late) Ken, along with Tony Phipps, wrote a “Folk Opera” concerning Tasmanian Governor John Franklin, which was performed in Perth, WA, but unfortunately I have not yet located any more info about this project - (nor his others) - online. I posted here on March 5th, “Alice on the Line” from his and Bloodwood’s project “The Singing Wire”. https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/11/05/2734403.htm Sir John Franklin was the most distinguished man to be appointed Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land….. A 1980 journey down the Franklin River in Tasmania’s SW with the late Romanian botanist, Antonius Moscal : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSCCGkRoChQ And more recently, the exciting possibilities of the world-renowned : “Top river journeys: Rafting the Franklin River : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__6KXCAKHGM&t=319s R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 21 Mar 21 - 04:42 AM MOTHERLODE Ken Ferguson “Uranium Exploration Geologist, thinks twice” KF: Alice Springs, 1983 I am walking on this land with a hammer in my hand And the spinifex is cutting to the bone Though I was sent to look for wealth that is hidden in the earth I have found a Motherlode that they can’t own. Send your ranges to the horizon Give your water to the sand Hide your distance in mirages Where the sky lies on the land. The explorers gave you names for your ridges and your plains Though they feared your ancient landscape like a foe But your weathered rocks and stones, that to me feel more like home Have deeper names than I will ever know. Send your ranges to the horizon Give your water to the sand Hide your distance in mirages Where the sky lies on the land. Well, the gaps that cut your ranges have paintings in their caves And Galahs in screeching clouds around the mills But the sand between your toes where the river rarely flows Shows your creeks are even older than your hills. Send your ranges to the horizon Give your water to the sand Hide your distance in mirages Where the sky lies on the land. Another track from “singing geologist”, the late Ken Ferguson, from his 1997 CD “Basic Blue”. For more info, see my posting on March 5th of his “Alice on the Line” – March 20th posting for “Franklin’s River” - and also his Mudcat Obit. [Sadly, I am yet to find any of his work online …….] R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 21 Mar 21 - 04:56 AM BtW, re my posting of renowned Upper Yarra Aussie singer Diana Trask on March 16th, I have now finished reading her very entertaining 2010 Autobiography - and can thoroughly recommend it!! ( available from her website (if your library doesn't have it!) : https://dianatrask.com/product/whatever-happened-to-diana-trask-official-autobiography/ ) R-J :) |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Mar 21 - 07:52 AM THE MAD MONK c. John Dengate 2009, TUNE: Vilikins and His Dinah/Dinky Di/Sweet Betsy from Pike etc Oh dear, just how low have the Liberals sunk. They’ve chosen as leader the raving mad monk. A royalist ratbag, a popish ex-pug: Reactionary Tory, the monarchist thug. They’ve sacked Malcolm Turnbull and put in his stead A bloke who’s been punched far too hard, round the head; Too many left hooks which rather explains The crackpot ideas that roll round his brains. It’s enough to send Methodists out on a binge – He’s a punchy ex-priest from the lunatic fringe A failed Father Tony who’s frightened of hell And raises his fists at the sound of a bell. They’ve chosen as leader a real troglodyte, A cruiserweight lout from the party’s far right A punch-throwing papist. Oh, times must be grim For the Tories to choose a mad bastard like him, Repeat first verse. tune - Villikins and his Dinah |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Mar 21 - 07:58 AM MR MURDOCH’S SONG. John Dengate 2011, tune: The Wearing of the Green ‘I’m not responsible’… just totally irresponsible. Mr Murdoch ‘s very wealthy, there are lots of things he owns But his speciality is tapping into other peoples’ phones. All the citizens of England, when they ring their kith and kin; Say ‘Hello’ to Mr Murdoch, for he always listens in. CHORUS He’s a snooping, prying bastard, he invades your privacy; Cover up the bathroom keyhole if you go in for a pee. If you ring up your girlfriend, don’t be ardent or risqué Or the whole of bloody Britain will be reading it next day. Mr Murdoch may be wrinkled, Mr Murdoch may be aged But he takes an avid interest when your telephone’s engaged. Keep the conversation flowing, don’t be taciturn or strained – That’s not fair to Mr Murdoch, you must keep him entertained. CHORUS Rely on Mr Murdoch, all you Pommies, don’t despair If your telephone starts ringing, Mr Murdoch will be there. With his earphones and recorders and his electronic gear – Make sure that you enunciate… he’s deaf in his left ear. CHORUS tune - The Wearing of the Green |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 21 Mar 21 - 09:50 PM At the 2021 Golden Guitar Awards, Luke O'Shea won the 'Traditional Country Album of the Year' award for his 'There in the Ochre'. He also was awarded a golden guitar award for 'Heritage Song of the Year' for his collaboration with Kevin Bennett on 'Happy Australia Day' - and deservedly so, a brilliant song for our times. The youtube video is also exceptional. HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY (Luke O’Shea & Kevin Bennett) Cowboys vs Indians, white man vs savages Is what I was shown on TV I knew more about the world wars, the Zulu and the Navaho Than I did of my own history But as you begin to uncover the sin You can feel your heart drowning in shame It all starts with a lie we no longer deny And it’s time we all knew your name So Pemulwuy are you still fighting? Windradyne your song we shall sing And for all your senseless suffering Truganini, did it mean anything? For every chain that has bound you For every child stolen away Well the river still runs from the same poisoned well Happy Australia Day - Australia Day Well, the wheel still turns, the memory still burns And there’s still so much more left to write But if I am a man who is born on this land Then my history is both black and white So Yagan, are you still fighting? Jandamarra your song we shall sing And for all you absorbed as you travelled the world Bennelong did it mean anything? For every shot that was fired intending to drive you away The river still runs from the same poisoned well Happy Australia Day - Australia Day Let the truth fill the space in between us Replacing the blame and the fear And we must learn first we are better than our worst And respect for each other starts here So why celebrate this great nation On a day that insults and divides For regardless of clan, we all love this land Find a way where we stand unified Charlie Perkins I’ll stand beside you Uncle Jimmy your song I shall sing And for all you selfless suffering Mumma Shirl well I feel everything For every right that’s denied us For our children stolen away Well everyone drinks from the same poisoned well And it’s time that we all shared the pain Yes, everyone drinks from the same poisoned well Happy Australia Day - Australia Day Youtube clip Luke O'Shea and Kevin Bennett Pemulwuy Windradyne Yagan Jandamarra Bennelong Charlie Perkins Jimmy Little Mum Shirl --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 21 Mar 21 - 10:56 PM In the links in my previous post, I missed Truganini: Truganini If you click on 'Show More' under the video, you will find many other links. --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: GerryM Date: 22 Mar 21 - 02:42 AM The Grubby Urchins - Library-O Daniel Bornstein and Joe Hillel https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about-library/publications/openbook/shanty-town-mark-dapin-extract When I was young, but ten and three Hi-o, hi-o, librari-o My parents asked, what trade for thee? Send them out on loan And so next morning I began Hi-o, hi-o, librari-o To train as a librar-i-an Send them out on loan Chorus (after each verse): So turn 'em, scan 'em, bin 'em, bag 'em Heave 'em out to roam-i-o Two weeks in the open world Before they come back home-i-o When they're back and through the slot It's to the shelves they'll go-i-o Send them out on loan-i-o Send them out on loan I dreamed that evening as I slept Hi-o ... On where the books are neatly kept Send ... I dreamed of shelves ten fathoms high Hi-o ... Where books from every land do lie Send ... Chorus I dreamed of bins and stacks and shelves Where readers go and help theirselves I dreamed of books in tidy rows From ancient verse to modern prose The libr'y life is free from woes The chief concern is where books goes So growl ye may, but read ye must You talk too loud, your head they'll bust If friendly staff is what ye seeks Bring back your books within two weeks Be warned when on a reading spree Late books incur a nominal fee The lib'ry trade takes stalwart guts For every year bring government cuts They say that borrowing books is hard For those without a lib'ry card And when their lending time is through It's back you'll mosey to renew And when the readin's good and done It's back to pick another one |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 22 Mar 21 - 05:46 AM brilliant! audio of LIBRARY-O sandra (retired librarian) "https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/the_grubby_urchins_-_library-o_-_master_210209.mp3" |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Mar 21 - 09:45 AM A parody of The Shearers Dream, posted on page 13 at 25 Nov 20 - 12:25 AM by Rich-Joy THE PEOPLE'S DREAM by Mike Martin © 2015, tune The Shearer's Dream, winner of 2015 Dengate Parody Mug competition, Illawarra Folk Festival I am very honoured to have won such a trophy, John was not only a mate but an inspiration to a generation of Folkies. A great writer and a peer of excellence. I dreamt I was in Parliament. It as a dream of joy For every member was honourable, the type you would employ There were no collars, suits or ties, just overalls, boots and pies There were no broken promises, and nobody ever told lies. I dreamt no votes on Party lines, no money ever changed hands They'd legislate the people's will, for the battler, for the working man There were equal rights for both black and white. Men, women and both Where money couldn't buy or influence, the way you decide to vote. I dreamt I gave my maiden speech, a tear came to my eye I spoke of justice and freedom, the reason the diggers died I spoke of poverty and of greed, the demise of democracy I spoke of sustainability and biodiversity. I dreamt every member understood my words, I was as proud as proud could be The call from the floor was for more, and the gallery they all agreed, But then I awoke in a shearing shed, on a bed of greasy wool The clapping the clatter of cutters and combs ... And the cheering was the bleating of YOUS ... video of Lionel Long singing The Shearer's Dream |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: GUEST Date: 23 Mar 21 - 09:58 AM SOUNDS OF THEN (This Is Australia) Mark Callaghan I think I hear the sounds of then, and people talking The scenes recalled, by minute movement And songs they fall, from the backing tape That certain texture, that certain smell. To lie in sweat, on familiar sheets In brick veneer on financed beds In a room, of silent hardiflex That certain texture, that certain smell Brings home the heavy days Brings home the the night time swell. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. The block is awkward - it faces west Long diagonals, and sloping too And in the distance, through the heat haze In convoys of silence, the cattle graze That certain texture, that certain beat Brings forth the night-time heat. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields Laugh and think that this is Australia. To lie in sweat, on familiar sheets In brick veneer on financed beds In a room of silent hardiflex That certain texture, that certain smell Brings forth the heavy days Brings forth the night-time sweat. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. This is Australia etc…... Mark Callaghan of GANGgajang : wrote this 1985 song about his childhood memories as a recent English immigrant to Bundy (Bundaberg, sub-tropical coastal city in central Queensland) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML9h3I5Uktw WIKI : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_of_Then R-J |
Subject: ADD: Sounds of Then (This Is Australia)[Callaghan] From: rich-joy Date: 23 Mar 21 - 10:01 AM SOUNDS OF THEN (This Is Australia) Mark Callaghan I think I hear the sounds of then, and people talking The scenes recalled, by minute movement And songs they fall, from the backing tape That certain texture, that certain smell. To lie in sweat, on familiar sheets In brick veneer on financed beds In a room, of silent hardiflex That certain texture, that certain smell Brings home the heavy days Brings home the the night time swell. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. The block is awkward - it faces west Long diagonals, and sloping too And in the distance, through the heat haze In convoys of silence, the cattle graze That certain texture, that certain beat Brings forth the night-time heat. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields Laugh and think that this is Australia. To lie in sweat, on familiar sheets In brick veneer on financed beds In a room of silent hardiflex That certain texture, that certain smell Brings forth the heavy days Brings forth the night-time sweat. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. Out on the patio, we'd sit And the humidity, we'd breathe We'd watch the lightning crack over canefields And laugh and think, this is Australia. This is Australia etc…... Mark Callaghan of GANGgajang : wrote this 1985 song about his childhood memories as a recent English immigrant to Bundy (Bundaberg, sub-tropical coastal city in central Queensland) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML9h3I5Uktw WIKI : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_of_Then R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Mar 21 - 10:01 AM And now for a song from Dale Dengate. Dale carries on the Dengate parody tradition, unfortunately for this thread, most of her parodies are poems. A PARODY MUG MYSTERY by Dale Dengate, 2020 Tune: Adaption of Streets of Forbes. video of Marion Henderson singing "Streets of Forbes" 1966 Come all of ye Figgy folk, And a sorrowful tale I’ll tell. Concerning of Mike Martin, From Candelo he came. Mike strode into the tent and said: Concerning Dengate’s mug, I have a parody, I wrote Then he began to quote: Mike dreamt he was in parliament. It was a dream of joy. For everyone was honourable. The type you would employ. And so it went until he woke, To cheers from bleating YOUS. All in that year of 2-0-1-5, There was many a clever verse But the judge declared that Mike had won, So called upon Sircomraderuss. But as he rose, a tear he shed He’d lost the Dengate’s mug. I stood it on the bar, he said, But it’s no longer there. So Mike ne’re got ol’ Dengate’s mug Although he won that day. The years rolled on and Covid came And kept us all at home. So Comraderuss took to his shed And into boxes dove. ’Twas there he found the battered mug. Where it had hid for years, So now at last this song can end And Mike might get his mug. Figgy Folk is a session run by Illawarra Folk Club, on zoom last year, but now live. John & Dale Dengate Parody Competition, Illawarra Folk Festival, 2014 to 2017 |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 23 Mar 21 - 09:59 PM There are numerous variations in tune and content of 'Oh, TI'. The lyrics below are those printed in Ron Edwards' big book and reproduced in Bill Scott's 'Second Penguin Australian Songbook'. The song was well-known in north Queensland and the Northern Territory, particularly among Aboriginal people. It was sometimes called 'Old TI' and 'Old PI', the latter referencing Palm Island rather than Thursday Island. Ron Edwards also collected what he called an 'old version' which was composed in 1936 by Jarfar Ahmat. Edwards collected it from Charley Ahmat, the brother of Jarfar, in 1965. OH, TI Why are you looking so sad, my dear Why are you feeling so blue? I'm thinking of someone so far away In that beautiful place called TI Chorus: Oh TI my beautiful home That's the place where I was born Where the moon and stars that shine, make me longing for home Oh TI my beautiful home Take me across the sea Over the deep blue sea Darling won't you take me Back to my home TI TI my beautiful home TI my home sweet home I'll be there forever The sun is setting farewell Youtube clip OH, TI (Old version) Oh TI my beautiful home That's the place where I was born Where the moon and stars that shine, make me long for home Oh TI my beautiful home Take me across the sea Over the deep blue sea Darling won't you take me Back to my home TI When at the break of dawn Your dear face I cannot see You will always think Always think of me Up above the clouds Your dear face I cannot see But in your memories dear Never, never say goodbye Oh my Rose, my beautiful Rose You're the one that nobody knows Your eyes are blue, like the sky above, your lips were made for love Oh my Rose, my beautiful Rose --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 24 Mar 21 - 05:09 AM Thanks Stew, "Old TI" is such a lovely old singalong song, redolent of past times and the fragrance of the tropics on the air! See also Dec 8th posting for a link to a version by Jessie Lloyd (Joe Gaia's daughter!), and one by Ted Egan. MEANWHILE : Apparently this song continues to be Hugely popular amongst many Aussies, so, here it is : GREAT SOUTHERN LAND Iva Davies Standing at the limit of an endless ocean Stranded like a runaway, lost at sea City on a rainy day down in the harbor Watching as the grey clouds shadow the bay Looking everywhere 'cause I had to find you This is not the way that I remember it here Anyone will tell you it’s a prisoner island Hidden in the summer for a million years. Great Southern Land, burned you black So you look into the land and it will tell you a story Story 'bout a journey ended long ago Listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains Maybe you can hear them talking like I do They're gonna betray you, they're gonna forget you Are you gonna let them take you over that way. Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land You walk alone, like a primitive man And they make it work, with sticks and bones See their hungry eyes, its a hungry land. I hear the sound of the stranger's voices I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land They burned you black, black against the ground. Standing at the limit of an endless ocean Stranded like a runaway, lost at sea City on a rainy day down in the harbor Watching as the grey clouds shadow the bay Looking everywhere 'cause I had to find you This is not the way that I remember it here Anyone will tell you it’s a prisoner island Hidden in the summer for a million years. Great Southern Land, in the sleeping sun You walk alone with the ghost of time Where they burned you black, black against the ground And they make it work with rocks and sand. I hear the sound of the strangers’ voices I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land You walk alone, like a primitive man You walk alone with the ghost of time And they burned you black Yeah, they burned you black Great Southern Land Great Southern Land Great Southern Land Great Southern Land This is the 1982 original by ICEHOUSE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWHcQPR2S-U This is the 1989 clip for the “Young Einstein” movie : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtP4yQNpNF4 This is the 2012 remake vidclip with various artists and locations, by Tourism Australia : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kHUYXAM3yc “In November 2014 the song was selected for inclusion on the Australian National Film & Sound Archive's "Sounds of Australia" list.” WIKI : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Southern_Land R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 24 Mar 21 - 09:06 AM Having fun expressing political fury…..Dale THE YEAR OF Ts : TOXIC TERMITE TONY TROUBLES TRAGIC TURNCOAT TURNBULL AND OVERSEAS WE SEE TWITTERING TRUMP TORMENTS ALL THINKERS! by Dale Dengate, 2015 TUNE: Villikins and his Dinah.video Much sung street ballad in the sixties, which started with: There was a rich merchant who in London did dwell….. and ended with the death of Dinah from a cup of cold pizen ... SO ... There was a rich merchant who in Canberra did dwell, But he faced a big problem till his right wing he’d quell. ‘Twas led by a fellow, termite tony by name, Who was very adept at just playing his game. Chorus: Singing Turali urali urali eh. Entitlements for me but not for you, eh! No sniping or wrecking, no leaking or a-betting. No self-serving claims; those are just not my aims, Says tough termite tony to his troubled leader. Those rumours are phony like an archbishop’s plead-ing, Chorus: Singing Turali urali urali eh. Entitlements for me but not for you, eh! Now all you old pollies take warning by me Though a unit on the Gold Coast looks enticing to thee Take a look at your own mob, for your seat they might rob Spoken - Instead of Villikins and his Dinah,- Think of old toxic tony with his ‘cup of cold of Pizen’. Chorus: Singing Turali urali urali eh. Entitlements for me but not for you, eh! |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: Stewie Date: 24 Mar 21 - 08:57 PM My apologies R-J for doubling up again. I thought I had checked, but my search was for 'Oh TI' rather than 'Old TI'. Anyhow, I added a little extra info and the original. In light of the recent mass protests by Australia women, it is pertinent to note that women have had some victories against male-dominated organisations. THE GIANT FEELS THEIR STING (Sue Edmonds 1985) There's stories 'bout the heroes Who faced the giant's wrath Tales about the heroines Forced to spin gold cloth Jack and the beanstalk Rumplestiltskin the Dwarf Now the women from Wollongong Have met the giant's force Chorus: The giant's made of iron and steel Didn't feel a thing But the women worked together Now the giant feels their sting This giant big Australian Had the pickings of the crop Only used the work of men To keep it at the top Women were rejected Without a second thought So 34 good women Took the giant to the court Chorus Out heroines of history Fought for equal rights Now we're fighting for a job We face the giant's might We've learnt to work together Like the Amazons of old Make that mighty patriarch To loose its might hold This is the first song in the 1988 publication by the Victorian Trade Union Labour Day Celebration Committee: 'Strike a Light: Contemporary songs of Australian working Life' Selected and Edited by Gillian Harrison. The song with its tune is printed at page 11. Note with the song: In 1985, 34 women for Wollongong won their case against Australian Iron and Steel in the Equal Opportunity Tribunal in New South Wales. The tribunal found that the 55 complaints of sex discrimination on the basis of delaying hiring of women, retrenchment procedures, threat of retrenchment and sexist attitudes among senior company officers were all substantiated. It had taken years of persistence to get jobs in the traditionally male steelworks, only to lose them during the steel crisis in the early 1980s. The decision was a major triumph for the Jobs-for-Women Campaign and has had far-reaching consequences on business practice throughout the country. For the women, it brought to an end nearly six years years of what they said was 'fighting for the right to work'. The song by Sue Edmonds is a tribute to those who fought and won this landmark case'. Australian Iron and Steel was owned by BHP. Steely women Film project --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 25 Mar 21 - 12:19 AM Re “Old TI / Oh TI” - No wurries, Stewie, about the doubling up. I reckon it doesn’t matter too much coz there’s usually always song variants and different audio links and extra info. So, all good! Although I wouldn’t say No to some more input in this thread from other folkies (hint hint!), I do like how, with some very small overlap, the main 4 of us, have posted a great variety of songs and research, but each in our own individual way and preferences. Stew, you once said my record collection was very “eclectic” and I s’pose my posts here reflect that too – rather all over the place like the proverbial *madwoman’s footprints! – but I reckon all our efforts are making for a very interesting collection (some 800+ by now, Sandra reports). Anyone else out there in cyberspace got any comments (or songs)??!! Cheers, R-J *just as well this is not a strictly "PC" thread! :) |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 25 Mar 21 - 12:23 AM RAINBIRD IN THE TEA-TREE Peter Cape When the Rainbird sings in the Tea-Tree There’s cloud on the hills out the back Look out of your window and you’ll see me I’ll be coming in off the track. I’ll be droving a mob of the black bulls The dogs’ll be footsore and done Call out as I go past your window Just to show you, you are The One. It’s a long drove up from the Puhoi By Woodcocks and Kaipara Flats I’ll be sick of my oilskins and my jumper And the rain pelting down on my back. I’ve a stockwhip over my shoulder And a plain gold ring in my pack Perhaps as I go past your window I’ll be coming in off the track. So when the Rainbird sings in the Tea-Tree There’s cloud on the hills out the back Look out of your window and you’ll see me I’ll be coming in off the track. Look out of your window and you’ll see me I’ll be coming in off the track. Another of those lovely EnZed songs, sung here by Chris Priestley & Friends : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8NG05fNHCk My question to me is : Will I ever make it to The Land of the Long White Cloud, in this Lifetime??!! ….. sigh ….. (s’pose maybe I already have - in a Parallel World, eh!! :) R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 25 Mar 21 - 04:16 AM UNDER THE MILKY WAY TONIGHT Steve Kilbey & Karin Jansson “an accidental Australian anthem” Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty Sound of their breath fades with the lights I think about the loveless fascination Under the Milky Way tonight. Lower the curtain down on Memphis Lower the curtain down all right I got no time for private consultation Under the Milky Way tonight. Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find And it's something quite peculiar Something shimmering and white It leads you here despite your destination Under the Milky Way tonight. Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find. And it's something quite peculiar Something that’s shimmering and white Leads you here despite your destination Under the Milky Way tonight. Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find. Under the Milky Way tonight Under the Milky Way tonight Under the Milky Way tonight THE DRY : I’m still waiting to see this 2020 mystery/drama/thriller movie, with Eric Bana, filmed across numerous Victorian towns. The theme music is UNDER THE MILKY WAY TONIGHT by The Church,1988, but sung in the movie by Bebe Bettencourt. As for what the song’s about, Kilbey tells Guardian Australia: “It’s not about anything. Like all my songs, it’s a portal into your own mind where I give you a guided meditation. It’s a blank, abstract canvas for people to lose themselves in.” ….. “While it was never his intention, he’s chuffed at how “Australians have adopted it as their own song”. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/jul/15/the-church-under-the-milky-way-an-accidental-australian-a This vidclip of THE CHURCH recording has a Cosmic backdrop to assist in your personal meditation! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA54NBtPKdI But here is an even mellower version by Aussie Aboriginal country legend, JIMMY LITTLE (1937-2012) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHVdpdK1-qc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Little R-J |
Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook From: rich-joy Date: 25 Mar 21 - 09:32 AM ROSS RIVER COWBOY Dave Oakes Out in the Eastern McDonalds he roams With his swag and his camels, so far from home Dining on parrots and wallaby stew Drinking his coffee; there’s so much to do, When the Condamine’s quiet and the sun has gone west The Ross River Cowboy by his campfire he rests He looks so much younger than the years of his age The Ross River Cowboy, the Spinifex Sage. Chorus Whoop-a-tie, Whoop-a-tie, Whoop-a-tie aye The Ross River Cowboy don’t have much to say Whoop-a-tie, Whoop-a-tie, Whoop-a-tie eye The Ross River Cowboy, he’s just getting by. When horizons are miraged and the summer’s ablaze And the snake’s breath’s entwining the ranges with haze By his campfire he sits and he passes the hours Drinking and smoking and taking cold showers, He’s preparing his saddles for that time in the fall When he takes to the creeks and the low lands that call And he drinks in the air like he’s dry as a bone The Ross River Cowboy, he’s heading home. I once saw a sunset, he said with a sigh When the world was young and so was I When the sky was much brighter than the garnets of Hale* And when campfires at night told so many tales, But now the Toyotas, they are scouring the land You can drive to Arltunga* just using one hand No one sees the forest for the trees, I am sure And I’ve never heard him say so much before. *Hale is a river to the East of Alice, mostly dry. Ross River is an early small settlement East of Alice. Arltunga is an historical gold mining area East of Alice Springs, being the first European settlement from the 1880s. This song is by DAVE OAKES, resident of Central Aust, written mid 1980s – now from his inaugural 2014 CD recording, “Made in Alice Springs” – but I have not yet found his work online. Interviews : https://timberandsteel.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/national-folk-festival-interview-dave-oakes/ and https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2015/02/15/a-tuneful-tick-off-daves-bucket-list/ In one of the above interviews, Dave said this song was inspired by his travels with local Centralian identity and cameleer, Hal Duell. I had it in my memory from years ago, that this song was actually about Noel Fullerton, the Alice Springs “Camel King” (1934-2015) …… and maybe it still was! Anyhoo, here are some Camel links for The Alice. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-07/camel-king-noel-fullerton-dies-aged-81/6754934 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015 : The Alice Springs Camel Cup (2012) + a Noel Fullerton interview. A Chicago journalist on Noel’s Centralian Camel Safari in 1985 : https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-09-29-8503060244-story.html R-J |
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