Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Jun 21 - 10:30 PM

LAWSON CENTENARY SONG by John Dengate, 1967, tune Gartan Mother's Lament. First published in Singabout 6(2), 1967, page 3 as part of the Bush Music Club's celebration of the Centenary of Henry Lawson's birth.   

video - Gartan Mother's Lament by The Corries

Come now all Australians and tell me did you know - -
Henry Lawson, he was born a hundred years ago,
He was born in a leaky tent, the night was stormy and cold
All on the fields of Grenfell where his father dug for gold.

Henry Lawson spent his boyhood at Eurunderee,
They were years of deprivation, want and poverty.
He humped his swag in the nineties drought, across the plains out-back,
And in the Country west of Bourke he starved upon the track.

Lawson wasn't what you'd call a sober, steady bloke,
Partly deaf and usually drunk, and nearly always broke,
Yet his verses still synthesize what every conscience feels,
Be loyal and steadfast to your mates and stick to your ideals.

He was not the kind of man the sophists love to praise;
Proper education was denied him all his days;
Lawson's lines were bitter and harsh, but touched with humour too,
For Lawson's words came from the heart, and Lawson's heart was true.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Jun 21 - 08:28 PM

THE FOGGY FOGGY BANKS
(Anon)

Out on the foggy foggy banks
We pitch and toss about
And blow our frozen fingers
When we hear our skipper shout

Chorus:
Heave away on your capstan, lads
Give a hand to heave the trawl
When we get the fish on board
We’ll have another haul
Heave away on your capstan, lads
Give a hand to heave the trawl
In the middle of the night, heave ho ye all

When I was but a lad at school, I would not stay at home
Like lots of other foolish lads, I thought I’d sooner roam
Soon I joined a trawler and there I quickly found
It wasn’t no plain sailing, when I reached the trawlin’ ground

Chorus

Sailing on the ocean far from the Port of Bluff
The southern gale is rising and the sea starts getting rough
When waves are falling ‘round us and pounding on the deck
It’s hard to keep your footing as you try to save your neck

Chorus

We work our guts out day and night, our backs are stiff and sore
There’s nothing more inviting than safe ashore once more
When the work is finally over, hard up our tiller goes
West by south to the harbour’s mouth, to the big jib on her nose

Chorus (x2)

A song from the fishermen of Bluff. The above lyrics are those in Phil Garland's recording. This version is longer than that printed at page 48 of 'Song of a Young Country'.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 24 Jun 21 - 08:27 PM

WHERE CAMEL PADS GO DOWN
(Jack Sorensen)

Last night I dreamed that Father Time had turned life's pages back
And once again a sturdy youth I took the northern track
With my lost mates of long ago I left behind the town
And headed for the country where the camel pads go down

But down the long brown highways, over plains and ranges grey
The speedy motor transports bear the shearers of today
Now spinifex has overgrown the camel pads at last
The camel train and bicycle have drifted to the past

Creator of the spinifex, the hungry sandhills brown
The brazen sky, the creek beds dry, the plains where tracks wind down
Give back to me that which I had, the heart, the strength of limb
That I may do the things I did before my eyes grew dim

Those youthful dreams that once I had of heights to which I'd bid
Are shattered by the memory of things I really did
And down forsaken highways where the twining snakewoods grow
I yearn to travel northwards as I did long years ago

Roger Montgomery put a tune to this poem. It may be found on Dingo's Breakfast 'Jack Sorensen: Weaver of Dreams' album.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 03:17 AM

CLEAN UP OUR OWN BACKYARD, by Joy McKean. Recorded on "Looking Forward Looking Back" (2000)

video - Slim Dusty

There's an old rhyme that pits out time take it for what it's worth
Things are crook at Tallarook and there ain't no work in Burke
But we still find room for the many who come a-knockin' at our door
And we sell our wide brown acres without a second thought.

Some will say we are building a nation rich and strong
But if you take a closer look at it perhaps we've got it wrong
Makes you think maybe we're a bit crazy doing it quite so hard
Shouldn't be a crime to take the time to clean up our own backyard.

In the country towns and the land around, in the city streets and slums
The dreamtime lore has gone before and the walkabout is done
On the streets at night you see the plight of our old ones and our young
And the Salvo refuge overflows, but still the people come.

Just a little drop of caring in an ocean of neglect
Can't stem the tide of anger from the lost and dispossessed
In the land of promise keepin' our promise gets to be too hard
Shouldn't be a crime to take the time to clean up our own backyard.

Make you think maybe we're a bit crazy doing it quite so hard
Shouldn't be a crime to take the time to clean up our own backyard

on some lyrics sites "refuge" is spelt "refugge" & on other sites 'And the Salvo refuge overflows" becomes "And the sound old rep you go the flow"

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 03:25 AM

THE BLOKE WHO SERVES THE BEER by Peter Denahy. Recorded on "Looking Forward Looking Back" (2000)

video - Slim Dusty

My name is Tom I own a Queensland pub
There’s Bundy on the shelf and the ice is in the tub
No lemon lime and bitters just Bundy and Fourex
If they wreck the joint tonight I’ll ring their flamin' necks.

There are so many songs about ringers out hell raisen'
But what about the bloke who pulls the beers
When they’ve all gone I’m still out wipen' tables
When they’ve all hit the hay while i’m still here
I’m the bloke you never hear of servin' beer.

I give change to the fellas if they want a game of pool
Got pies in the oven mate when the weather's gettin’ cool
If the boys get rowdy and decide to have a scrap
I just chuck 'em out the door and I go back to the taps.

My name is Tom I’m a diplomatic thinker
I can listen to the woes of a broken hearted drinker
When the boys come in I say how ya goin’ tonight
They get a bit wild but they’re young and alright.

They tell me how to break a horse and how to brand a steer
I take their dough and listen cause that is why i’m here
They tell me bout musterin' but they don’t seem to know
That Tom their local publican did that years ago
When they’ve all hit the hay while I’m still here
I’m the bloke you never hear of servin' beer.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Jun 21 - 09:26 AM

THERE'S A RAINBOW OVER THE ROCK by Kevin Bloody Wilson. Recorded on "Looking Forward Looking Back" (2000)

video - Slim Dusty

There's a rainbow over the rock
And the Sun has started shining
I just see a flock of cockatoos fly by
And I see a silver lining
On the clouds as they roll on
Bringing life to the desert and stock
And you've gotta believe in a god
When there's a rainbow over the rock

Call it Ayers Rock or Uluru
They both mean much the same
Named after our ancestors
From both our yesterdays
Now here we stand on common ground
Still drenched from the desert rain
In awe of what's before us
And breathing in being Australian

There's a rainbow over the rock
And the Sun has started shining
I just see a flock of cockatoos fly by
And I see a silver lining
On the clouds as they roll on
Bringing life to the desert and stock
And you've gotta believe in dream time
When there's a rainbow over the rock

There stands that magic, majestic rock
The rain has washed her clean
Dressed in the colors of the rainbow
As if for a new beginning
And there's a brand new day in the horizon
And there's a brand new feeling in the air
And now that the dust has settled
Advance Australia fair

There's a rainbow over the rock
And the Sun has started shining
I just see a flock of cockatoos fly by
And I see a silver lining
On the clouds as they roll on
Bringing life to the desert and stock
And you've gotta believe in a god
When there's a rainbow over the rock

And you've gotta believe in dreamtime
When there's a rainbow over the rock
And you've gotta believe together
When there's a rainbow over the rock

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 29 Jun 21 - 09:22 PM

Another parody of 'The dying stockman'. This one is from Alan Musgrove's 'A Young Man and Able' album. He noted that it is 'a picture of inner Melbourne street life in the 1990s'.

THE DYING JUNKIE
(Alan Musgrove/Trad)

A skinny young junkie lay dying
The kerbstone supporting his head
There were no mates around him a-cryin’
As he lay in a coma near dead

But an ambulance must have been called for
For the bold paramedics appeared
And they gave him a big shot of Narcan
They saved the boy’s life it was clear

Then he screamed at the bold paramedic
‘You bastard, you’ve ruined me stone!’
And he left-hooked the bold paramedic
And he walked down the street to go home

Some days after that I was walking
When I happened to see the same boy
Being bundled into the meat wagon
On a street corner down in Fitzroy

Wrap him up like piece of fresh topside
And bury him deep down below
Where the demons and the wallopers can’t harm him
In the place where all dead junkies go

On the subject of parodies, this YT clip is worth a look if you haven't seen it. It is a parody of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Shirley Serban, a kiwi lass. The lyrics are in the clip.

Menopause Rhapsody

She is also responsible for this Covid parody:

Do Re Mi

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 01 Jul 21 - 10:09 PM

CHARLIE MOPPS
(Anon)

A long time ago, way back in history,
When all they had to drink was nothing but cups of tea
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mopps
And he invented a wonderful drink and made it of malt and hops

Chorus:
Oh, he oughta been an admiral, a sultan or a king
And to his praises we should always sing
Oh, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer
God bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer

Oh, the day that Charlie died, he knocked at heaven’s gate
He said to St Peter, ‘Now tell me how I rate’
St Peter looked at him and said, ‘Now tell me who are you?’
He said, ‘I’m Charlie Mopps’ and Peter said, ‘Pass through’

Chorus

At the Hotham, Young & Jackson’s and the Sarah Sands as well
There’s one thing you can be sure - it’s Charlie’s beer they sell
So come on all you lucky lads, at ten o’clock she stops
For five short seconds, remember Charlie Mopps

A-one-two-three-four-five

Chorus

An Australian version of a song that was created somewhere in the British Isles. The above is as printed at pages 94-95 of 'Australian Folksongs of the Land and its People' compiled by the Folk Lore Council of Australia 1974.

Youtube clip

Version collected by Bush Music Club

Mudcat thread

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Jul 21 - 08:29 AM

I can't believe I didn't post Charlie Mopps, in the early days it was the Bush Music Club' anthem.

sandra (blushing)

here are the original words as published in Singabout The Journal of Australian Folksong, Vol 3, no.3, 1958, referring to Sydney pubs, followed by the version as sung at BMC in the 21st Century.

CHARLIE MOPPS
(Anon)

A long time ago, way back in history,
When all they had to drink was nothing but cups of tea
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mopps
And he invented a wonderful drink and gave it the name of hops

Chorus:
Oh, he oughta been an admiral, a sultan or a king
And to his praises we should always sing
Oh, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer
Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer

The day that Charlie died, he knocked at heaven’s gate
He said to St Peter; ‘Now tell me how I rate’:
St Peter looked at him and he said, ‘Now who are you?’
He said; ‘I’m Charlie Mopps’ and Peter said; ‘Pass through’

Chorus

At the Windsor, the Marble Bar, the Castlereagh as well
One thing you can be sure - it’s Charlie’s beer they sell
So come on all you lucky lads, at ten o’clock she stops
For five short seconds, remember Charlie Mopps.

One... two... three, four, five - - (spoken)

CHARLIE MOPPS, an additional verse.

A bushel of hope, a quarter of malt and mix it all up with a stick -
The kind of lubrication that makes your engine tick:
Forty pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks,
It's only 4½d a pint, a shilling and tuppence in tax.
SHAME    SHAME    SHAME    SHAME    SHAME   
(Tam Murrell, Twickenham, Eng)

=============

As published by Ralph Pride in BMC's Singabout booklet 1, as sung by BMC in the 21st century -

A long time ago, way back in history,
When all they had to drink was nothing but cups of tea
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mopps
And he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops

Chorus:
Oh, he ought to be an admiral, a sultan or a king
And to his praises we should always sing
Oh, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer
Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer.

First you malt the barley, then you boil the hops,
You pitch a bit of yeast in, and when the action stops,
You pour it into bottles, then put on the tops,
And in another week or two, it's 'Cheers for Charlie Mopps.'

The day that Charlie died, he knocked at heaven’s gate
He said to St Peter, 'Tell me how I rate’
St Peter looked at him and he said, ‘Now who are you?’
He said; ‘I’m Charlie Mopps’ and Peter said; ‘Straight through.’

At the Windsor, the Castlereagh, the Marble Bar as well
One thing you can be sure, it’s Charlie’s beer they sell
So come on all you lucky lads, the froth is on the top,
For five short seconds remember Charlie Mopps.

One... two... three, four, five - - (spoken)

Chorus:
Oh, he ought to be an admiral, a sultan or a king
And to his praises we should always sing
Oh, look what he has done for us, he's filled us up with cheer
Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer.

===================

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Jul 21 - 06:28 AM

I was listening to my 3 CDs of Harry Robertson's songs & remembered Evan & Lyn's website with all his lyrics! The Mathiesons had been friends of the Robertsons since the 60s & are the official guardians of his legacy.

We've only posted 9 of his songs, so here's a less famous one, about the Vietnam War.

FREEDOM FREE FOR ALL, Lyrics: Harry Robertson
Music: “Ring The Bell Watchman” by Henry Clay Work 1855
Arranged by Evan Mathieson

video-Ring the bell watchman

On Queen Street tramway tracks — a young conscript stands
clutching a paper in one of his hands
he lights up a match — the paper starts to glow
and on the television you can see the demons go.

Chorus
See how the cops run — eight — nine — ten
Nicklin’s gallant heroes, but none of them men
they quickly seize the youth and knock him to the ground
and with strangle holds and kicks and blows they take him to the pound.

The freedom march is on — they’re marching round the town
they hold their placards up, but the coppers knock them down
the crime rate rises high — but the cops can’t spare a man
they’re busy knocking over boys who won’t fight in Vietnam.

Chorus

The women are out there — they think Australia’s free
but let them show a placard, and they will quickly see
that chivalry’s gone astray in the struggle of today
and the copper’s fist will find them first if they are in the fray.

Chorus

A slim-built youth is there — he won’t go to Vietnam
be sure you grab him tightly and twist his broken arm
we’ll take him to the dungeon — we’ll throw him in the tank
we got our orders to be rough from ‘Pineapple Frank’.

Chorus

Pineapples may be rough — on Frankie’s Nambour farm
but brutal cops in Brisbane have really done Frank harm
for opinions here today — on the Nazi-type display
are that you were wrong and you’ll be gone on next election day.

Chorus

Down in the city’s cells — among the conscript boys
some one started singing and soon we heard the noise
of the people standing in the street whose voices did return
the song that freedom fighters sing, “We Shall Overcome”.

Chorus

© Harry Robertson
and subsequently ©1995 Mrs Rita Robertson, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA
Registered with APRA/AMCOS www.apra-amcos.com.au

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jul 21 - 08:08 PM

checking Mudcat today I see Mudcatter Daniel Kelly’s take on the Suez Canal debacle

ON THE SUEZ CANAL by Daniel Kelly, March 2021

video

Oh, dat ship she stuck and she ain’t gonna move,
Ain’t gonna move Oh Lord,
Oh, dat ship she stuck and she ain’t gonna move,
On dat Suez Canal,

On the way from China up to Rotterdam,
..
Oh, dat ship she called the Ever Given,
..

In the big dust storm she ran aground,
..
The tug-boats could’na turn her ‘round,
..

The small back hoe gonna dig her out,
..
Gonna Take ten year, or round about,
..

The shippers they is a mighty sore,
..
Lost ‘em a few billion or more,
..

~~~~~~~~~~
My tribute to the unfolding #Evergiven #SuezCanal situation.

Before people comment with cultural appropriation claims, I have sung this in the style of African American/Slave/Worker songs, often sung in the canal shipping industry. It was these songs that were picked up by European sailors and turned into many of what we call 'shantys'. 'Roll the Woodpile Down' being an excellent example.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 06:03 AM

B'coz I'm still busy here at home, I'm just gonna quickly stick this one in here, that is the latest post on the "VERANDAH MUSIC" blog : https://verandahmusic.blogspot.com/2021/07/an-australian-hunting-song-1861.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campa


AN AUSTRALIAN HUNTING SONG - 1861

Here’s a little ditty from 1861 that reflects the settler fascination with shooting everything on sight. Not a great piece of literature, but an amusing sidelight on attitudes and also an indication that the bush ballad was nt the only way to write about the bush.





AN AUSTRALIAN HUNTING SONG.

[BY ONE WHO PADDLES HIS OWN CANOE.]



I've travelled about a bit In my time, of amusements I've seen a few.

But found all tame compared with the game of hunting the kangaroo.

Your wants are small, and you care not at all, so your dogs are but swift and true;

On your pig-skin across, you may shout till you're hoarse, as you follow the kangaroo.



If fond of sport of any sort, I'll try to prove to you

That there's no sort of fun can come up to a run

with an old-man kangaroo.



I like no strife, but enjoy this life as much as a man can do,

And don't think It wrong to spend all day long in chasing the kangaroo.

I lie down at dark, and ' rise with the lark,' and seek out a friend or two,

Who delight in the fun of a rattling good run with an old-man kangaroo.



Some talk of the Play, which is good in its way— that is, if it's something new,

But I think it folly, and not half so jolly, as hunting the kangaroo

As on horse, with your dogs, over fences and logs, and swamps you go slushing through,

You care not for wet il you only can get a good run with a kangaroo.



If far from your home you should happen to roam, and your tucker is quite done, too ;

What need you desire but a good roasting fire, and steaks from a kangaroo?

For though hunted for pleasure, 'tis thought quite a treasure, by those who are fond of a stew,

And gourmands will stoop to a basin of soup from the tall of a kangaroo.



This parody's fair as far as it goes, but, better than that, 'tis true

That many men aim at less Innocent game than hunting the kangaroo.

And stories are told of those who have sold themselves and their fortunes too.

For the head of a woman— but give me the tail of a plump young kangaroo.



I'm fond of tales of any sort, but this is the tale that's true,

No tale you can tell will go down half so well as the tail of a kangaroo—



FOR SOUP.



Hamilton Spectator and Grange District Advertiser (Vic. : 1860 - 1870) Wed 17 Jul 1867 Page 3

Sandra may be able to suggest a likely tune?


R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Jul 21 - 08:16 AM

I'm not a musician, I'd need to ask someone - looks like a job for Dave Johnson who has put tunes to old songs.

sandra (who can't hold a tune on her own & forgets words = chorus singer!)

Sydney is in a 3-week lockdown at the moment ending next week, & my folk club meets the following weekend (covid willing & fingers crossed.)
We had to move our June concert to later in the year but would find it very hard to move another concert as there are a number of festivals later this year (covid willing) & finding a spot for an extra concert is probably impossible.

Singing along to my CDs is not good enough

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 13 Jul 21 - 06:26 AM

CALL TO SONG by Chris Clarke

video

Oh come all ye who carry songs
And have the voice to share them
They’re only songs, they right no wrongs
But tyrants do beware them

A song can carry all our grief
Our story and our laughter
So come and join your voice to ours
And we’ll be friends hereafter

So if you hear this call to song
Come up and join our number
Or else your voice and all your songs
Are lost in idle slumber

Come one and all who heed the call
And bring your voices’ power
Undying friends when singing ends
We’ll live no finer hour.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 14 Jul 21 - 08:21 PM

WAR
(M.Gilmore/M.Somerville)

Out in the dust he lies
Flies in his mouth
Ants in his eyes

I stood at the door
Where he went out
Full-grown man
Ruddy and stout

The beat of the drum
Was clods on the heart
For all that the regiment
Looked so smart

I heard the crackle
Of hasty cheers
Run like the breaking
Of unshed tears

And just for a moment
As he went by
I had sight of his face
And a flash of his eye

He died a hero's death
They said
When they came to tell me
My boy was dead

But out in the street
A dead dog lies
Flies in his mouth
Ants in his eyes

Words by Mary Gilmore 2 April 1916. Published in 'Under the Wilgas' 1932.
Music by Maggie Somerville who set several Mary Gilmore poems to music and recorded them
on her 'The Forest Prayed: Poems of Mary Gilmore' album.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Jul 21 - 10:58 PM

Review by Dale Dengate of 'The Forest Prayed. Poems of Mary Gilmore'

The Forest Prayed is a truly delightful CD of Maggie Somerville’s settings for the poems of Mary Gilmore. The music is totally appropriate & such pleasant listening one wonders why it hasn’t been done before, in the way Henry Lawson’s poems walked off the pages into songs. Maggie has written tunes, which are so evocative of the bush melodies that you can almost smell the gum leaves burning beneath the billy tea. The backings are varied but over all seem to include every instrument found in a bush band & more. These musicians play sensitive accompaniments to Gilmore’s words that are sung with great clarity enabling every word to be heard

Dame Mary Gilmore led a distinguished & romantic life as a humanist, political activist and social reformer and supporter of other artists. She was an acclaimed writer in her own day and I well recall the portrait of her in the Fellowship of Australian Writers rooms where the Bush Music Club met. On her death, the Bush Music Club put out a special Singabout magazine with a pen sketch of Mary and an obituary by John Meredith, page 6 . The most famous portrait of Gilmore was Dobell’s painting commissioned for her 90th birthday; it aroused controversy as it depicted an old woman with slim face & wispy white hair that Dobell painted so delicately but dressed in formal old fashioned lace and satin brocade quite different from the younger portrait once on the ten dollar note. Dobell’s portrait has been included on the attractively presented CD cover & booklet. This booklet is very comprehensive with dates of publication of the poems. The historical context of the poems is significant to the varying sentiments expressed.

There are 16 tracks that cover Gilmore’s poems set to Somerville’s music. The topics include many Australian themes including the environment and a love of nature as well as a concern for the plight of the indigenous peoples, women’s experience and World war II fears with the threatened invasion of the Japanese forces, and tributes to contemporary poets, Henry Lawson and Shaw Neilson.

Maggie Somerville has taken on a well over due task and created beautiful and thoughtful songs that I hope many will learn to sing or they will continue to enjoy listening to the poems of Mary Gilmore.

In the 50s & 60s musicians including John Arcott (better known as Ralph Traill) put some of her poems to music, but the arrangements unfortunately didn't get in to the public consciousness. Another composer was 16 year old BMC member Jennifer Mann

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 15 Jul 21 - 08:43 PM

Sandra, thanks for posting Dale's review. Here is another good'un from the album.

Note in lyric booklet: Mary Gilmore clearly felt that fellow poet, Henry Lawson, was very poorly treated during his life and that his state funeral in 1922 was no compensation.

The Dead Poet (for the pioneer)
(M.Gilmore/M.Somerville)

Turn down his glass on the bar
Take up the cards he let fall
Sort them and count what they are
Now he has taken the call

Joker and sequence and flush -
Trumpeters blowing before -
Flowers, cathedral and crush
What could we give to him more?
Sorrow he had for his portion
Shame - and the cold of a cell
Cruelty, blame and extortion
Hatred, bitter as hell

Poverty, pity, contempt
Patronage, judgment of fools
Always some clerk to pre-empt
Right to read him the rules!

Lonely he walked in your streets
Solitude lone as the grave
Now with your mighty he seats
Spotlight, centre and nave

Ah, had you but given him half
Living, you gave at his death!
Surely his ghost of a laugh
Shakes on the air like breath!

14 October 1922 - published in 'Murray Pioneer', 15 December 1922.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 17 Jul 21 - 10:53 PM

PINT POT AND BILLY
(Anon)

I dined with the swells in famed Piccadilly
Took tea with my cousins in Horsemonger Lane
And now I am stranded on my own native shore
I'll go back to Australia to the goldfields again

When I asked for a nobbler they asked what I meant, sir
I called them all 'new chums' and that served them right
Oh dear, don't I sigh for my famous stock horses
I had when droving on One Man Plain

A mountain flash rider, a son of old Scroggins
Oh dear, don't I wish I was back there again
Oh don't you remember Ben Hall and his troupe, sir
Who stuck up the escort and well-guarded mail

And about that wretch Morgan I could yet relate, sir
But history would serve me to tell a sad tale
Then give me Australia with my pint pot and billy
Making tea in the shade of a gum tree again

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Jul 21 - 11:41 PM

Warren has been busy posting his albums, 3 on the 8th July, must have been a lockdown activity!

Maybe there are more to come?

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 20 Jul 21 - 10:25 AM

More from the pen of the wonderful Kev Carmody. I was reminded by Amergin's 2013 post in the currently resurrected thread "A Last Song Circle for Katlaughing" :


MOONSTRUCK

Kev Carmody

When the western sky’s ablaze
And the sun lays down to rest
When the curlew starts to cry
And the birds fly home to roost
When the full moon begins to rise
Satin moon beams on my face
Beauty of the night goes far beyond
Far beyond both time and place

[Chorus]
   No-one’s lost who finds the moon
   Or the sweetness of the wattle’s bloom
   Rebirth with the rain in spring
   Or the dingo’s howl on the autumn wind
   Spirit of the moon here calls me home
   Spirit of the moon here guides me home

Moon it draws me to the scrub
Night voices raised in song
Past the water lilies bloom
In that tranquil billabong
Walkin’ on the shadowed leaves
That are reflected by the moon
To the rocks and hills an’ caves
Where the dingo’s pups are born


   No one's lost who finds the moon
   Or the sweetness of the wattle's bloom
   Rebirth with the rain in spring
   Dingo's howl on the autumn wind
   Spirit of the moon here calls me home, whoa
   Spirit of the moon here guides me home

Stars ablazin’ across the sky
In the brilliance of the Milky Way
I’m surrounded by the beauty
Of every night and every day
Walkin’ towards that morning moon set
Caress of moonlight on my skin
Knowin’ that freedom of not carin’
Of why I’m goin’ or where I’ve been


   No one's lost who finds the moon
   Or the sweetness of the wattle's bloom
   Rebirth with the rain in spring
   Dingo's howl on the autumn wind
   Spirit of the moon here calls me home, whoa
   Spirit of the moon here guides me home


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340mRtOIWvw

sung by Sara Storer, and Kev Carmody speaks

from 2007 Cannot Buy My Soul : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannot_Buy_My_Soul



R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 24 Jul 21 - 11:28 PM

Back in December last year, JennieG posted the lyrics to 'The Cross of the South'. I stumbled upon this rollicking rendition in a clip by Seona McDowell who was totally unknown to me. Evidently, she made an LP of Australian folksongs for Folkways which later became Smithsonian Folkways. Despite the incongruous bluegrass backing, it is not without its charm.

Youtube clip

Some info on Seona McDowell on Paul the Stockman's site:

Click

Where did she perform in Australia?

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 25 Jul 21 - 01:01 AM

Back on May 23rd, I posted Kevin Johnson’s song “THE WHALES ARE SINGING TO ME (A WHALER’S LAMENT)” and I had meant to also post Fielding & Dyer’s popular number from c.1971, loosely based on Melville’s “Moby Dick”.
Now I notice Sandra has posted in that old thread about a remake of the film/story/song, so here it is :


THE WHALE

Terry Fielding & Fred Dyer


(Refrain :) Di Di Di Di Di Di Di Di

They sailed from port one morning when the weather it was fair
A gentle breeze it pushed them and no one gave a care
They sang and danced and laughed that night and opened up a keg
They're out to catch the monster whale that took the captain's leg.

Refrain

The Captain said a piece of gold for he who sees my whale
So bend your backs and row me lads; I know that we won't fail

(Chorus :)
Bend your backs and row me lads and take me to me whale
To-night we'll sing and dance and tomorrow night we'll sail
We'll sail into the harbour; no prouder men there'll be
We'll show them all we've captured the monster from the sea.

Refrain

They saw the whale one morning when the weather it was fair
The men were white as ghosts, but the Captain didn't care
I'll take this whale myself he said; the weak can stay behind
The strong can share my glory and tonight they'll share my wine.

Refrain

The whale it came up closer; it was bigger than the sky
They lowered down the longboat and they heard the captain cry.

Chorus

The whale it came so close that it almost tipped the boat
The captain raised his spear and he rammed it down its throat
The whale it gave a mournful cry and lifted its great tail
And brought it down a-smashing on their small boat like a gale.

Now a hundred years have passed since the Captain and his men
Went below to spend their days in Davy Jones' den
The whale it goes on living but inside it wears a scar
And if you’re ever near that place, a voice calls from afar.

Chorus

We’ll show them all we've captured the monster from the sea (X3)


c.1971 and loosely based upon Herman Melville’s classic MOBY DICK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYxE5FevaYg&t=72s

[YT clip is illustrated with clips from the film “Moby Dick” with Patrick Stewart]



R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Jul 21 - 04:31 AM

oops, I posted this 17 Sep 20 - 05:41 AM, page 5.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 25 Jul 21 - 08:01 AM

Crikey! So you did!
(not sure I even remembered that song, at that time :)

Apologies, Sandra.

At least we don't have too many duplications for the overall amount of songs, eh?!

R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Jul 21 - 09:54 AM

I learnt that song by hearing it when it was Top 40!

I'd forgotten it, but sometime after a friend took over a folk club in 1995 (folk club? are there still folk clubs?) I heard it again & sang along cos I remembered all the words.

sandra (who still does & nowadays sings along with the video)

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 26 Jul 21 - 10:21 PM

THE BALLAD OF COBB & CO
(Anon)

There's a hustle and a bustle in the old hotel tonight
The bar is full to bursting and the lights are gay and bright
They're waiting for the horses that are beating through the night
And they're waiting for the coach of Cobb & Co

Cobb & Co, Cobb & Co
And they're waiting for the coach of Cobb & Co

There's Billy Jones the jackeroo still breathless from his ride
He’s bought a brand-new sulky and it’s standin' just outside
He's waiting for the pretty girl who's going to be his bride
And she's coming on the coach of Cobb & Co

Cobb & Co, Cobb & Co
And she's coming on the coach of Cobb & Co

Now the horses hooves are drumming, in the distance they're a-coming
A far-off cloud is moving ‘cross the plain
At breakneck speed they're driving, pretty soon they'll be arriving
There'll be lots of cheer when old friends meet again

There's Dan the old prospector and he's made his bag of gold
He made a lucky strike, about two thousand pounds I'm told
He's off to see the city lights before he gets too old
And he's leaving on the coach of Cobb & Co

Cobb & Co, Cobb & Co
And he's leaving on the coach of Cobb & Co

Jim Burke is mighty worried 'cause the drinks are running dry
Unless he gets some money soon, he'll kiss his farm goodbye
He’s written to the bank and now he's waiting their reply
And he hopes it's on the coach of Cobb & Co

Cobb & Co, Cobb & Co
And he hopes it's on the coach of Cobb & Co

The driver's whips are cracking and the horses hooves are dragging
As across the red and dusty plain they race
There's a distant light a-burning and the passengers are yearning
For the comfort of a warm and kindly place

And someone shouts ‘they're coming’ and the door is opened wide
There's a rattle and a clatter and the coach is there outside
With horses hot and steamy from their long and dusty ride
With the coach that bears the name of Cobb & Co

Cobb & Co, Cobb & Co
With the coach that bears the name of Cobb & Co

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: JennieG
Date: 26 Jul 21 - 11:38 PM

Oh my, Stewie....."The cross of the south" bluegrass style......not so sure. I do like bluegrass music but perhaps this one could have been left alone, it's too fast to get the words - and, as it's telling a story, that's a bit of a waste.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jul 21 - 05:45 AM

Lionel Long's version is everywhere on youtube, but he was more a country singer than a folk singer.

extract from wikipedia (early 60s) - It was this folk music revival that made EMI Columbia insist that Long move away from his love of country music and record folk music.

But he did put out a lot of folk records.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Jul 21 - 06:25 AM

WHAT IS IN DOCUMENT J? by Joe Fernside, 1954

audio - Joe singing it in the John Meredith Collection, NLA Oral History collection

Oh, what is this Document J?
That's what we ask today.
There's no-one knowin', says Justice Owen,
What's in Document J?

Oh, there is a dirty big spy,
He's got a big Yankee eye.
He's a workers' snob, his name is Bob,
Would that be in Document J?

They're selling us out to the yanks,
The marbled millionaire cranks;
They control our oil, our uranium spoil,
Would that be in Document J?

They sympathize with the Japs.
They're saying they're very good chaps.
For war they'll train, they'll addle the brain
Would that be in Document J?

The poor are all born to be slaves,
They work them to their graves.
Let us unite, defend our right,
Would that be in Document J?

Oh, we love our own native land,
But we don't like the rich robbers' hand.
We will cleave to the poor, for evermore,
Would that be in Document J?

I've been doing a bit of research recently into Document J which was a prominent item in the Petrov affair. It was written by an Australian journalist, Rupert Lockwood who was a member of the Communist Party, & was one of the papers brought out of the embassy by Petrov when he defected in 1954. The day it was declared secret by the Royal Commission, the Communist party printed copies of what Lockwood said was his original document, not the fake referred to in the Royal Commission! John Meredith was one of the members who sold copies for a shilling. Document J was of great interest to the Commission & the public, including Communist Party members so Joe, a bean farmer in Terrigal who was a Communist, wrote a song about it, & sent the words to John Meredith.

Lyrics & info from Keith McKenry's biography of John Meredith.

wikipedia reporting on Soviet espionage in Australia, aka Petrov affair

National library Public List (36 items) Research Question: In what ways was the Petrov Affair used as propaganda by various interests in Australia from 1954 to 1956?

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 27 Jul 21 - 09:25 PM

Fair point, Jennie. I didn't mind it. After almost 40 years exclusively collecting CDs, I have bought a new turntable and have been dipping into my extensive bluegrass vinyl collection. However, I primarily posted the link because I had never heard of the lass.

Given the price of vinyl records, I reckon I'll stick to purchasing CDs.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 01 Aug 21 - 10:45 PM

MY YOUNGEST SON CAME HOME TODAY
(Eric Bogle)

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The flutes and drums beat out the time
As in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher’s tray
My youngest son came home today

My youngest son was a fine young man
With a wife, a daughter and two sons
A man he would have lived and died
Til by a bullet sanctified
Now he’s a saint, or so they say
They brought their saint home today

Above the narrow Belfast streets
An Irish sky looks down and weeps
On children’s blood in gutters spilled
For dreams of freedom unfulfilled
As part of freedom’s price to pay
My youngest son came home today

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The flutes and drums beat out the time
As in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher’s tray
My youngest son came home today
And this time he’s home to stay

An old’un but a good’un related to the period of the ‘troubles’ in Ulster. From Eric’s ‘Scraps of Paper’ album.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Aug 21 - 08:59 PM

The Lockdown Song - Sincere apologies to Tony Hatch from Ralph Pride. Tune: “Downtown” Petula Clark, 1964.


When you’re at home, and you are feeling so lonely
It’s because - you’re in ...... .........LOCK DOWN
Staring at walls and wandering aimlessly ‘round
Is so much fun - you’re in ..............LOCK DOWN
Listening to Gladys, on the telly listing cases
Of people in the hospital, with plumbing in their faces,
Gasping for breath...............Bloody near death !

Chorus:
But that will not happen to you –
You can forget all your troubles,
Forget all your cares, you’re in ...LOCK DOWN
You will be safe - you’re in .......LOCK DOWN
Socially distancing ................LOCK DOWN
No better place you can be........Lockdown......Lockdown

Stay home from work, no need to go anywhere
And it’s because - you’re in ......LOCK DOWN
Think about the money, you can save on the fare
And it’s because - you’re in ......LOCK DOWN
But you can still go out and have, a run around the city
But don’t you go too far away, it’s really such a pity,
They’ll send you back home.................Wearing your mask!

Isn’t it nice we can rely on the army
It’s because - you’re in ............LOCK DOWN
Keeping us safely far away from each other
It’s because - you’re in ............LOCK DOWN
If you’re quarantining and, don’t answer at the knocking
They’ll send around a Bushmaster, and copters chop, chop, chopping
Coming for you............. A big hefty fine!

When it’s all over, and we’re all out in clover
And we’re all - not in...................LOCK DOWN
We can go take a cab, because we’ve all had our jab
And we’re all - not in...................LOCK DOWN
We won’t have to go and get those, things stuck up our noses,
Tough about the ones who now are, pushing up the roses
They didn’t survive.................Where were their jabs?

Last Chorus: (sung softer & softer until you finish with a whisper)
But that did not happen to you,
So, forget all your troubles,
Forget all your cares, because.....LOCK DOWN
We were so safe, because...........LOCK DOWN
Socially distancing................LOCK DOWN
Wearing our masks, because.........LOCK DOWN
Staying at home, because...........LOCK DOWN
Jabs in our arms, because..........LOCK DOWN
Queued up for hours, for ...... ...LOCK DOWN
Swabs up our noses, and ...........LOCK DOWN
Bloody near destitute.................LOCKDOWN
etc.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Aug 21 - 09:08 PM

eek! I hit the wrong button - Petula singing 'Downtown' for those who need reminding of the tune!

Ralph lives in a large regional city that has not (yet?) had a lockdown, but as it is on a major highway & not far from other lockdowns, covids are probably eyeing the population.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 25 Aug 21 - 08:58 PM

DROVER (RAINBIRD IN THE TEA-TREE)
(Peter Cape)

When the rainbird sings in the tea-tree
And there's cloud on the hills at the back
Look out your window and you'll see me
Riding down the track

I'll be droving a mob of black-polls
And me dogs'll be footsore and done
But I'll sing out as I go past your window
To show you, you're the one

It's a long drove out from the Puhoi
By Woodcocks and Kaipara Flat
And I'm sick of me oilskins and gumboots
And the rain belting down on my hat

Got a stock whip over my shoulder
And a plain golden ring in my pack
So perhaps when I get to your window
I'll be pulling in off the track

Lyrics as printed in 'An Ordinary Joker: the life & songs of Peter Cape'.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 25 Aug 21 - 11:55 PM

Nice one, Stewie - very fond of this song. And lovely to sing along with (like so many Kiwi comps).

Consequently, I posted it as "Rainbird in the Tea Tree" on March 25th of this year :)
Which just goes to show that you can't keep a good song down, eh!!


I'm still a few weeks away from getting back to my intended/promised songposts here in this thread, as I'm still rather busy.

But some day soon ..... :)


Cheers, R-J

PS

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 26 Aug 21 - 12:01 AM

Bugga. That "TAB" button gets me every time!

I was going to say that Chris Priestly seems to be going through his "back catalogue" at present and posting misc. recordings from earlier times. He has many excellent songs and stories and his website is well worth investigating :

https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisjpriestley/videos


R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 27 Aug 21 - 08:34 PM

R-J, my apologies for double posting. Before posting, I did an edit/find and it was not found. If I had removed 'Drover' from the title search, it would have found your post.

I too have been busy with other things, but will get back to posting some songs soon.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Aug 21 - 10:16 PM

I haven't forgotten either, I'm collecting stuff - one project is 4 songs written in the 60s about the same event!

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 27 Aug 21 - 11:36 PM

Well, good to know that We Three are in it for the long haul !!!
And JennieG reads everything - and hopefully GerryM too?!

But anyone else still visiting/reading???
And,
Anyone Else care to post any Aussie/Kiwi songs - pleeeeeze!

Sandra can send you the spreadsheet indices of what already exists in this thread (although I sadly admit to being behind in indexing from April 21 onwards :(   This turning 70 business puts added stresses on Life's Workload!!!

But sooooon!!!

Cheers, R-J

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Aug 21 - 11:59 PM

spreadsheet no. 1, 625 songs alphabetically by title, Aug - Dec 20

spreadsheet no. 2, 390 songs by date from Jan 21

both spreadsheets give name of Catter, time & date posted & sheet number as we have 26 sheets on this thread

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: GUEST,John Flynn
Date: 28 Aug 21 - 02:04 AM

Re Posting by Stewie on 26 July - Cob & Co
This was also recorded by Dunedin Band "Bluegrass Expedition" on Kiwi Records SLC-146 "Settling In" (1976).

I'm still here regularly

John in Perth

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: rich-joy
Date: 28 Aug 21 - 04:17 AM

Good to know, John!!

R-J :)

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Aug 21 - 08:50 AM

THE PORK BARREL SONG by of former Mudcatter Chris Maltby 2021 – Tune: “Travelling Down the Castlereagh”
Written for the 8th John Dengate Memorial Get Together,
video of the entire Zoom concert Chris's contribution starts about 1.01:

My name it is Scott Morrison, I like to speak in tongues,
There’s nothing I like better than slithering up the rungs
But when it comes to leadership, I haven’t got a clue
So to win the next election boys, I’ll tell you what I’ll do:

Pork, boys, pork – there’s not the smallest doubt,
We’ll need a lot of pork or we’ll be voted out
I’ll whistle up Josh Friedenberg, he also loves a lurk
And we’ll gussy up the budget for a bit more pork.

There’s always an inducement or a scam a vote to buy,
Building women’s change rooms or car parks in the sky
Bridget’s got a spreadsheet all black, blue and pink
To identify the marginals and cover up the stink.

And it’s cash, boys, cash – there’s never any doubt,
Announce loads of cash or we’ll be voted out
It’s easy making promises when you rarely have to pay
Just don’t forget the donors and you’ll be OK.

Now if there is a crisis, well I don’t hold a hose
Quarantine or vaccines you can stick ‘em up your nose
I’ll just make more announcements, they’ll never seem to stop
I’ve got a new one ready whenever any flop.

And it’s dodge, boys, dodge – there’s never any doubt,
I can’t be held responsible or I’ll be voted out
I’ll background all the media, and other clever lurks
Rupert will protect me, that’s how the system works.

So he’s got a useless front bench and women he can’t stand,
It’s plunder and destruction all across the land
This sorry tale of Scummo, you know it’s bloody true,
Take my advice, just listen and I’ll tell you what to do.

So it’s shift, boys, shift – there isn’t the slightest doubt,
If you want a bloody future, you’ll have to vote him out
Go tell your friends and neighbours, use body, heart and soul
And remember on election day to dump him in a hole.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 21 - 05:47 AM

it must be Christmas! Bruce Watson just sent me his promised list of songs - 25 of them, & only one has been posted - Reedy River Still flows, winner of the Bush Music Club 2014 Diamond Jubilee Song Competition, posted 28th Dec 2020.

THE THREE LIVES OF SHIRLEY ANDREWS, (Tune: Mudgee Waltz), © Bruce Watson Bruce Watson Music

video

Shirley Andrews was Australia's foremost authority on traditional social dance. She was also a driving force behind the 1967 referendum on Aboriginal rights, and a bio-chemist who made a significant contribution to the treatment of bi-polar disorder. The tune for this song is the Mudgee Waltz, a traditional Australian dance tune that Shirley danced to many many times.

Chorus:
She danced with all her heart and she showed us how
She fought for people’s rights, speaking strong and loud
And she showed us what a woman in science can do
We thank you so much, Shirley Andrews

As a young girl she saw Pavlova on the stage
Lit a fire in her heart from an early age
She wrote the bible of Australian folk dance
She’d be up on that dance floor when she had half a chance

Chorus

When she saw injustice she stood up to fight it
Racism was rife — she vowed to right it
She led the campaign in ’67 when all Australians were asked
To recognise our First Peoples as equals at last

Chorus

In the face of male bias she showed her defiance
She shone as a woman in the men’s world of science
Her research into lithium was so thorough and so clever
That it changed mental health care forever

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 21 - 06:00 AM

THE OLD BUSH DANCE © Bruce Watson. Bruce Watson Music

bandcamp

video - with the Emu Creek Band, 1998

Old time dances are one of the most delightful parts of Australian folk culture. This song is sung to two slightly adapted traditional tunes: the Old Valetta Waltz and the beautiful Spanish Waltz.

It’s Saturday night in a small country town,
The women squeeze into their long flowing gowns,
The men swap their overalls for a tie and a suit,
Round up the kids, and it’s off in the ute.
At the hall ladies glide through the still summer air,
As the young and the old dance away the week’s cares,
Chasséeing, swinging and clapping their hands,
As they sway to the tunes of the accordion band.

Chorus:
They played, they played, those fingers danced lightly,
The notes cascade, we all danced so sprightly,
Those far off days, those Saturday nights,
When we danced the Waltz Cotillions & the Polka Quadrille.
(Instrumental - same tune as chorus)

It’s “Take your partners, please,” says the caller once more,
As the weary hot couples find their way to the floor,
For the Alberts Quadrille and the Waltz Country Dance,
A short introduction, then up strikes the band.
Young couples dance closely, some awkward and shy,
As the mothers and fathers keep a close watchful eye,
The kids weave and dart like a flock of galahs,
As the music drifts up through the night to the stars.

Chorus and instrumental

Now it’s karaoke bars and it’s poker machines,
For some people that’s what a good time out means,
Not for them the concertina, the banjo and bones,
The button accordion or the fiddle’s sweet tones.
Real music is people like you and me here,
Not woofers and tweeters and electronic gear.
So let’s sing and let’s dance for the music of old,
May it live on and on, may it shine through like gold.

Chorus and instrumental

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 21 - 06:18 AM

THE BEANIE SING © Bruce Watson 2010. Bruce Watson Music

video -The Beanie Song at Humph Hall, with a singing, beanie wearing audience

Bruce sang this one winter night at my folk club, The Loaded Dog in 2010 & took pics of members wearing beanies as he was collecting photos at the time. As always, I was wearing a hat, not a beanie, so I sent him a pic of one of my bears wearing a lovely felt beanie & if you don't blink you can see it!

Way way back around the dawn of time
When humans stepped out of the primordial slime
First they invented clothes then they invented the hat
Then someone said, "You can do better than that!"

Chorus:
You gotta have a beanie (You gotta have a beanie)
You gotta have a beanie (You gotta have a beanie)
You gotta have a beanie
Put it on your head

You can make 'em out of polar fleece or make 'em out of wool
You can make' em out of felt, which is really really cool
You can weave 'em, you can knot' em, they can even be crocheted
If you've got yourself a beanie, you've really got it made

Chorus

Now, every year in June way out in Alice Springs
They have a beanie festival, and oh what joy it brings
But Alice is so far to go for folks like you and me
So now we've got a festival right here in Torquay

Chorus

What do you call a beanie that's past its prime?
A has-beanie
What do you call a beanie designed by Paris Hilton?
A wanna beanie
What do you call a beanie that's been cooked and put into a can?
A baked beanie

Bridge:
I don't adore a fedora
A trilby doesn't thrill me
A beret isn't very good - compared to a beanie
A sombrero I won't wear, oh
A panama's anathema
A turban's so suburban - compared to a beanie

Chorus

So if you've listened to my story, to all the things I've said
You'll get yourself a beanie, and put it on your head
They're every shape and size, from a house to a zucchini
And an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot beanie

Chorus

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 21 - 06:43 AM

AMAZON © Bruce Watson Bruce Watson Music

video - Amazon
bandcamp

This tragic loss of forests continues. The song has been recorded by several artists including Eric Bogle. It won the Declan Affley memorial Songwriting Award at the 1990 Australian National Folk Festival in Kuranda.

Chorus:
In the time it takes to sing this song,
There’ll be four acres cleared in the Amazon.

The jungle burns all through the night,
They say you can see it from a satellite.
The smoke's so thick for miles around,
They have to close the airports down.
The green of the jungle turns to ?aming red,
As another cattle ranch gets the go-ahead.
Now hamburgers grow where the forest once stood,
Somehow I get the feeling that we've all been fooled.

Chorus

I heard a man on the TV say
That if they take the forest away
The world will be ruined, our future will go,
He's a Kayapo, so he should know.
But this very same man still cuts down trees,
For him it's a question of necessity,
A family to feed, and he must pay the rent,
But when you add it all up it just doesn't make sense.

Chorus

I heard about a man called Chico Mendes,
He fought the cattle ranchers head to head,
He taught the rubber-tappers to stand up and fight,
To protect the forest, to protect their rights.
But the ranchers had their claims to lay,
They wouldn't let a conservationist stand in their way,
One night at his home they took him unawares –
Forty bullets in the back for Chico Mendes.

Instrumental (first half of verse)

(Repeat second half of Verse One)

Chorus

Now hamburgers grow where the forest once stood,
Another twenty years it might be gone for good

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Sep 21 - 07:02 AM

I AM THE VERY MODEL OF A MODERN FOREIGN MINISTER, Words © Bruce Watson (Tune Arthur Sullivan) Bruce Wa

https://brucewatsonmusic.bandcamp.com/track/i-am-the-very-model-of-a-modern-foreign-minister

video- The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company

Andrew Downer was Australian’s from 1996 to 2007. He was quite a character.

I am the very model of a modern foreign minister,
My name is Alexander, and I’m not the least bit sinister,
I trot around the globe to proudly represent Australia,
I got the job ’cos as a party head I was a faili-ure.

My Mummy and my Daddy gave me such a dandy start in life,
They introduced me early to the joys of Liberal Party life,
I really am a pillock — (whoops, a pillar) of Adelaide society,
I’m cuddly as a teddy bear — that’s why you all desire me!

I can name the states of Africa in order alphabetical,
I never answer questions that are purely hypothetical.
In short, across the Commonwealth, from Canberra to Westminister,
I am the very model of a modern foreign minister.

I am the very model of a modern foreign diplomat,
Take any third world country I can say precisely where it’s at,
I’ve met with all their leaders and I get on just a treat with them,
They call me Alexander, which is really rather sweet of them.

Those nasty pasty terrorists will soon no longer trouble you,
’Cos me and Little Johnny are such mates with old George W,
I’ll fight that war on terror, I’ll be strong, I won’t be lenient,
Except in certain circumstances where it’s not convenient.

With rhetoric impressive my opponents I deflate ’em,
I can quote the words of Gladstone and of Churchill all verbatim.
In short, across the Commonwealth, from Canberra to Westminister,
I am the very model of a modem foreign minister.

I am the very model of a cocktail party animal,
With huge expense account, although my impact is quite minimal,
My overwhelming charm I use in full and frank discussi-ons,
And when I stuff it up I just ignore the repercussi-ons.

I’ve an extraordinary grasp of international relati-ons,
In tough negotiati-ons I show a lot of pati-ence,
I deal so diplomatically with problems I confront (you see),
That the leaders of the world they say to me, “What a great count-ery!”

I initiate initiatives completely ineffectual,
But that’s of no concern to me because I’m so cute and sexual.
In short, across the Commonwealth, from Canberra to Westminister,
I am the very model of a modern foreign minister.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: Stewie
Date: 14 Sep 21 - 11:25 PM

BY THE ARAFURA SEA
(Eric Bogle)

When the warm tropic winds blow down from the north
I fancy I can taste the salt sea spray
And smell once more the sweet hibiscus bloom
Hear the rustling of the palm trees as they sway
And in another time, in another place
I'm a young man again I used to be
When I fell in love with the Tiwi girl
By the Arafura Sea

Her soft dark skin was velvet to the touch
Her eyes were black as coal
And in those eyes I sometimes glimpsed
A wise and ancient soul
The moon and the stars caught in her hair
And lit a path to infinity
When I made love to my Tiwi girl
By the Arafura Sea

Too soon the money and the jobs moved on
And as a slave to both then so did I
Though I swore to her that one day I would return
She knew it far beyond man's careless lies
So sure of her world, so sure of her place
She would not go away with me
And so I left my Tiwi girl
By the Arafura Sea

When the warm tropic winds blow down from the north
To my home here in the dry dusty south
Those old memories that those north winds bring
Are bitter sweet ashes in my mouth
But the bitterness is just a vain regret
The sweet dust somehow comforts me
When I think of my Tiwi girl
By the Arafura Sea

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Australia/NZ Songbook
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Sep 21 - 03:03 AM

Another song about Arafura is 'Arafura Pearl' by Ali Mills. I can't readily find the words online, but I'm sure they are there somewhere!