Mudcat Australia-New Zealand Songbook

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 05:15 AM

enjoy your beer, rich-joy.

I've finished transferring the songs to a spreadsheet & will send it to Rich-Joy for proof reading!

my original doc was a mess, to put it politely, sometimes I jumped numbers - oops, I dunno how ...

If anyone wants a copy after it's proofread, just ask.

sandra

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 05:21 PM

Today, 16th December, is the anniversary of the so-called 'Rothbury Riot' in which Norman Brown was murdered by police. Norman was my mother's cousin and his story is one of family sadness - his younger sister Dorothy had died just three years earlier, so his mother lost both her children in tragic circumstances. (Norman's sister and I share the same middle name, Grace; I was named for her)

Norman Brown
Words by Dorothy Hewitt, Tune: Traditional (Bold Nelson's Praise)

There was a very simple man,
Honest and quiet, yet he became
The mate of every working man,
And every miner knows his name.

CHORUS
Oh Norman Brown, oh Norman Brown
The murderin' coppers they shot him down,
They shot him down in Rothbury town,
A working man called Norman Brown.

"An honest man," the parson said,
And dropped the clods upon his head,
But honest man or not, he's dead
And that's the end of Norman Brown.

Coal bosses wiped their hands and sighed,
"It is a pity that he died."
It will inflame the countryside,
And all because of Norman Brown.

At pit-top meetings and on strike
In every little mining town,
When miners march for bread and rights
There marches honest Norman Brown.

He thunders at the pit-top strike,
His voice is in the women's tears,
With banner carried shoulder-high
He's singing down the struggling years.

A miner's pick is in his hand,
His song is shouted through the land,
A land that's free and broad and brown,
The land that bred us Norman Brown.

Last chorus
Oh Norman Brown, oh Norman Brown,
The murderin' coppers they shot him down.
They shot him down in Rothbury town,
To live forever ... Norman Brown.

Norman Brown

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 05:24 PM

Graham Seal's song "The country knows the rest". My choir in the big Smoke sang this song.

The country knows the rest
Graham Seal

The year was nineteen-twenty-nine, the place was Rothbury town,
The miners were all locked out and our wage had been knocked down,
From March until December we lived on bread and dole,
Until the Rothbury mine re-opened, with scabs to dig the coal -
And the country knows the rest …

So the miners’ dole was cut and our strike pay couldn’t last,
But the men and women of Rothbury determined to stand fast.
All across the coalfields miners heard the call,
On a warm night in December they met at Rothbury, one and all -
And the country knows the rest …

It was early in the morning upon that fateful day,
Many hundred miners gathered there to send the scabs away,
A piper played before us in the breaking blood-red dawn,
But when we reached the Rothbury mine gates a bloodier day was born -
And the country knows the rest …

The police were in the bushes with pistols in their hands,
There were more of them on horseback to break the miners’ stand,
Just how it started I swear I'll never know,
But the guns began firing and the blood began to flow -
And the country knows the rest …

When the firing was all over and the police had broken through,
Many miners badly beaten - bullet-wounded, too,
Beneath the Rothbury mine gate Norman Brown was lying dead,
And the lifeblood from his veins stained the coaldust red -
And the country knows the rest …

http://unionsong.com/u572.html

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 05:30 PM

Last song - I know only of these three songs about the incident at Rothbury. This was a contemporary song written by Roger Grant, a musician who played in dance bands around the Hunter coalfields region. On the first anniversary of Norman's death thousands gathered at Greta (which wasn't a very town in those days) and sang this song. As far as I know, Alan Musgrove is the only person to have recorded it.

A sad day on the coalfields
Roger Grant

Sung by Alan Musgrove

There were sounds of sobs and crying as the daylight floods the sky,
The hour of life has vanished and the long night passes by,
I lift my eyes to heaven and in tears I'll call her son,
Who was taken from his mother by the crack of someone's gun.

Yes, in the hour of sorrow there's one thing I can't conceal,
For my heart is always longing and my thoughts will often steal
Across the bush to Rothbury whose surface leaves a track
To the boys who went on picket and the boy who'll never come back.

There was music at the graveside and in grief the mourners stood,
Still the wind a hymn was humming with the trees upon the hill,
The sun was shining brightly on sad friends from every town,
And the minister started praying for our dead pal Norman Brown.

Yes, in the hour of sorrow there's one thing I can't conceal,
For my heart is always longing and my thoughts will often steal
Across the bush to Rothbury whose surface leaves a track
To the boys who went on picket and the boy who'll never come back.

A sad day on the coalfields

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 06:16 PM

Thanks for three excellent songs, JennieG! and especially on the actual anniversary (I was only aware of the first song - have fond memories of occasional Catter Tony in Darwin's singing of Norman Brown, by Dorothy Hewitt)

Thanks too, Sandra, for your most excellent work with The Lists - I will start with the proof-reading, hopefully today.


On with The Songs!!
Cheers, R-J :)

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 06:45 PM

I have that CD of Alan's & will play it today in commemoration. Graham's CD is one of my favourites so I normally play it every day.

thank you, proofreader!

sandra (turning off the radio & putting on Alan's CD)

Reviw of Behind the Times by Musgrove & his Watsaname Band

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 15 Dec 20 - 08:07 PM

Fine additions, Jennie.

Sandra, thanks for the Musgrove link. I wasn't aware of that album - I have just ordered it via your link. I have his excellent 'Songs They Used To Sing' album.

Here is the swansong of the godfather of Australian blues after being diagnosed with cancer.

GOING ON A JOURNEY
(Dutch Tilders)

Going on a journey, don't know if I'll be back
Going on a journey, don't know if I'll be back
If I do, baby, meet you down the track

Going on a journey, may be back but I don't know when (x2)
If I don't come back, say goodbye to sweethearts and friends

Going on a journey, but I sure hope I return (x2)
'Cos there's so much left that a poor boy has to learn

Going on a journey, may be back but I don't know when (x2)
Well, if I have to say goodbye to sweethearts and friends

Going on a journey
Going on a journey
Going on a journey

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 07:15 PM

The first test against India starts today and finally some coverage on free to air TV.

I MADE A HUNDRED IN THE BACKYARD AT MUM'S
(Greg Champion)

As I went out to have a bat just the other day
I had no idea what was coming my way
I played a chanceless innings and I earnt every run
And I made a hundred in the backyard at mum’s

Chorus
Oh, I made a hundred in the backyard at mum’s
I clobbered and I crunched every fabulous run
I toiled and I sweated and when the day was done
I’d made a hundred in the backyard at mum’s

I started out real shaky-like just poking around
Me sister with her off breaks well she had me pinned down
But when me little brother bowled I gave him the clout
And when we stopped for lunch I was twenty-four not out

Then me uncle Nev came on bowling his quicks
But I was scoring freely with deflections and flicks
As I passed me fifty I called for a beer
And when I hit the roof next door they all began to cheer

Chorus

I took some on the body but they didn’t hurt a bit
I only hit the ball that was there to be hit
I hooked ’em off me eyebrows and I tried to keep me head
And the ton came up with a straight drive through the window of the shed

Chorus

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 08:45 PM

BRADMAN
(Paul Kelly)

Sydney, 1926, this is the story of a man
Just a kid in from the sticks, just a kid with a plan
St George took a gamble, played him in first grade
Pretty soon that young man showed them how to flash the blade
And at the age of nineteen, he was playing for the state
From Adelaide to Brisbane, the runs did not abate
He hit 'em hard, he hit 'em straight

He was more than just a batsman
He was something like a tide
He was more than just one man
He could take on any side
They always came for Bradman
‘Cause fortune used to hide
In the palm of his hands
In the palm of his hands

A team came out from England
Wally Hammond wore his felt hat like a chief
All through the summer of '28, '29
They gave the greencaps no relief
Some reputations came to grief
They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn
And in the hour of greatest slaughter
The great avenger is being born
But who then could have seen the shape of things to come
In Bradman's first test, he went for eighteen and for one
They dropped him like a gun
Now big Maurice Tate was the trickiest of them all
And a man with a wisecracking habit
But there's one crack that won't stop ringing in his ears
‘Hey Whitey, that's my rabbit’
Bradman never forgot it

He was more than just a batsman
He was something like a tide
More than just one man
He was a match for any side
Fathers took their sons
'Cause fortune used to hide
In the palm of his hands
In the palm of his hands

England, 1930 and the seed burst into flower?
All of Jackson's grace failed him, it was Bradman was the power
He murdered them in Yorkshire, he danced for them in Kent
He laughed at them in Leicestershire, Leeds was an event
Three-hundred runs he took and rewrote all the books
That really knocked those gents
The critics could not comprehend this nonchalant phenomenon
‘Why, this man is a machine!’, they said
‘Even his friends say he isn't human’
Even friends have to cut something

He was more than just a batsman
He was something like a tide
More than just one man
He was half the side
Fathers took their sons
'Cause fortune used to hide
In the palm of his hands
In the palm of his hands

Summer, 1932 and Captain Douglas had a plan
When Larwood bowled to Bradman, it was more than man to man
And staid Adelaide nearly boiled over, as rage ruled over sense
When Bert Oldfield hit the ground, they nearly jumped the fence
Now, Bill Woodfull was as fine a man as ever went to wicket
And the bruises on his body that day showed that he could stick it
But to this day he's still quoted, and only he could wear it:
‘There's two sides out there today
And only one of th
em’s playing cricket'

He was longer than a memory
And bigger than a town
His feet they used to sparkle
And he always kept them on the ground
Fathers took their sons
Who never lost the sound
Of the roar of the grandstand

Now shadows grow longer
And there's so much more yet to be told
But we're not getting any younger, so let the part tell the whole
Now the players all wear colours, the circus is in town
?I no longer can go down there, down to that sacred ground

He was more than just a batsman
He was something like a tide
More than just one man
He was half the bloody side
Fathers took their sons
'Cause fortune used to hide
In the palm of his hands
In the palm of his hands

Youtube clip

Don Bradman

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 03:01 AM

I’m probably halfway through the proof-reading and tweaking of “The List” Sandra!!

Meanwhile, another popular Aussie song from my childhood!!

Little Boy Lost

Johnny Ashcroft

In the wild New England ranges came the word one fateful day,
To every town and village, that a boy had lost his way.
All the townsfolk quickly gathered and the wild bush horses tossed,
As they went to search the ranges for a little boy lost,
They went to search the ranges for a little boy lost.

A lad of just four summers, Stephen Walls, that is his name,
And nobody doubts his courage, 'cause he's hardy and he's game,
But there's danger in this country that man has seldom crossed,
And they wonder if they'll find alive this little boy lost,
And they wonder if they'll find alive this little boy lost.

    Came the night, came the morning. Another night, another dawning,
    And a mother weeps in silence as she kneels before the Cross,
    And she prays to God in heaven for her little boy lost,
    And she prays to God in heaven for her little boy lost.

The little town's deserted, no-one walks upon the street,
For they comb the wild bush country on a thousand aching feet.
They searched every hidden valley though his trail they never crossed,
And their hopes are slowly fading for this little boy lost,
And their hopes are slowly fading for this little boy lost.

The blazing sun beat down upon the earth that final day,
With heavy hearts they prayed to God above to show the way,
When from a scrubby gully came the voice they've ne'er forgot,
"Where's my daddy, where's my daddy?" cried the little boy lost,
"Where's my daddy, where's my daddy?" cried the little boy lost.

In the far New England ranges there's a boy that's known so well,
There's a story that the town's folk and the bushmen often tell,
How he fought a rugged country, where man has seldom crossed,
And a mother's prayers were answered for her little boy lost.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPjisfbL8_E   song from 1960 by Johnny Ashcroft –
“a retired (he’s now 93!) Australian country music and folk entertainer, singer, songwriter, and musician, who has also recorded pop, skiffle, jazz, and disco as his alter ego, the Baron.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ashcroft

The vidclip is from the 1978 film “Little Boy Lost”. Watch here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WI1OI2bgJo

The song is based on a true story and young Steven Walls (who only passed away earlier this year), went missing whilst helping his father round up sheep, near Guyra, NSW (located on a volcanic uplift of the Northern Tablelands, the town is one of the highest in Australia at 1,330 metres (4,364 feet) above sea level.)

People, young and old, still regularly go missing in the often rugged land of Oz. Well, in the City too, but that’s another sad story …..
https://www.johnnyashcroft.com.au/johnny-ashcroft-%E2%80%93-little-boy-lost-50th-anniversary.html


R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 07:10 PM

Cathie O'Sullivan put a tune to another gem from the pen of Dorothy Hewett.

THERE'S ANGUISH IN KNOWING
(Hewett/O'Sullivan)

There is anguish in knowing that I cannot reach you
This kiss can break no barrier of bone
I know no ease of language that might teach you
In that last place we must stand alone
Only in bitter struggle do we grow wise
Knowing no quarter, and no compromise

There is anguish in knowing that I cannot break you
Beyond this wall of flesh you stand intact
Ah! with what fingernails of hate I'll rake you
Till love has ground its teeth on sour fact
Eyes, mouth and hands made blind, compassionate
Beyond the sting of love, the burr of hate

There is anguish in knowing we can never meet
In this small room where we are most alone
And yet the grass against the root grows sweet
And yet the flesh tastes sweeter at the bone
Four walls of love and sunlight on the floor
And the Judas kiss that closes the last door

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 18 Dec 20 - 12:00 AM

Stewie, I was watching this 2014 ABC-TV clip from an earlier post, on modern shearing and the attempted industry changes [like the Rousies are not girls with whisky and beer on trays, like in "the Shearer's Dream", but are hard-working mostly female O/S backpackers!!] : https://www.abc.net.au/landline/bare-belled-ewe/5232722

Anyway, I was reminded of Roly Griffin's "The Robot Shearer" - are you able to post that?!

Cheers, R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Dec 20 - 01:50 AM

Maybe - that thread was too much for me to follow. The punchline is unmistakable and nobody would leave it out.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 18 Dec 20 - 05:55 AM

To clarify,
I believe Jack was referring to a particular NZ song about MacKenzie and his Dog? Ending : ""They pardoned Mackenzie, but they shot his poor dog""
Stewie posted 2 such songs on Dec 13th, but obviously not the one Jack was meaning) ....

Cheers, R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 18 Dec 20 - 08:08 PM

R-J, as I indicated on the wrong thread, I don't have Roly's song. If anyone has a copy, it would be Jeff Corfield.

I posted a link at 08-51 pm on 13 December which might satisfy Jack's query. I didn't post lyrics as I thought a couple of McKenzie songs were sufficient for this thread. However, I transcribed it this morning and posted to your dogs and horses thread. It is a good'un, so I'll post it here:

McKENZIE AND HIS DOG
(J.Charles/P.Garland)

Pull up your chair and pour out a beer
While I sing a song of a Scots mountaineer
They were hard times, hard times I fear
Very hard times for a Scots pioneer

His beard was so long it blew out in the breeze
And the soles of his feet were like billygoats’ knees
For he didn’t wear boots though the weather was cruel
And he lived his whole life on cold mutton and gruel

They were hard times, hard times I fear
And as hard as the times was this tough mountaineer

He caught a wild bull, it was big as a bus
And he tamed it, I’m told, without any fuss
It stood sixteen hands and its back was as wide
To carry two bales of wool and the Scotsman besides

They were hard times, hard times you’ll agree
Hard times for a Scotsman to save a bawbee

He had a sheepdog, a beaut one I’m told
Worth three times its weight in whisky and gold
He was half dingo with collie dog crossed
And he learned to find sheep that no one had lost

They were hard times, hard times you’ll agree
Very hard times for the dog, you’ll see

Now our Scottish friend was exceedingly tough
For he rode his wild bull from Fairwell to Bluff
Seeking a run with plenty of feed
But he had a plan for the sheep he would need

They were hard times, hard times indeed
But he had a plan for the sheep he would need

So pour me a beer and I’ll give you the gen
It was like taking worms from a deaf and blind hare
While Mac plied the cockies with whisky and talk
His wily wee dog took their sheep for a walk

They were hard times, hard times I fear
And Mac he did time for just half a year

But it was hard times, I’ll know you’ll agree
They named the whole plain MacKenzie Country
Yes, they named that whole country of mountain and fog
They honoured the man, but they shot his poor dog

Here is the audio link again:

Click

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 18 Dec 20 - 09:20 PM

Here is my attempted transcription of another fine poem from Joe Charles. I couldn't decipher part of a line in the second stanza. Joe's poems are not available on the Net. Corrections please.

TO THE TALL SHIPS
(J.Charles/P.Garland)

Chorus
Let me dream of tall ships from lands I’ll never know
Rollin’ down from London town to the Roaring Forties blow
From coral sands to the awful lands of endless ice and snow
Let me dream of tall ships from lands I’ll never know

I remember Lyttelton like a half forgotten dream
When still the great tall sailing ships were anchored in the stream
When all along the rugged shore wild shouts and laughter rang
While the ragged rascals hauled away to the rough old song they sang

When they swaggered down the street to every smoky bar
If they passed you up the wind, they smelt of rope and tar
And sitting in the sunshine with the …..??   verandah rail
They kept the youngsters all wide-eyed with many a long-spun tale

Or down along the waterfront, the smoky fussing train
Brought trucks of wool and tallow, hides and flax and grain
To keep the donkeys puffing steam and the lumpers on the run
While out of the reeking holds, exotic cargoes ton by ton

Chorus

The last time I saw Lyttelton through a haze of smoke and steam
There were no tall ships at the quay or anchored in the stream
No more ragged ruffians who smelt of rope and tar
No burly bearded captain with a reeking black cigar

Only the great grim ships of steel, whining, groaning cranes
Stinking, roaring motor trucks and streamlined diesel trains
Only the seagull’s lonely call and the grey and smoggy sky
To steer a dream of sail not steam and the days so long gone by

So dream with me of tall ships …

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Dec 20 - 01:26 AM

I was just reminded of Pat Drummond & thought we needed some of his songs!

The Sao* Song, Words & Music: Pat Drummond, For Alice Oppen and all the members of The Arnott Family, Dateline: Macdonaldtown 1955

Chorus: Can you put a Sao in your gob in one go?
Can you jam it all in and give us a grin, without breaking the corners off?
Can you put a Sao in your gob in one go?
When I was a kid, if one of us did, that kid'd be the king of the block.

When I was a kiddie in the nineteen sixties, each day we'd come home;
Mum'd make us milkshakes and ask how the day'd gone.
Then it was up the back for the cricket match
where the whole world came to play
but we'd drop our bats and stop dead in our tracks
when one of the kids'd say.

Chorus:

Now mostly Mum'd catch us but she'd fail to see the joke.
She'd say "You wouldn't have a brain to begin with. You kids'll bloody choke!"
Then she'd grab the pack and give us a whack and the cricket match went on.
We were backyards full of Bradmans singing 'the Sao song'.

Chorus:

Now it seems all trace of the baby boomer years has slipped away;
Sao Biscuits after school and a Mum to watch you play.
For the kid's are in the Daycare centres now from the moment that they're born
and the backyard died of loneliness when the cricket left the lawn.
But in the last few homes where the garden gnomes
and the 'Hills Hoist' rule the day; if you listen very carefully
you'll sometimes hear them say.

Chorus:

* Sao is a registered trademark of the Arnotts Biscuits Company of Australia

video

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 19 Dec 20 - 01:49 AM

Love the Sao song! I have seen Pat perform it - and yes, he does put in more than one.

Love his "Keef song" too.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Dec 20 - 02:19 AM

I was looking for the Keith Richards song & can't find the lyrics, check out the latest cartoon here

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Dec 20 - 02:24 AM

cartoon about Keith Richard's birthday

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 19 Dec 20 - 10:35 PM

SAPPER'S LULLABY
(Fred Smith)

Up from the Role 2, and down past the gate, out to the flight line
We stood in the sun, slouch hat and gun as two caskets passed us by

And followed the padre, on to the Herc, and out in to the pale summer sky
We walked back to Poppy’s and went back to work, with the Dust still in our eyes

So soldiers, sing me your sapper’s lullaby
You give it your all, knowing if you should fall
That all good things must die

These young engineers whose job is to clear the roads that we may pass
Always out front and, when they bear the brunt, man it happens fast

Sapper D Smith had a wife and a son, the apple of his eye
Snowy Moerland was just 21, way to young to die

Soldiers, sing me your sapper’s lullaby
You give it your all, knowing if you should fall
That all good things must die

So go call your mother, call your old man, on that welfare line
Tell em you love 'em, while you still can, 'cause all good things must die

Soldiers, sing me your sapper’s lullaby
You give it your all, knowing if you should fall
That all good things must die                  
All   good things must die

Live performance with introductory info:

Youtube clip

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 01:58 AM

The Goanna Drover
(Ted Egan)

I was drinkin' in the bar of the Birdsville pub when this long skinny fella comes in.
Crazy old moleskins, concertina leggins – on his face was a devilish grin.
Well he pressed the bar, gave a little "Yee-hah!", said I'm sorry that I've got no dough,
But I'll spin you a yarn if you'll buy me a drink – it's a story that you all should know.

Chorus:
Yes, he said he was a drover, the finest in the land.
He was travelling around Australia, ten thousand goannas in hand.

He said, I'm drovin' ten thousand goannas. I've been five years on the track.
Started at Cairns where we dipped the mob, and then we headed for the Great Outback.
We went due West to the 'curry, across them black soil plains.
We got bogged down at the Isa, and had to fit the goannas with chains.

(Chorus)

Well walkin' 'em down the Murranji track the goannas started climbin' trees.
But a drover's got to improvise, so I solved that problem with ease.
The monsoon rains was due to start, we had no time to lose.
We got forty thousand sardine tins, and we fitted the goannas with shoes.

(Chorus)

Well we clanked across them Gibber plains, it be hard on shoes out there.
But the move paid off in the channel country 'cause the rivers had filled Lake Eyre.
I got an old bull camel, and I showed him who was boss.
I hit the camel with the old brick trick, and he water-skied the goannas across.

(Chorus)

So here I am at the Birdsville pub, and if you buy me another drink
I'll tell you about me future plans. That's fair enough wouldn't you think?
He said, I'll have a rum this time, a double. Good luck, yeah, cheers!
Well I'm off now mates, so long, hooroo, I'll be in Hobart within two years.

(NO chorus)

We called, hang on a minute, we can see you're a bit of a star,
But drovin' goannas to Tassie, that's takin' things a bit too far!
How do you get them goannas right across Bass Strait?
He flashed us all his devilish grin, and said, I'm not goin' that way, mate!

(Chorus x2)

Ted Egan sings it here.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 02:52 AM

Mary Parker's Lament
Judy Small

There's a little more grey in the hair nowadays
As I sit here and watching my grandchildren play
And I wonder if they have the faintest idea
Of the life that their grandmother knew.

For it's oh and alas for you Mary my girl
To be torn from the life you knew half round the world
And never again to see home.

It was back in the eighties, a younger girl then
With auburn hair flashing I'd walk with my man
And he'd tell me the places he'd take me to see
If only that he had the means.
But then I was with child and I saw him no more
In the pain of our parting I thought I should die
And I stole from my master some blankets and cloth
Just to keep me and baby alive

But t'was all for a nought for the baby he died
It felt like a part of me perished inside
And for stealing I's sent as a transport to sea
Never knowing for where I was bound.

And it's oh and alas for you Mary my girl
To be torn from the life you knew half round the world
And never again to see home.

Seven long years was the sentence I bore
It felt like a lifetime as I came ashore
And I wept when I saw the life waiting for me
As a chattel, a whore and a slave.

So I married a convict, the safer to be
From the soldiers and the freed men who chased after me
And for seven long years we did work for our keep
Ever dreaming of England and home.

And the children I bore were the joy of my days
I longed for my mother to see them at play
And our hands grew rough from the scrubbing and dirt
And the sun turned our fair skins to brown.

Then on ticket of leave we were granted some land
And worked it and ploughed it by sweat of our hands
And forgot about England except in our dreams
And called New South Wales our true home.

And now here I sit watching my grandchildren play
And looking back over the length of my days
And it's clear in my mind is the Plymouth I knew
And I weep for my mother again.

For it's oh and alas for you Mary my girl
To be torn from the life you knew half round the world
And never again to see home.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The details of the song are fiction, but there was a convict named Mary Parker who came to Australia with the First Fleet, and Judy Small is a direct descendant. Recording by Judy Small here.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 03:14 AM

Home Among the Gum Trees
Robert Alexander Brown / Walter Edward Johnson

I've been around the world
A dozen times or maybe more
I've seen the sights, and had delights
On every foreign shore
But when my friends all ask of me
The place that I adore
I tell them right away

Chorus:
Give me a home among the gumtrees
With lots of plum trees
A sheep or two, a kangaroo
A clothesline out the back
Verandah out the front
And an old rocking chair

I'll be standing in the kitchen
Cooking up a roast
With Vegemite on toast
Just me and you, a cockatoo
And after tea, we'll settle down
Beside the hitching post
And watch the wombats play

Chorus

There's a Safeway on the corner
And a Woolworths down the street
And a new one's just been opened
Where they regulate the heat
But I'd trade them all tomorrow
For a simple bush retreat
Where kookaburras sing

Chorus

Some people like their houses built
With fences all around
Others live in mansions
Or in bunkers underground
But I won't be contented
Til the day that I have found
The place I long to be

Chorus

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Best known from recordings by Bullamakanka and by John Williamson, both of whom changed the words a bit. I've gone back to the original recording by Captain Rock for the lyrics here. That recording also includes a humorous introduction, and a verse in high school French, neither of which I have been game to transcribe.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 03:24 AM

Dark-eyed Daughter
Phyl Lobl

Mother may I go out to swim?
Yes my dark-eyed daughter,
Mother I would go out to swim.
but at the pool I can't get in,
Because of the colour of my skin,
because I'm your dark-eyed daughter.

Mother may I go to the show?
Yes my dark-eyed daughter,
Mother tell me do you know.
which side of the theatre I should go?
Go where the colour of your skin won't show,
my darling dark-eyed daughter.

Mother will I go to school?
Yes my dark-eyed daughter,
Mother when I go to school.
will the children treat me cruel?
Children follow their parents' rule,
my darling dark-eyed daughter.

Mother will I go to work?
Yes my dark-eyed daughter .
You will go to work one day,
But only get half of your pay.
The other half will go the way
Of somebody's dark-eyed daughter.

Mother when will all this end?
I don't know my daughter,
Maybe it will end the day.
when heaven and earth will pass away,
And we will hear a great voice say,
you're welcome here …… my daughter.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Sandra has mentioned this song a couple of times, but I think the lyrics have not been posted to this thread. I quote from Phyl Lobl's website:

My first recorded song, almost my first song, was sparked by media coverage of the student bus ride led by Charles Perkins and University students in 1965.
An old traditional rhyme gave a frame for the song.

'Mother may I go out to swim?'
'Yes my darling daughter.
Hang your clothes on a Hickory limb,
But don’t go near the water.'

The last verse of the song was born not from a belief, but from realisation and dismay that many of those who did profess to believe could also hold racist views.

‘The 1967 referendum in which 90% of the Australian Community voted in favour of deleting sections of the Constitution discriminating against Aborigines showed goodwill. To enable Aborigines to become independent, self-reliant people this goodwill must be translated into active and positive attitudes. Together we must build a nation where dark and white live in harmony with growing understanding and respect for one another, mutually contributing to the enrichment of our Commonwealth. This is the challenge of these songs and of the present day Aboriginal advancement movement.’

This is still the challenge but now many aboriginal people show us the value of their culture, they show us the meaning of resilience, they show us the way ahead, they show us how to forgive, they show us their worth.

However, the journey for too many of our First People is still hard and slow. When I see the positive stories that do emerge I feel vindicated but humbled by their willingness to accept and continue the struggle. In this new era of recognition, there is still a need for deeper more positive acceptance of responsibility by us all to give value to their existence and to be of assistance. I ask if anyone finds the material on this site to be useful, and are grateful, that they make a donation to an Australian indigenous project or organization.

Access the Phyl Lobl recording here.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 03:34 AM

Whaleroad
John Warner

As the weaver lays her webs, so the seasons turn.            
In the heart an aching sets, the seaward ways to learn.
With the coming of the Spring, and the cruel ice breaking,
Men have built them carven ships, and the whaleroad taken.

The whaleroad is a restless road. The lifting of the prow,
The heaving of the bellied sail, the salt spray on the brow.
The oar thresh on the lifting swell, a white bird on the foam,
The surf snarl on the gravel strand, the heart that aches for home.

Proud Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks took the great whales' way.
Vikings from the icy North dropped anchor in the bay.
Drake, Magellan, Tasman, Cook, and other names beside
Hauled their anchors, trimmed their sails, to catch the morning tide.

Reef the main to gallant there, the squall is coming hard.      
Tiny men string out like crows along the topsail yard.
Reeling from the freezing blast, the ship rides out the wave.
Many an aching tired hand has made Cape Horn his grave.

What's this madness in the blood that spurs them on to fight
The twisting of the wave-flung wheel in the howling night?
Who can answer but themselves? Perhaps not even they, but
Breast the capstan, man the brace, let's get her underway.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Another terrific song by John Warner. On his album, The Sea and the Soil. So far as I know, no recording has been posted to the web.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 03:41 AM

Bandwidth
By Nerds & Music
(Clark Gormley & Wayne Thompson)
https://www.clarkgormley.com/nerds-music

Chorus:
Narrow is the bandwidth,
there's nae enough bandwidth,
cut us some more bandwidth, Joe.

[sung once after each line below]

The networks as slow as a sloop in the doldrums

I built me an 80-foot skiff in the meantime

Before I hoist the mainsail the damn screen freezes

We sailed off course, now we're waiting for the bitmap

We sail in stormy seas, but we still don't have the wav file

To get my phone to sync, I had to throw it overboard, yeah

The NBN ain't the promised land that we hoped for

There's bugger-all hope we'll ever see live-streaming

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The NBN is the National Broadband Network, currently being installed around Australia. This is probably the only sea shanty to be written about it. Recording here.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 04:12 AM

Does anyone have the words to Salvation Jane, written by Fay White? This isn't the song of the same name recorded by Chloe & Jason Roweth, back when they were Us Not Them; I want the song recorded by Jill Stevens, with a chorus that goes something like

Salvation Jane
Salvation Jane
For better or worse
Turn Patterson's Curse
Into Salvation Jane.

I've had no luck finding it on the web.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 07:34 AM

I've emailed Margaret.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 07:48 AM

Great to read your posts, Gerry! (sorry, can't answer your questions :(

Sandra, am close to finalising the revamped 'Big List' in 2 versions (one, songs alphabetically, and one, songs by Posting dates)!

Following on from Jack's post alluding to this thread's size and unwieldiness and loading time (which has also concerned me; we're now up to about 730 posts), I wonder how folks feel about requesting that it be split???
Say, from Dec 1st onwards???    And also, for them both to be renamed to include New Zealand!!

How do folks feel?? (and does Joe agree??!)


Cheers,
R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 07:41 PM

Seasons of War
Phyl Lobl

Chorus:
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,
War has all the seasons.
One and two, three and four,
Man will give the reasons.

Soldier in the Spring of war,
Knows just what he's fighting for,
Told so many times before
Fighting for his freedom.

Chorus

Come the Summer all is growing
And the fruit of war is showing
Pain and hate he will be knowing
Fighting for his freedom.

Chorus

When his friends begin to fall
And the bombs rain down on all
Then he hears the Autumn call
Fighting for his freedom.

Chorus

Winter finds the glory gone.
War is grey to look upon.
Soldier wonders what he's won
Fighting for his freedom.

Chorus

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

From her Broadmeadow Thistle album. She writes,

Written in the summer of the Vietnam War, I hoped this song would not be relevant any more. I no longer have such youthful optimism. The chorus works as a round sung behind the verses.

Recording available here.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 07:55 PM

You Don't Speak For Me
(Judy Small)

You who scribble on walls with your miniscule minds?
You who make midnight calls, you who rattle my blinds?
The violence you preach is the core of your creed?
You don't speak for me

?You call yourselves patriots, swastika-style?
You feed on the fear of the ignorant child?
There's no love of nation or people or land?In the hatred behind your smile
?You don't speak for me, no you don't speak for me

?I've seen where you come from, I've seen where you lead
?It's a poisonous fruit that grows from your seed?
You stir up the hatred till something explodes
?You don't speak for me

?You who slaughter free creatures and then call it sport?
You proudly display the corpses you've shot?
You talk about freedom and rights and control?
You don't speak for me

?You who poison the airwaves with Ghengis Khan views?
You broadcast your bias and call it the news?
You say that you speak for the millions out there?
And deny that you're lighting a dangerous fuse?
You don't speak for me, no you don't speak for me

?You don't speak for me, you don't speak for my friends?
We've followed that line, we've seen where it ends
?Intolerance, hatred, division and strife?
You don't speak for me

?You who march in your hundreds of thousands for peace
?You who work for political prisoners' release?
You who fight the injustice of women ignored?
You speak for me

?You who combat apartheid wherever it's seen?
You who struggle to keep the unique forests green
?You who fight for the rights of all people in chains
?You speak for me, you speak for me, you speak for me

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Online at https://youtu.be/DEzt1B2Oo9A

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 08:01 PM

R-J, I am totally against your proposal of a split. The songs should be kept in a single thread. The Mudcat 'd' function is there to split the thread (presently into 15 pages) if required.

Gerry, great that you are joining us and adding songs. It would be excellent if you could use your influence to alter the thread title to Mudcat Australian and New Zealand Songbook. Let's face it: despite Joe's efforts, the 'rise up' concept has not gotten off the ground. This songbook does overlap with other Australian databases but has many songs unavailable elsewhere and also, as far as possible, is providing video or audio links to performances.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 08:29 PM

For fans of Paul Kelly's music, today is Gravy Day. Yesterday's 'Canberra Times' has this article:

Click

HOW TO MAKE GRAVY
(Paul Kelly)

Hello Dan, it's Joe here, I hope you're keeping well
It's the 21st of December, and now they're ringing the last bells
If I get good behaviour, I'll be out of here by July
Won't you kiss my kids on Christmas Day, please don't let 'em cry for me

I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland and Stella's flying in from the coast
They say it's gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe, but that won't stop the roast
Who's gonna make the gravy now? I bet it won't taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine

And don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang
And give my love to Angus and to Frank and Dolly
Tell 'em all I'm sorry I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I'll be thinking of her early Christmas morning
When I'm standing in line

I hear Mary's got a new boyfriend, I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
(Just a little too much cologne)

And Roger, you know I'm even gonna miss Roger
'Cause there's sure as hell no one in here I want to fight
Oh praise the baby Jesus, have a merry christmas,
I'm really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash

And later in the evening, I can just imagine,
You'll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
And you'll dance with Rita, I know you really like her
Just don't hold her too close, oh brother please don't stab me in the back

I didn't mean to say that, it's just my mind it plays up
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact
You know I love her badly, she's the one to save me
I'm gonna make some gravy, I'm gonna taste the fat

Tell her that I'm sorry, yeah I love her badly, tell 'em all I'm sorry
And kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I'll be making gravy
I'll be making plenty, I'm gonna pay 'em all back

A beaut collage of Paul Kelly performances:

Gravy and mash

A singalong video:

Click

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 11:02 PM

Turning again to McKenzie and dog saga, I recently came across this article on the net which gives a summary of the legend - it's worth a read:

Click

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 20 Dec 20 - 11:20 PM

I was going to bite the bullet, Stew, and ask you what the heck this “d” reference was all about.
Luckily I went searching first, rem’bering my apparent motto in Life is : “if all else fails, read the instructions”.

And Lo!   There, in the Mudcat FAQ - Newbies Guide, was the answer!!!
Not only that, but there’s HEAPS of other interesting hints that I’d long forgotten (or never known?), coz sadly, the “use it or lose it” thang really does apply to me these days :(


Thread too big to load in your computer?

“In the "messages" column on the Forum Menu, there's a column of numbers that tells how many messages are in each thread.
If the thread has more than 50 messages, that number is a clickable link that will display the thread in batches of 50 messages.
Next to that number is a small "d" that is a link that will display the messages in reverse (descending) order.”
-Joe Offer-


So sorry, Stewie, and I take back my suggestion of a split thread.
Too Easy! (as ‘they’ say constantly in Quoinsland)

Cheers, R-J :))

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 12:43 AM

oops! I might forget other stuff, but never that "d" (grin!)

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 04:12 AM

The TAB Song
John Dengate

Each Saturday morning I crawl out of bed,
Hungover from Friday's excess,
Feeling crook in the comics and crook in the head
And with mountains of sins to confess.
And then I remember it's race day again,
And I collect up my clothes off the floor.
I tune in to Early's selections at ten –
The adrenalin's pumping once more.

[Some insert these lines as a chorus:
At Warwick Farm, Rosehill and Randwick they race,
It's a sign of our moral decay,
But wipe that superior smirk off your face,
I expect a trifecta today.]

I have a snake's hiss, I give breakfast a miss,
Wallet and form guide I grab,
Then I suddenly bolt like a two year old colt
All away down the hill to the Tab.
It's number of units and number of race,
The numbers spin round in my brain,
And I stand there blaspheming and cursing the place,
The biros are broken again.

Oh, the longshots are rough, and the favorites are short,
And I never know what's running dead,
So I ring up my mate, but he got home so late
That his missus won't rouse him from bed.
Beadman could win on a horse made of tin,
So I back everything that he rides,
And the big Melbourne gray is a good thing each way,
And a couple of others besides.

And fellas, quinellas are sometimes a chance,
And doubles are always a go,
So when I walk out I am light in the pants
'Cos the Tab has got most of my dough.

A quick break for grub, then it's into the pub,
And I stand there and weep in my booze,
For the horses I back veer all over the track,
And they lose, and they lose, and they lose.
Oh, seek not escape in the gambling my friend
Though your life may be humdrum and drab.
Seek solace in psalms or in young ladies' arms,
But never go into a Tab.

At Warwick Farm, Rosehill and Randwick they race,
It's a sign of our moral decay,
But wipe that superior smirk off your face,
I expect a trifecta today.

To the tune of Seamus O'Brien, Please Won't You Come Home.
As sung on The Follies of Pollies, also 35 Years of the National
Folk Festival. Many small differences from the version in My Shout.
John would update the names of the radio announcer and the jockey
from time to time.

TAB – off-track betting site.
comics – comic cuts – guts
snake's hiss – piss
biro – brand of ballpoint pen

I couldn't find a recording by John Dengate of this song online. Here's a
recording
by John Thompson.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 04:26 AM

Of Trees and Humankind
?Wendy Joseph, 1982

The trees of the forest grew tall
The oak and the hazel, the ash and wild apple
Their power respected by all
Their strength safely guarded by priests of the lore
Sacred the old ways, and earth's ancient pathways. No more

Then strangers came onto the land
They lacked comprehension their godheads were different
They simply did not understand
They laughed at the old ways with scorn and derision
They raped and they slaughtered, and all was justified
By the word 'civilised'
See the forests die

Lai lai lai!
Lai lai lai lai luh lai lai lai lai lai
Lai lai
Lai lai lai luh lai lai lai

The trees of the bushland grew strong
The casuarina, the red gum and mulga
Honoured by those who belong
The brown Pitjantjara, the emu, the brolga
Clear understanding and warm affinity
With the earth and the trees
Calm serenity

Then strangers came onto the land
Born of those ancients, both victim and victor
They simply did not understand
They laughed at the old ways with scorn and derision
They raped and they slaughtered, and all was justified
By the word 'civilised'
See the bushland die

Lai lai lai...

And now here we sit on the land
The children of children of children of ages
If only together we'd stand
With courage and love we could turn back the pages
The earth and its fullness are ours if we try
Raise the cry! Raise the cry
And see the trees grow high!

Lai lai lai...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Recorded by Margaret Walters on For the Future and the Past, and by The Fagans on Kitchen Dance. Video by Ecopella.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: GerryM
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 05:10 AM

Shoalhaven Man
Words & Music: Geoff Drummond

I was a timber cutter, up in the Cambewarra, long before your mother ever gave you a thought.
There was no fancy schoolin' then, just some pioneering men.
The land was our teacher, hard lessons she taught.

I swung an axe handle before I was eight years old; cuttin' the timber and carryin' the load.
Then down to the Currumbeen, beside some old bullock team.
We took what we needed, but we let the rest go.

Chorus:
It was a wonderful land. I'm a Shoalhaven man.
From the slopes of the mountain to the shores of the sea;
A 'bushie' am I and I'll stay till I die.
Shoalhaven's the country for me.

Now I ain't no saint, and I ain't no bloody scientist
But I still got my eyes and a feel for this land.
In sixty years of bravin' the bush of the Shoalhaven
I've seen me some changes and they're terrible plain.
Now the time came when some of them big city business men
Bought boxes to put their retirements in
And they redone Vincentia as a three bedroom brick veneer
And sold 'em off for holidays to make a few quid.

Chorus:

They come for the stars at night, they come for the peace and quiet.
They come for the bushland that no man can claim.
And they call themselves locals with their haemorrhoids and their ulcers...
It's the damn city livin' that they've got to blame.

They don't like the snakes, so they flatten the greenery.
They can't take the spiders so they Baygon the halls.
And they bulldozed Culburra till it looked like Parramatta.
God! I wonder why they ever went movin' at all.

Chorus:
It was a wonderful land till the damn caravans spread like cancer from Canberra to the coast of the sea.
And it makes a man cry to see his land die.
No she ain't the place she used to be.
But, she's my home, and she's the country for me.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Here are some notes on the song, by Pat Drummond.

This is another of Geoff's songs; one which I left with the Bushwackers in 1986 when I was filling in on guitar with them. A classic tale of early timbergetters and the respect they had for the land, this song finally achieved the recognition it deserved at Tamworth last year. The song was released by the Bushwackers, who were nominated in the nationally televised 1990 Golden Guitar Awards as 'Band of the Year'. The nomination came ironically on the weekend the band was staging yet another of their Melba like 'final ever' performances.

One of those final shows in 1990 saw me teamed with the lads for a double bill at the Imperial Hotel. This concert kicked off in near scorching midday temperatures but if the day wasn't hot enough, the emotional climate was at fever pitch. The 'Bushies' set included a killer version of "Shoalhaven Man" and a real treat for me when I was invited to re-join the band on stage for "Brittania", the classic track penned by bassist Roger Corbett. The awards that night unfortunately brought yet another disappointment for the band that broke the ground that John Williamson, Redgum, myself and a host of others came to profitably build upon. The award for "Best Band of the Year" was won by their oldmates, "The Bullamakankas". It was sad, but almost fitting, for a band that never achieved the measure of recognition they truly deserved; whose rewards always went, as the Lawson poem predicted a century earlier, to "The Men Who Follow After". My version of the song was by way of recognising the long overdue debt so many Australian musicians owe to the Bushwackers.

(Epilogue: The Bushwackers reformed five years later in 1995 with, of all people, Peter Drummond, my son, on Drums. Peter attended his first Bushwackers Concert at The Paris Theatre in Sydney on 30/6/1980 when he was barely 5 years old. In 1999 he was recieving standing ovations for his solo 'showcases' during The Bushwackers sellout shows at The Toyota Country Music Festival.)

Recording by Wongawilli.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 08:00 AM

Woodturner's Love Song Words & Music: Phyl Lobl

If I had a piece of Maple, red or white or pink,
I'd turn you a set of chair legs so you could sit and think.
And when you sit and think love I hope you'll think of me,
For I'd like to be there in your thoughts if not in your company.

If I had a piece of Coachwood white and fine and pure,
I'd turn you a handle smooth and round, a handle for your door.
And when I come to see you, you could make that handle spin,
And open up the door my dear, to let your true love in.

If I had a piece of Silky Oak of even textured grain,
I’d turn you a lamp stand for your light, tapered tall and plain.
And when you turn your light on, I hope it'll be for me,
For you're the light of my life, the only one for me.

If I had a piece of Cedar, the grain well shot with red,
I'd turn you a set of corner posts for a fine double bed.
A bed for you to lie on with the one that you love best,
But I hope you'd lie with me love and farewell all the rest.

Yes I'm a turner, that's my trade, as you can plainly see,
But the thing I'd really like to turn is to turn your heart to me.
Alas in that I have no skill, I've never learnt the art,
And Cedar, Maple and Silky Oak don't make a lover's heart*.

If I had a piece of each of these with singing strings tuned fine,
I'd turn them into an instrument to ease this heart of mine.
I'd let my fingers do the work that words can't quite make plain,
They'd tell you then about love's joy and also of love's pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Audio

This song was written in the early seventies. I wanted to write a song about industrial realities for wood-turners.

I interviewed a woodturner Neil Bollingmoore and it became a love song when he spoke so lovingly about wood that I wrote a love song about someone who had much love to give but was shy and un-sure.

Some years later he rang and asked for the song as he was getting married. A few (too few) years after that his widow rang and wanted the song again to play at his funeral.

Some years later I asked an instrument maker (ROCKY CREEK STRINGS) to make me an all wooden Banjolele made of those woods. I added a verse. I also now repeat the last line of each verse.

The last verse is coloured by my own widowhood and Geri Lobl's love of Fritz Kreisler's compositions for violin LOVE'S JOY - Liebesfreud and LOVE'S SORROW - Liebesleid lover's instead of woman's is more universal.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 09:13 AM

I'm pleased to be able to report that the revamped LIST of Oz/NZ Songs (Lyrics-Links) posted to this thread - now as a spreadsheet - is almost ready to distribute - just waiting for the Solstice to be done.
Dec 21st : that's the cut-off date for this first edition of the Excel spreadsheet, with one sorted by title and another by date posted.

Cheers, Rich-Joy :)

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 09:20 AM

CALM AND CRYSTAL CLEAR

-- Neil Murray --

Looking out on the back roads of my life
There's me again as a five year old child               
Staring at the broken toys scattered in the sand         
Knowing deep inside I was already an old man

This road unravels out of darkness now toward me         
I feel the world stretch out vast now before me         
We live and dream in an ancient hallowed land
Some things that happen we may never understand      


For I hear the voices of the past        (Sing of rage and relief
Revelation’s come at last                   (And it's keeping me from sleep
And it's coming to me                        (I hear the word and it's calm and crystal clear
Yes it's coming to my life                
Calm and crystal clear                  

We are bound for an unknown destination
The stars above offer no consolation
We all live and breathe and die alone together
Some place some day we'll leave our bones to the weather

But just like the smell of rain on the wind far away
A little truth arrives at the dying of each day
I wish the mountain would come and take me in her arms
I don't care what happens I won't come to any harm

For I hear the voices of the past        (Sing of rage and relief
The Revelation’s come at last            (And it's keeping me from sleep
Well it's coming to me                        (I hear the word and it's calm and crystal clear
Yes it's coming to my life                
Calm and crystal clear                  


        (I hear the word and it's calm and crystal clear)      
I hear the word and it's calm and crystal clear
        (I see the world and it's coming oh so near)
I see the world and it's coming oh so near
I hear the word and it's calm and crystal clear            
I see the world and it's coming oh so near
Come into my life           (Calm and crystal clear   
Come into my life           (Calm and crystal clear      
Come into my life


Listen Here :   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnp4-YlrCaw   
(this 1989 vidclip has a one-line upload glitch, but is slightly better visual quality than the other available copy….)

Some background at the time on the post-Wurumpi Band Neil Murray :
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jscott/nmurray/ccc_promo.htm
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jscott/nmurray/article_spiritual_element.htm

His 1993 semi-autobiographical novel : SING FOR ME, COUNTRYMAN
and NATIVE BORN (songs of Neil Murray) - are still available : http://www.neilmurray.com.au/index.html


R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 21 Dec 20 - 07:31 PM

Iconic song by a band from outback South Australia.

BLACK BOY
(Coloured Stone)

A shy black boy you came to the city
To learn about life and how its people are
He's very stubborn, he was just a child
And now his life is mystified

Chorus:
Black boy, black boy
Black boy, black boy
The colour of your skin is your pride and joy
Black boy, black boy,
Black boy, black boy,
Your life is not destroyed

He didn't know school but they called him black boy
He hardly talked to the girls and boys
Don't be a fool just obey the rules
'Cause you'll just learn the truth

Chorus

And one day you'll grow up to be a man
To learn and live and understand
Sticks and stones may break your bones
But names will never hurt you
You'll be the one who's having fun
So you just keep learning on

Chorus

Youtube clip

There is a Wikipedia article on Coloured Stone, but I could not link it here because it has an incorrect address.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 03:48 AM

Sorry Stewie! BLACK BOY was posted and linked exactly one month ago, on 21st Nov!!
This is why we need the alphabetical spreadsheet nowadays :)

Cheers,
R-J

PS   Hope you read my recant/resile post of the 20th, re the proposed thread split? I have indeed seen The Light, haha! :)

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 06:35 AM

CATTLE AND CANE

Robert Forster / Grant McLennan

As performed by Brisbane’s “The Go-Betweens”, 1983

I recall, a schoolboy coming home
through fields of cane
to a house of tin and timber
and in the sky
a rain of falling cinders
from time to time
the waste, memory-wastes

I recall a boy in bigger pants
like everyone
just waiting for a chance
his father's watch
he left it in the showers
from time to time
the waste, memory-wastes

I recall, a bigger brighter world
a world of books
and silent times in thought
and then the railroad
the railroad takes him home
through fields of cattle
through fields of cane
from time to time
the waste, memory-wastes
and the waste, memory-wastes

spoken interlude

further … longer … higher … older …


The Go-Betweens, 1983 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCbyByY-A6w

Line-up for this song : / Grant McLennan (bass, vocals / Robert Forster (guitar, vocals) / Lindy Morrison (drummer, backing vocals).

WIKI on the song : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_and_Cane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i76J4kO8eCA Cattle and Cane, as sung in 1999 by Aboriginal singer, Jimmy Little   
Here is Jimmy’s Hit of “Royal Telephone” on Bandstone in 1963 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPVjJaa8fXI       
WIKI on Jimmy Little : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Little


R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 09:11 PM

Bugger! My apologies, R-J, for doubling up on your post. I normally check by using the 'find' function on my Mac, but failed to do so yesterday. I saw your resile post.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: Stewie
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 09:29 PM

Another good'un from the land of the long white cloud. R-J, back in September you indicated that it was one of your NZ favourites.

HILLS OF COROMANDEL
(Dave Jordan)

The hills grow ancient, green and tall, as they have always done there
And press together over all, to shield the earth from sun there
Seedlings grow, young trees grow old, old ones die and turn to mould
Till bush returns to hills once clear, and man, it seems, was never there
But the apple trees still bloom each year in the hills of Coromandel

It was the gold that brought the men when thousands here did rally
Their secret shattered shafts remain, abandoned in the valley
Roads they fashioned in the clay are overgrown or washed away
And fences built by settlers' hands are gone restoring broken lands
And a rusted gateway lonely stands in the hills of Coromandel

No more the taverns where they stood, no more the thousand people
And timber church is gone for good with ruined, rotted steeple
It's years now since the miner came to work the gold, exhaust his claim
Then leave the place for better game than that he'd found, but just the same
The toppled tombstones bear their names in the hills of Coromandel

Those days of gold are past and gone with the men who took their chances
The bush is slowly marching on in a silence no one answers
Now birds call loud to empty air - no one comes, there's nothing there
But a gate that's open to nowhere and names on sandstone faint but clear
And the apple trees that bloom each year in the hills of Coromandel

Youtube clip

Dave Jordan

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 11:46 PM

BRISBANE BLACKS

Dennis ‘Mop’ Conlon

{Verse 1}
On TV I saw a story, of the Brisbane Blacks
A story that is touching, a story that is right
In the story, a group of people sitting in a park
Drinking in harmony, drinking until dark

{Chorus 1}
You wonder why they’re like that
Those so-called “drunken blacks”
They know that they’ve done no wrong
But the pressure from society is strong

{Verse 2}
Every day, each passing day, our culture slowly dies
Like a piece of paper thrown onto a fire
Now all we’ve got is ancient weapons, now is our only trade
Compared to all the immigrants, look how much we’ve made

{Chorus 2}
You look down through your noses to see
The Black-man problem down at your feet
With weary eyes looking up at you
Waiting for the message to get through

{Verse 3}
Now it’s time for them to sleep, and it’s not in a bed
But in some warm surroundings, in a park or in a shed
Warmed only by the grog that’s been drunk through the day
Warmed only by the grog, the killer of his mates

{Chorus 3}
The very first Australians around
The very first people to be down
And why we fight, is to be recognised
Only to be felt by your blind eyes
Yes, only to be felt by your blind eyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAIZIPvuKrE&t=20s Brisbane Blacks: Mop and the Dropouts (aka Denis Conlon and the Magpies)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSMIVejAQt0
Brisbane Blacks: The Story of Mop and the Dropouts ..... a video by Ben Carr, 2010 (10mins13secs)
“Brisbane 1982: The Commonwealth Games were on. A land rights movement was taking place, and a little known band from Cherbourg was about to make history.
Despite what Dennis 'Mop' Conlon knew when writing the song Brisbane Blacks, he could not have anticipated it would go on to become an anthem and define a period in time. Looking back on the history of the band, but also the political and social climate of Brisbane in the 1970's and 80's, the film delves into why Aboriginal people needed a voice to stand up against a conservative and racist government. As Dennis Conlon says, "We're not into politics, we play music." However, being in a band at the time and being aboriginal, Mop and the Dropouts couldn't help but be political.”


Cherbourg : This was originally known as Barambah (the 1840s pastoral run), and is now an Aboriginal community, NW of Brisbane, outside the town of Murgon. “The history of Cherbourg is one of Aboriginal people being forcibly removed and brought from all over Queensland and Northern New South Wales to a newly formed government reserve. Under the Aborigines Protection Act of 1897 the settlement then called Barambah, was gazetted and established in 1904.”

“The Cherbourg Memory ….. we offer you a window to our world – the Aboriginal people in South East Queensland, Australia. On this site we tell stories of our people – why they were brought here and what they have become over the 110 years they have lived here. It is a difficult and sometimes sad story, but it is essentially a story of survival and hope” : https://rationshed.com.au/about-cherbourg/

“Mothers Eyes” by Mop and the Dropouts : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_picsVjFlU



R-J

Subject: RE: Rise Up Mudcat Songbook - Australia
From: rich-joy
Date: 23 Dec 20 - 12:23 AM

Thanks Stewie, for The Hills of Coromandel – the late Phil Garland is certainly an ENZED National Treasure.


My last posting of “Brisbane Blacks” c.1982 reminded me that I had recently come across this number - “PIG CITY” by The Parameters, 1983 - in the notorious JOH (Bjelke Peterson) ERA. In an earlier time, a protest song like this would surely have come from The Folk Movement!!      
I have just ordered Andrew Stafford’s publication of the same title, which should make interesting reading!!

Here is Pig City : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehx4CZSsojI

[and where a Commenter observed : “The not so funny thing was that neither Goss [next Labor premier] nor the Fitzgerald Enquiry, gaoled a single member of the various arms of Joh's secret police” …………]

I will post the lyrics “next year” when I further research songs of that very lengthy tyranical and corrupt era.

I look forward to delving into this website : http://radicaltimes.info/
Radical Times Archive : "Collect, Preserve, and Share"
“An audio-visual archival resource focusing on radical activism around Australia, particularly during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s (although resources are not restricted exclusively to this time period). The archive recovers "lost" and rare independent Australian documentaries (also vérité footage of historical significance) in order to preserve these films, videos and audio for posterity before they reach end of life and disappear permanently.
The focus is on visual/aural material.....the archive currently has 204 film streams and 91 audio streams. While the focus is on Australian resources, there is an international section featuring films made outside Australia by Australians. To round out the collection and provide context, printed matter, photos, and other images are included where possible. Not only is this archive designed as a tool for appreciating and understanding the past, it is also hoped it will provide perspective and ideas for future endeavours for social and political action.”


R-J