Aussie questions --John Williamson songs

Subject: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Kitty
Date: 17 May 05 - 06:38 PM

Just got Wandering Australia by John Williamson. Being from the States, I have questions:
In "Amazing Day" he says--as nearly as I can understand
"They say it sends you tropo before the wet season
but I gotta see the light show before it comes down"
I need an interpreter.... The words are probably right, but I don't understand the "tropo" nor the light show... what's happening?

Then on Cobber Pedy...
"you can see by the smudgy paper there's ..... dust in the air" Is it gold dust? Doesn't quite sound like that.

Then on You Come Back to Tassie:
"to your little home in ????? Miffy??? " Can't hear it...

Thanks so much for your help. Gonna have to train my ear for Australian sounds.
k

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: andymac
Date: 17 May 05 - 06:52 PM

hi Kitty,
From my memory of being in Darwin in the early 90s, "tropo" was pretty much a reference to going a bit insane from the tropical ("tropo") humidity that builds up towards the end of the dry season prior to the monsoon starting.
"light show"... my only suggestions is that it might be a reference to the thunderstorms that precede, accompany and are everpresent during the monsoon downpours.
As for the other queries, sorry but I'm stumped like you..
Not much helps but hopefully some of our Aussie catters can help out more than me...
Andymac

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: GUEST,John O'Lennaine
Date: 17 May 05 - 08:13 PM

Kitty -

Andymac is correct about the first two.

Coober Pedy is a town in the desert in South Australia where they used to (and still do) dig for opals. It's so hot out there that just about the entire town is, like the opal mines, underground. The walls, floor & ceilings are made of earth.

Haven't heard "You come back to Tassie" so I can't help you there.

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Big Jim from Jackson
Date: 17 May 05 - 08:22 PM

I'm glad to see that another American has discovered John Williamson! I find him to be one of the best entertainers I've seen or heard. All his recordings are worth getting. If you purchase any of his DVD's or Videos, make sure you get the ones that are NTSC (unless you have a machine that plays PAL formated material) On his videos and DVD's, what you see is exactly the way John presents his material in concert. I had the priviledge of seeing him in person about a year and a half ago when he performed in Springfield, Missouri. What a treat!

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 17 May 05 - 08:26 PM

G'day Kitty,

I'm at a disadvantage, in that I don't have this recording ... but I'll guess about the ones andymac didn't cover:

Coober Pedy, (local Aboriginal words for "hole in the ground") an opal mining town in northern South Australia (just south of The Northern Territory ...) is all underground, to avoid the desert heat. I don't know the context of John's song, but dust would be ever-present in the dugout homes and/or mines. (Miners often just open a door in their living quarters and walk into their opal mine!).

It may, in the song, be a sign of extra unstability ... or refer to the effects of blasting activity very close to where the subject is working / living ... ?

I lived in Tasmania (Tassie) in the 1960s ... and can't make a match to "Miffy" ... but there is a small town in the eastern midlands of Tasmania called Liffey. (Like most ex-colonial countries, Tasmania is littered with names from assorted "old countries".)

BTW: Mike Watts, who runs a folk music business (mainly instruments, books and teaching sessions) called Celtic Southern Cross, lives at Liffey ... in a pleasant bend of a nice trout stream, flowing out of the Western High Tiers.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Kitty
Date: 17 May 05 - 08:47 PM

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Kitty
Date: 17 May 05 - 08:54 PM

ok, that one escaped. try again.

Bob, you were spot on with "Liffey". I listened to it again. That's what it says. Thanks bunches!! So that takes care of that one.

Now, Coober Pedy, It probably wouldnt refer to "gold dust", would it? Makes no sense. Could say "bull dust"?? but that makes less sense. Would that bbe a saying where you are??

The line about the "light show" and "before it comes down" is strange. Sounds like something maybe they set up for the holidays or something??   Was hoping it would be something that is obvious to locals.
thanks
k

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Beer
Date: 17 May 05 - 09:09 PM

Beer from Canada. I just have 2 of his tapes but what a treat. his is fantastic.

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Kitty
Date: 17 May 05 - 09:23 PM

ok, that one escaped. try again.

Bob, you were spot on with "Liffey". I listened to it again. That's what it says. Thanks bunches!! So that takes care of that one.

Now, Coober Pedy, It probably wouldnt refer to "gold dust", would it? Makes no sense. Could say "bull dust"?? but that makes less sense. Would that be a saying where you are??

The line about the "light show" and "before it comes down" is strange. Sounds like something maybe they set up for the holidays or something??   Was hoping it would be something that is obvious to locals.
thanks
k

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Kitty
Date: 17 May 05 - 09:38 PM

well, obviously I am having problems with my computer. Seem to be having troubles getting on mudcat...
k

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: GUEST,John O'Lennaine
Date: 17 May 05 - 10:25 PM

I haven't been to Coober Pedy but from photos I've seen the homes are dug into what seems to be pinkish clay. As you know, dry clay is sort of chalky, so I guess dust would be a problem if you're inclined to drag your feet or bump into walls.

The summer rains in the north often bring with them spectacular lightning storms. The "light show before it comes down" would refer to the lightning before the downpour, I'd say.

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 18 May 05 - 04:33 AM

G'day Kitty,

Bulldust is definitely it: the fine, all-pervasive (usually re-brown) dust of the dry outback. I missed seeing your ellipsis (...), and just rabbitted on about dust - but "bulldust" is the defining signature of the Australian outback!

(There is, of course, the unspoken suggestion that the bull may have added a bit more organic matter than just dust ... and the term is also used as a euphemism for "bullshit - but here it just means fine red dust ... it's far too dry to run cattle at Coober Pedy!)

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 18 May 05 - 04:42 AM

G'day again Kitty,

I had skipped the other questions, because andymac was pretty right about the tropical electrical storms ... and John O'Lennaine's post also agrees.

I was handling a map of lightning groundstrikes in Australia ... and the groundstrike frequency is orders of magnitude greater around the monsoon belt than anywhere else in Australia. I reckon that, by the time it reaches down to Coober Pedy, there might be more flash than rain ... but it could well be "the light show".

BTW: Mudcat has an Aussie Glossary in the Quick Links. It ought to help any further queries.

Subject: RE: Aussie questions --John Williamson songs
From: Big Jim from Jackson
Date: 18 May 05 - 10:08 AM

You might contact John's people at his web site. Cathy is very nice and would be able to relay your questions to John or his manager, Phil. I hope lots of other Americans and Canadians discover John. Maybe we can get him back to North America again. Just do a search for John Williamson, and the first thing that pops up is "John Williamson, Bush Balladeer". Bingo!