1. |
Gundagai Moon
03:29
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As the Gundagai moon peeped over the horizon
I looked into your eyes an’ knew that I loved you
As the Gundagai moon shone serenely above you
I said, “Darlin’ I love you”
And you know my love that’s true
As the Gundagai moon set those hilltops a-glowin’
There was no way of knowin’ that by sunrise you’d be mine
As the Gundagai moon lit the flowing Murrumbidgee
My heart glowed ‘cos you were with me
And would be for all time
I want to tell the world that you’re my girl, I’m so in love with you
The moon’s sweet spell it worked so well that you … love me too
If the Gundagai moon ever knew just what it started
Two lovers never to be parted it would be over the moon
Dearest Gundagai moon, no satellite could outrank you
The least that I can do to thank you
Is to sing to you this tune
I want the world to know that great big glowing moon up in the sky
Cast its magic spell so well that night in Gundagai
I want to tell the world …
As the Gundagai moon dipped over the horizon
I looked into your eyes and told you I loved you
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2. |
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Tomorrow I will step up to the gallows
I only ask you grant me one last wish for when I’m gone
I’m a man who’s done wrong, I will face the fiery flames
All I ask is to be laid beside my true love, dear young James
May we lay together, side by side, my friend
May we rest in peace
I did the crime, I served my time in Pentridge
Seven years for robbery and other deeds besides
But I treasure that time yet, for it’s there that we two met
To never part again till he lay in my arms and died
May we lay together . . .
Well the traps they gave us no peace back in Melbourne
So me and James and four young men, we headed for the bush
Captain Moonlite and his gang raising hell across the land
Till we met our match at Wantabadgery, up past Gundagai
When that squatter said move on, my patience it was gone
So we drew our guns and bailed them up, we would fight or we would die
May we lay together . . .
When the troopers came my young boys fought so bravely
Poor Gus was only 15, and they shot him in the side
But when I saw my James lying there where he was slain
I lay my head upon his breast, I kissed him, and I cried
May we lay together . . .
Tomorrow I will step up to the gallows
I will pray for God’s forgiveness and I’ll whisper my love’s name
On my finger is a ring that I’ll wear unto my grave
It is woven from a lock of the hair of my dear James
May we lay together . . .
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3. |
The Hipster Song
03:23
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Well you may see him riding on his retro fixed wheel bike, yeah, he’s a hipster
His vintage Spanish leather shoulder satchel at his side, yeah, he’s a hipster
With those heavy thick rimmed spectacles and skinny jeans he wears
You thought you were cool, but this dude makes you feel like so last year
And when he turns around he’ll knock you down with his long Ned Kelly beard
Yeah, he’s a hipster
You may see him in a bar with his curled up waxed moustache, yeah, he’s a hipster
Drinking Danish brewed dark ale with a subtle hint of kale, yeah, he’s a hipster
Or he may be a barista in that pop up coffee truck
That you’ll catch in North Fitzroy or in Preston with some luck
Selling fair trade Timor L’Este cold pressed low fat half strength soy decaf mocha frappacinos – or whatever kind of muck
Yeah, he’s a hipster
He's a hipster, he's a hipster he’s a hip hip hipster
He's a hipster, he's a hipster he’s a hip hip hipster
He’s a hipster
How many hipsters does it take to change a light bulb?
One. But he has to be sure it's cool enough first.
Two. One to change it in an ironic fashion and one to get it.
You mean you don't know!
I have this joke on vinyl.
He's a hipster, he's a hipster he’s a hip hip hipster …
You may see him with his MacBook Air on Instagram or Tumblr, he’s a hipster
Sipping deconstructed salad smoothies with single source quinoa, he’s a hipster
His man-bun is post-modern and his clothes are metrosexual
The script he’s writing for that indy film is still conceptual
And anyway, you wouldn't understand it ’cos it's totes, like, decontextual
He’s a hipster
He's a hipster, he's a hipster he’s a hip hip hipster …
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4. |
Amal’s Journey
05:07
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She said they looked like floating birds, those children on the water
She said that they were sleeping, but she knew they’d never wake
In this cold dark ocean in the night, so far away from land
Bobbing up and down on the waves
Life was good once long ago in the city of Baghdad
She’d stroll beside the Tigris in the evenings with her father
Palm trees swaying in the sunset, flotsam on the river
And the songs of Umm Khultum floating on the breeze
She said come with me on this journey
She said walk with me a while – you’ll understand
I may cry and my heart may fill with yearning
But I know at last I’ve reached my promised land
Evil came, Saddam Hussein brought terror fear and war
Amal lost two brothers, and her husband thrown in jail
The night police came to her house and knocked upon her door
She knew that they must flee their precious home
So they silently slipped out of town and struggled through the mountains
By dark of night they crossed the frontier, then on to Tehran
Living day to day they make their way somehow to Sumatra
Running out of money, hope and plans
She said come with me on this journey …
The boat was small, the boat was old, could never hold 400 people
But the smugglers insisted. If you’re to go you must go now!
The storm came fast, the storm came hard, and all were at its mercy
The engine failed, the boat went down, screaming rent the air
Interlude
Every life is sacred, every mother son and daughter
Everyone just wants to make the best life that they can
But to see a mother and her new-born sleeping on the water
Is to see the hand that fate has dealt to those who had no chance
She said come with me on this journey …
She said they looked like floating birds …
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5. |
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Born on the high seas in the wild South Indian Ocean
Sailor, astronomer, navigator, object of devotion
He was the first to circumnavigate Australia
That’s a documented undisputed fact
You may think that I am singing about Captain Matthew Flinders
But I’m singing about Trim, his cat
Let’s sing a song to celebrate his feline feats of exploration
Trim the circumnavigating cat
Extraordinary sailor, round the globe and round Australia
Trim the circumnavigating cat
With his silky fur as black as night, and his paws all snowy white like his chest
He was exceedingly intelligent and obviously elegantly dressed
When it was time to hoist the sails it was Trim who never failed
To be the first one up the mast
And he helped the navigators with their astral observations,
Traveling the ocean vast
Let’s sing a song to celebrate …
Trim was Flinders’ best companion, inseparable on land and sea
The two of them both loved to feel the thrill of new discoveries
Till they were caught, accused of spying, which was most unedifying
- Into prison went the crew
And with sadness I relate … here Trim met his awful fate
… When he found himself in a stew (literally)
Yes, the good folk of Mauritius clearly thought he was delicious …
Trim the circumnavigating (Yes, he had them salivating),
Trim the circumnavigating cat
Let’s sing a song to celebrate …
Flinders found him fascinating
Despite his end humiliating
Once more recapitulating
Trim the circumnavigating cat
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6. |
This Golden Bracelet
05:32
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Her hair was blonde, her eyes were blue
You might not take her for a Jew
But this is 1942 in Warsaw
The fetid stench of Nazi power
Was growing stronger hour by hour
The ghetto was a prison now in Warsaw
Wanda’s sisters and her cousins
And her father and her mother
Took the train like all the others out of Warsaw
Not one of them was seen again
She had no family now, just her man
To survive any way they can in Warsaw
“You have a choice,” they told her,
“Yes, you are free to choose”
“You can work for us now. Or we can put you on a train
Like all those other Jews”
So they worked in Shultz’s factory
For no pay, and barely fed
Making uniforms, German army uniforms
It was that or they’d be dead
And now I wear this golden bracelet, engraved with her name
It makes it like she’s always near me, close at hand
I wear it, and I remember her
Long ago, in a faraway land
In ’43 the ghetto was ablaze,
They bribed a guard and with fake papers
By some miracle, they escaped from Warsaw
For 14 months they hid away
Lying in a narrow roof space
Just one false move would give the game away
Then finally the Russian forces
Rolled on in and won that war
They both ended up, long story short, in Melbourne
From the ashes of the Old World
War saw the end of all they knew
Across the oceans – but all that water couldn’t wash away the nightmares
Of all that they’d been through
And now I wear this golden bracelet …
A lifetime passes, seven decades
The German Government agrees to pay
For all those years of forced labour in Warsaw
The letter came through seven days
After Wanda peacefully passed awayAt the tender age of 98 in Melbourne
Seven decades to say sorry
A few Euros and a letter’s all we get
It’s not much, but enough for us each to buy something of gold
So we won’t forget
And now I wear this golden bracelet …
Long ago, in a faraway land
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7. |
Love Is
04:03
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Love, oh love, oh love
Love, oh love, oh love
If I speak in tongues of men or angels,
But I have not love
I am only clanging brass
I am nothing
If I have the gift of prophecy
Can fathom every mystery
But have not love
I am nothing
If I give the poor all I own
Work my fingers to the bone
But have not love
I am nothing. I am nothing
Love, oh love, oh love …
Love is patient, love is kind
It does not envy, does not boast
And love –
It is not proud
Love does not dishonour others
Not self-seeking, hard to anger
It keeps no tally
Of rights and wrongs
Love rejoices in the truth
Trusts, protects, hopes, endures
And love –
Love never fails. Love never fails
And as we pass through the ages
These three truths remain:
Faith, hope and charity
But the greatest of all is …
Love, oh love, oh love …
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8. |
The Beanie Song
02:23
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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!"
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 you can make 'em out of wool
You can make' em out of felt, which is really really cool
You can knit 'em, you can weave' em, they can even be crocheted
If you've got yourself a beanie, you've really got it made
You gotta have a beanie …
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
You gotta have a beanie …
If you've listened to my song, 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
You gotta have a beanie …
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9. |
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When you walk these streets of Melbourne with its towers of steel and glass
Do you ever stop to think about the ghosts of centuries past?
As you sip that cup of coffee, as you drink that glass of beer
You‘re doing it on country that’s been lived on here for years
Elizabeth Street was a river, Queen Street Bridge was a waterfall
And Docklands was a swamp where you could hunt for waterfowl
I’ll tell a tale of Franklin Street, a sad one but it’s true
About the killing of two proud black men in 1842
Back in 1842
Remember Maulboyheener, remember Tunnerminnerwait
Don’t forget their names, don’t forget their fate
Don’t forget their struggle, don’t forget the lies
When we remember we can start to see this land through different eyes
These young men from Van Diemen’s Land were raised up by their clans
They saw their loved ones murdered as the settlers stole their lands
And with the others they were taken to that hell in Wybalenna
By George Augustus Robinson, the Aborigines’ Protector
But they got no protection from death and from despair
So Robinson he took fifteen survivors out of there
He brought them to Port Phillip to try to buy some time
But it was a wild frontier, a land grab back in 1839 – back in 1839
They lived down by Birrarung on Robinson’s estate
They could tell from all they saw that it soon would be too late
They’d seen it in Van Diemen’s Land, now here it was again
So into the bush they broke away, three women and two men
Pyteruna, Planobeena, and Truganini too
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener bid the town adieu
They bid the town adieu
Remember Maulboyheener …
They struck out for the hills, into the countryside
It was resistance, it was freedom, it was strength it was pride
They stole some food, they stole some guns, caused panic far and wide
The orders came to shoot on sight those natives who’d gone wild
For six long weeks they led the chase; into the bush they’d blend
Till one day near Cape Paterson they shot two whaling men
Well the law finally cornered them, “Surrender or you’ll die!”
“Come peacefully, you won’t be harmed.” Well that was just a lie
Just one more bloody lie
White man’s law then took its course, the outcome you can guess
Though the women were found innocent, the men were sent to death
So while settlers murdered thousands in that war to rule this land
The first to face the gallows in Port Phillip were two black men
They hanged them there in Franklin Street when the colony was new
Just outside Old Melbourne Gaol in 1842
Back in 1842
Remember Maulboyheener …
When you walk these streets of Melbourne with its towers of steel and glass
Do you ever stop to think about the ghosts of centuries past?
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10. |
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Time goes by, how the years they fly
Fashions may come and may go
But as long as there’s music, as long as there’s dance
The Reedy River still flow
The Reedy River still flows
In the far distant times of the Dreaming
When people first walked this land
There was music and dancing to sing up the spirits
To bring us together, every woman and man
Time goes by …
And from far distant lands others came
And still come to our bountiful shores
Bringing stories and songs that tell who we are
And we dance round the room as did others before
Time goes by …
In far distant places through the bush of Australia
The song catchers tirelessly roamed
Collecting the stories and tunes of our country
Collecting the dances, the songs and the poems
Time goes by …
So let’s sing songs of those come before us
And let’s strike up the fiddle and bow
Let’s dance till we drop, and sing one more chorus
So the River of Music still flows
Time goes by …
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11. |
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Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly land
Therefore rest in peace
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us
Where they lie side by side here in this land of ours
You mothers, who sent your sons from faraway lands
Wipe away your tears
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace
After having lost their lives on our land
They have become our sons as well
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12. |
Disclaimer
03:54
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and conditions. This song is sung with no obligation, implied or implicit, on the part of the writer and/or performer. Listen only as directed. The performer accepts no responsibility for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the song, or failure on the part of the performer to be totally awesome in his or her performance. Listen at your own risk. The contents of this song may not be as described and the performer reserves the right to change its contents without prior notice. No refund is available. This warranty is limited to replacement of this song by a song of equivalent value at the sole discretion of the singer. If any defects are discovered, do not attempt to improve the song yourself or make suggestions directly to the performer, but return this song to your nearest authorized songwriting service centre. The ego of the performer is fragile. Handle with care. The views and opinions expressed in this song do not necessarily reflect those of the writer, the performer, or the sound engineer. Any resemblance to any other song ever written, since the beginning of time, is purely coincidental. Take that, Larrikin Publishing! Some assembly may be required. Instructions are included, but are totally incomprehensible. Allen key not included. This song is permeate free but may contain traces of nuts. Do not operate power tools, motor vehicles, heavy equipment or underwater breathing apparatus while listening to this song. Discontinue listening if any ill effects occur, including, but not limited to the following: temporary blindness, loss of balance, slurred speech, excessive yawning and/or scrotal itching. If there is persistence in this condition, consult with your physician. This song contains only one rhyme. That was it. No animals were harmed in the writing of this song, although I nearly thumped the cat when it kept walking across the keyboard. This song is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the singer. No other song is expressed or implied. All rights reserved. Do not fold, bend, mutilate, or spindle. Keep away from children. Other restrictions may apply. The lyrics of this song were current at time of writing. Please consider the environment before listening to this song. Batteries not included.
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13. |
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There’s a photo on a wall in a museum in Hobart
It was taken in October of 1903
Of a man and a woman and an Edison phonograph
Recording her songs of the land and the sea
And there’s a button on the wall there next to the photo
If you press it you can hear the ghosts of her songs
As they echo through the halls of that museum in Hobart
A scratchy reminder of all we’ve done wrong
The man and the woman and the Edison phonograph
Salvaging pieces of song
White man’s black cylinder, the story of progress
The song lives on – but the singers are gone
There’s a photo on a wall in a museum in Hobart
It was taken in October of 1903
Of a man and a woman and an Edison phonograph
Recording her songs of the land and the sea
And the man had a son
Who in turn had a son
Who in turn had a son
Who was me
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Bruce Watson Melbourne, Australia
Joyful, hilarious, thought provoking and totally engaging original songs from one of Australia's foremost songwriters and performers in the folk style.
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