Songs

Tuesday, 29 September 2020

We’re Christian You Know

We’re Christian, You Know

Verse 1

When those refugees come we spare no expenses

Turn back their boats and buff our defences

Bolster the borders round our white picket fences

They’re not neighbours to love, we tell them to go

We know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

CHORUS

We’re Christian you know, and oh don’t we just glow

With what we bestow on those far below

We’re the status quo, and our manifesto

Is we know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

Yeah we know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

Verse 2

When those kids in our care look to our preachers
For models of virtue and love for all creatures
They learn the places the holy hand reaches
We suffer the children, our faith is on show
We know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

CHORUS

Verse 3

When we march those soldiers away off to war
God knows what all the killing is for

And the blood it flows so holy and pure

Thou shalt not kill - unless we say so

We know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

Yeah, we know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

CHORUS

Reprise

They’re not neighbours to love, we tell them to go

We suffer the children, our faith is on show

Thou shalt not kill - unless we say so

We know what’s right, we’re Christian you know

We know what’s right

We’re Christian you know.

Saturday, 18 April 2020

Jola Man Drummer (Kaani's Song)

Hey Jola, hey Jola, hey Jola man

Down south Senegal there’s a man known well

As the Jola man drummer from Thionck-Essyl

He can make you sing, he can make you dance

He’s the Jola man drummer of Casamance

Hey Jola, hey Jola, hey Jola man

I know that Jola man drummer well

And I know his story enough to tell

It’s a story best told by the beat of his hands

As they pound to the pulse of African lands

Hey Jola, hey Jola, hey Jola man

You might hear every sound that passes ears

You might listen to the music of the spheres

But you’ve heard nothing till you’ve heard the thrum

Of the rhythm and the beat of that Jola man’s drum

Hey Jola, hey Jola, hey Jola man

When that Jola Man drummer comes to play

His people come from near and far away

They know what he feels, they know what he gives

As his drum marks the time of the lives that they live

It’s the beat of their blood, the rhythm of their breath

It’s the dance of their souls from birth to death

It’s the story they sing that’s in every part

Of the rhythm and the beat of that Jola man’s heart

Hey Jola, hey Jola, hey Jola man

You might move the sky, you might move the sea

You might move the earth, but I guarantee

You’ve moved nothin’ till you’ve moved your feet

To the rhythm of life in that Jola man’s beat

Oh the rhythm of life in that Jola man’s beat

Yeah the rhythm of life’s in that Jola man’s beat!

*******

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SPECIAL VERSE (for Kaani only)

You might see all the wonders of the world

You might see all the glory of life unfurled

But you’ve seen nothin’ till you get to see

That Jola man drummer play his ukulele

(Yeah Kaani Badji plays a ukulele)

This song was written for and about my friend, Kanni Badji, a proud Jola man, and the main ceremonial drummer for the area in which he lives, around Thionk-Essyl, in the Casamance region of southern Senegal. Drummers such as Kaani play a central role in the key ceremonies and rituals of the communities who live in that area, where the drum is pretty much the sacred instrument. Quite aside from being a beautiful person, Kaani is a very fine drummer, and is dedicated to his craft and role.

As for the special verse, my partner, Carrie, introduced Kaani to the ukulele when we visited him in 2017, and it was certainly something to see him play it (the girls of the Badji household found it particularly hilarious, and were kept entertained for hours by Kaani's ukulele concerts).

Us

There’s a part of me that wants to hide when the world just gets me down

Part of me that wants to run to a place I can’t be found

To a cavern deep and far away from circumstance and care

Where darkness can enshroud me in my own valley of despair

But off the path that leads that way there’s a voice I always hear

That whispers to me through the dark of another place that’s near

A place of peace and solace, where I can take my rest

And sing a song of love and hope from the part of me that’s best

And I find it in a part of me that I always come back to

A part of me that knows my heart, and knows what’s real and true

The part that shines the guiding light that always gets me through

The part where love is infinite; the part of me that’s you

And I hope that in these days of gloom, when hope seems thin and bare

It's a place where you’ll find comfort in a song that we can share

A song that whispers through the dark of a better place to be

A song of hope, that whispers to the part of you that’s me

Together we can face the dark and sing in harmony

A song of hope that calls out from the love of you and me

And let our song fill the air in peace and harmony

This song of us

We sing because

Part of you is me

Notes:

This is a fairly self-explanatory song, essentially about the redemptive power of love, hope, unity and song.

Sunday, 12 April 2020

Lockdown Blues

Lockdown Blues

This Covid-19 has caused quite a scene

Its spiky protein is meaner than mean

But I must have been down some ravine

Has anyone seen one to eighteen?

Now I keep to myself, keep my hands clean

My life’s now ruled by Covid-19

It’s badder than colds, badder than flus

But what’s badder for me are these lockdown blues

My house has a sheen, it’s the glow of chlorine

Hand hygiene’s now my daily routine

I’m overdosed on the screen and caffeine

I need a vaccine against quarantine

I don’t know or care about its genome

Just know it’s the bug that’s keeping me home

And it’s bugging me bad what I see on the news

But what’s bugging me most are these lockdown blues

Got time on my hands, nothing to do

And I’d sure like to get my hands on you

But it’s gonna have to stay an affair of the heart

I can’t squeeze you from two metres apart

And I know we’re all in, taking a hit

Staying at home and doing our bit

And it’s knowing you’re there, though it’s not what you’d choose

That helps me get through these lockdown blues

Yeah, that’s how we’ll lose these lockdown blues

[April 2020]

[Written during the self-isolation period of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis.
Not really autobiographical - my personal experience of the lockdown didn't leave me with "the blues",
but I know it did have that effect on others]

Friday, 30 August 2019

Rocky Hill

Come listen to this tale of those who blazed a trail

To a better day

It’s the story of a town that wouldn’t take it lying down

When Big Coal came their way

When GRL moved in they put Gloucester in a spin

With their plan to mine Rocky Hill

But some townsfolk they said “no, this coal mine’s not the go

We won’t bend to their will

“This open cut they’ve planned would put a scar across our land

And a blight upon our earth

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

It’ll cost more than it’s worth

We’ll build a groundswell, say no to GRL

We’ll shout out loud and strong

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

Leave our town alone”

So they rolled out all their banners, roused their knitting Nanas

Took their message to the street

They called politicians, wrote petitions and submissions

Made GRL feel the heat

Then the dreaded PAC said “even we agree

Now we’ve listened to your case

We’ve clearly understood that the bad outweighs the good

This mine is out of place”

But GRL said “wait, we won’t let you lock this gate

We’re taking this to court”

So between the grey walls of Law’s hallowed halls

The battle was finally fought

When the judge had heard the facts, and considered the impacts

He said “It’s clear to me

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for this Rocky Hill coal mine

I’m not going to let it be”

So the little mouse that roared beat the Big Coal overlord

And showed it can be done

When the people use their might to fight for what is right

Our future can be won

Now that spirit carries on, from Gloucester to Bylong
As we climb our rocky slope
Let's celebrate and then let's get marching once again
Up our Rocky Hill of hope

And though that rocky road ahead might fill us all with dread

There’s an Earth that needs our care

It’s the wrong place and wrong time for any new coal mine

There’s Rocky Hills everywhere

Yeah Rocky Hill’s everywhere

Oh Rocky Hill’s everywhere

------------------------------------------------

Background:

This song was inspired by the great victory (in February 2019) of the campaign waged by the Gloucester community (led by Groundswell Gloucester) against the open cut coal mine proposed by GRL (Gloucester Resources Limited) at Rocky Hill, a short distance from the Gloucester township in the NSW Hunter Valley.

The coal mine was first rejected by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) in December 2017 (the PAC was notorious for its previous "rubber stamp" approach to approving developments that came before it, including major coal industry developments such as the T4 development in Newcastle).

GRL appealed this decision in the NSW Land and Environment Court. In a landmark decision handed down in February 2019, Chief Justice Preston rejected GRL's appeal, stating that the Rocky Hill proposal was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".

The second last verse of the song was added to the original song after the NSW IPC (Independent Planning Commission) rejected the proposed Bylong coal mine (also in the NSW Hunter Valley) in September 2019.

Below is a condensed chronology of the Rocky Hill Coal Mine issue (the song is an even more condensed history). A more detailed history is available on the Environmental Law Australia website.

2012 (18 December): Gloucester Resources Limited (an 80% foreign owned coal company made up ) proposes an open cut coal mine about 5kms south of the town centre of Gloucester, in the NSW Hunter Valley. The proposed mine site is in a scenic area within a conservation zone, and less than 1km from residents. The estimated production of the mine would be 21 million tonnes over 16 years.

Local residents opposed to the mine form Groundswell Gloucester to organise the campaign against it (the exact date of the formation of GG is unclear).

2015 (April - June): GRL is advised by the state government that their original Rocky Hill application would be rejected and puts the proposal on hold.

2016 (11 August): GRL submits amended Rocky Hill application.

2017 (14 December): The NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) rejects GRL's amended application, saying that "the possible benefits would be outweighed by the detriment to the quality of life for residents near the mine site caused by visual impacts from the project and potential risks associated with an increase in noise and air quality impacts..."

2017 (19 December): GRL lodges appeal in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the PAC decision to reject the mine.

2018 (23 April): Land and Environment Court accepts Gloucester Groundswell's application for standing as a party to the proceedings. This was very significant because the legal case was GRL v the NSW Government, and GG signalled their intention to raise climate change as one of the reasons that the court should reject GRL's proposal, which they subsequently did.

2019 (8 February): Chief Justice Brian Preston rejects GRL's appeal, saying that the mine proposal is in "the wrong place (because of its local impacts) at the wrong time (due to climate change). In his judgement, Judge Preston CJ said:

'In short, an open cut coal mine in this part of the Gloucester valley would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wrong place because an open cut coal mine in this scenic and cultural landscape, proximate to many people’s homes and farms, will cause significant planning, amenity, visual and social impacts. Wrong time because the GHG emissions of the coal mine and its coal product will increase global total concentrations of GHGs at a time when what is now urgently needed, in order to meet generally agreed climate targets, is a rapid and deep decrease in GHG emissions. These dire consequences should be avoided. The Project should be refused.'

The judgement is regarded as a landmark one because - for the first time in an Australian court - climate change impacts formed part of the reason for refusing a coal mine development.

2019 (18 September): The NSW Independent Planning Commission (which replaced the PAC in 2018) refuses the proposed Bylong coal mine (a much bigger mine than Rocky Hill), referring extensively to Chief Justice Preston's Rocky Hill judgement in their statement of reasons for their decision.

Tuesday, 30 April 2019

The Curse of the May Poll

The Curse of the May Poll

A light satirical piece on Morris Dancing, composed as an entry in the Chorus Cup challenge at the 2019 St Albans Folk Festival (25-28 April).
Competition organisers set the Morris Dancing theme at the festival, and the song had to be composed and performed during the festival in accordance with various competition rules.
The song was performed on the Sunday of the festival by "The Merry May Pollsters", who formed for the performance from the members of "Sweet Songs and Soft Guitar" (Kathy and Matt Clark) and "Tripple Effect" (Carrie and Lynden Jacobi, and Len McCarthy).
Their performance won the 2019 Chorus Cup.
The tune to which it was sung was based on Bob Dylan's "Song to Woody", though the tune to the traditional folk song "One Morning in May" also works well.
The reference to "a Fossickers' song" is to a moment during a performance the previous day by The Fossickers in the main venue of the St Albans festival, when the members of the Fossickers suddenly broke from singing and leapt from the stage to Morris dance with their friends.

1

The Devil hates folkies, we all know it well

But there’s devilry hidden that this song will tell

How he sent forth a demon, Morris his name,

To torture all folkies and bring them all pain

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, ....)

Morris he pondered, he looked and he saw

“Those folkies are singing and having a ball

The rack and the screw, the lash and the choke

They’re all too soft for these people of folk

The pain they must suffer, it has to be worse

I’ll have to invent the ultimate curse.”

CHORUS: (Clap, clap....)

So a maypole he planted in the midst of a green

And about it he wove his diabolical scheme

“I’ll make up a dance that looks like a game

I’ll make folkies prance and give it my name

CHORUS: (Clap, clap...)

I’ll make them dress up and wave flags in the air

And they’ll weave a curse to make others stare.

And to make sure I cover all possible hells

I’ll make them bang clap sticks and jingle their bells”

CHORUS: To make sure he covered all possible hells

He made them bang clap sticks and jingle their bells

So they pranced and they danced, they kicked and they twirled

Till their evil engulfed the whole Folkie world

Till one day at St Albans the whole thing went wrong

When they tried to take over a Fossickers’ song.

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle our bells)

That day at St Albans we saw through the scheme

That day at St Albans when they made it The Theme.

(Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)

So the curse has now eased, but it happens perchance

That Morris left a curse even worse than his dance

The last fiendish curse that May poll has spun

Is the spawn of old Morris: Scotty, his son.

CHORUS: (Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)

So from clapsticks to claptrap that curse has now swung

And for every good Folkie there’s a cause to be won

For the curse of the May poll can be finally undone

If we use the next May poll {on the 18th of May} to scotch Morris’ son

CHORUS:

Let’s use that next May poll to scotch Morrison.

(Clap, clap, bang clapsticks and jingle their bells)