Between the Lines - Issue Fourteen

This issue I am happy to feature another terrific contribution to Between the Lines from Warren Fahey. Again I’d like to recommend Warren’s comprehensive web site - www.warrenfahey.com

Over to Warren…


Mrs Susan Colley (holding her grandchild) with her daughters. (photograph courtesy Warren Fahey Collection)

In 1973 I was fortunate to visit the Macquarie Home for the Aged, in Bathurst, and record Mrs Susan Colley, then 92 years of age, who had been a noted concertina player in the Bathurst district.

A beautiful Anglo German concertina player and an equally lovely singer Mrs Colley took great joy in playing the old songs and tunes. I recently listened to the tapes (now housed in the National Library) and thought I'd share some of the music with Trad 'n' Now readers.

The Old Macquarie
Tune: One More River To Cross

Old Noah he built himself an ark
There's one more river to cross
He built it out of gumtree bark
There's one more river to cross.

Chorus
One more river and that's the old Macquarie
There's one more river,
There's one more river to cross

The animals went in one by one
They all wanted to have some fun

The animals went in two by two
The wombat and the kangaroo

The animals went in three by three
The little bug and the frisky flea

The animals went in four by four
The buffaloes they got stuck in the door

The animals went in five by five
Some had children and some had wives

The animals went in six by six
Some carried swags and some carried sticks

The animals went in seven by seven
Some talked of hell and some of heaven

The animals went in eight by eight
Some were early and some were late

The animals went in nine by nine
Some in a circle and some in a line

The animals went in ten by ten
They had so much fun they said 'let's do it again'

Perhaps you think there's another verse
But there isn't!

When talking about the Great Depression, Mrs Colley recalled the following parody:

Sydney Road
(Tune: Pop Goes The Weasel)

Up and down the Sydney road
In and out of the weasel
That's they way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel.
Half a pound of bread and cheese
Half a steak and kidney
That's the way the money goes
Half-living down in Sydney

Mrs Colley's family came from the land and her descendants are still farming. Shearing stories and songs were important to her and to hear her sing 'At The Gate Each Shearer Stood' was very special. Like many traditional song carriers Mrs Colley occasionally spoke certain lines or added comments to give the song emphasis. This song is also known as Lachlan Tigers because of the A.L. Lloyd popularised version. Although Mrs Colley was a fine concertina player she did not accompany her songs and this is the general rule in the Australian tradition.

At The Gate Each Shearer Stood

At the gate each shearer stood as the whistle loudly blew
With eyes all fixed and lips compressed the tigers they flew too
Hark to the clicking of the shears as through the wool they glide
See our burly ringer, he is on the whipping side

A lot of Lachlan Tigers, it's plain to see we are,
Hark to our burley ringer as he loudly calls for tar;
“Tar here”, calls one, and quick the tar-boy flies;
“Sweep those locks away!” another loudly cries.

A curse upon our gaffer this night the ringer cried
To shear a decent tally in vain I've often tried
The scene it is a lively one and ought to be admired
There never has been such a day since Jacky Howe expired
(Comments: he was the great shearer)

But I've got a pair of Ward & Paynes, they're lively, bright and new
I'll rig them up and let you see, what I can really do
For I've shore out on the Darling and in New Zealand too
The backblocks of the Lachlan and out on the Paroo
And far away in Queensland where they shear them by the score
But such a terror to chip as these I never saw before

Below - Mrs Colley's handwritten words to At The Gate Each Shearer Stood (Courtesy Warren Fahey Collection)

"We used to go to the dances at Duramann just out of Bathurst. I was a good dancer and I could waltz with anybody or dance with them and have the concertina in my arms and play it as we went about. The dances went on all night, dark to daylight, and we were sorry when they ended, you know.” – Mrs Colley

Concertina tunes in the collection include:
* The Girl I Left behind
* Heel & Toe Polka
* The Boys Won't Leave The Girls Alone
* Gathering up the shells on the seashore
* Ye Banks & Braes of Bonny Dee
* Varsovienna
* Waltz
* Irish washerwoman
* Click go the shears
* Don't sell my mother's picture in the sale
* A Starry Night For A Ramble

My many thanks go to Warren Fahey for his contributions to Between the Lines.