Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Family Xmas report....and a great big tangent.

As usual it was fantastic.

Cept for the fact my sisters girlfriend had an unfortunate incident at work where her safety rope snapped (WHOA) and she came off her trapeze and broke her wrist. Bugger. There is always one or two that can't make it.....

We were at a Bush Camp in North Victoria and BOY were things different 6 years from the last time we were there. First point - about 8 million housing estates had sprung up. We were in the middle of nowhere last time!

Second point - last time we were there it was December and therefore SUMMER. I have pictures of Teen Queen sitting in the blow up pool with 6 month old Cyclone and boy it was hot. This time it was FREEEEEEZING!

Although we fired up the huge wood heater the moment we got there it still took ages to warm up, but good food and music helped us get toasty.






Although I have several awesome pics of my family gathered around Kaz and her guitar heartily singing clothed in 15 layers and clutching glasses, I realised I shouldn't really publish them it might bugger up whatever professional standing my relatives hold.....like at rather salubrious educational institutions around the state so you will have to make do with this pic and use your imaginations....


After all the little 'uns had gone to bed, the guitar came out quick smart and after we got the Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Dylan songs out of the way Uncle G started a rousing rendition of "Bound for South Australia".

Isn't it amazing how you realise you remember the words of songs you haven't sung for years?

"Heave away you rulent kings, heave away, haul away. Heave away you'll hear me sing - bound for South Australia"

Now those are the words I was taught and the only words I know. "Bound for South Australia" is a famous sea shanty used by the wheat and wool traders that worked the clipper ships between Australia and London. It's such a great song to sing that I was going to post the lyrics or even a Utube by The Pogues so you could all get rocking yourselves...

but now I'm pissed off because the words are all different from the ones I know. It used to be about Rulent Kings and leaving your wife and child behind and making do with a bottle of whiskey....but all I could find was versions going on about rolling kings and meeting Miss Nancy bloody Blair.

What happened to the lyrics I was taught at school over ABC Radio National??? HUH??


Now I don't usually spruik for comments - but I'd really like to know.

1) Do you have any idea what I'm talking about?
2) Do you know what happened to the lyrics?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Sorry to say, my answers are No and No. But that could be because I'm still a babe of 24 - had to ask DH what Creedence Clearwater Revival was...

Sounds like you had a fab time darl!

Anonymous said...

There is a second version (Capstan Shanty) which could be the one you are after. It is on Wikipedia:

Lyrics (Capstan shanty)
(solo) Oh South Australia's my native home
(chorus) Heave away! Heave away!
(solo) Oh South Australia's my native home
(chorus) We're bound for South Australia.
Heave away, heave away
Oh heave away, you ruler king,
We're bound for South Australia
(solo lines only)
I see my wife standing on the quay
The tears do start as she waves to me.
I'll tell you the truth and I'll tell you no lie;
If I don't love that girl I hope I may die.
And now I'm bound for a foreign strand,
With a bottle of whisky in my hand.
I'll drink a glass to the foreign shore
And one to the girl that I adore.

Mrs Neurotic said...

Totally lost on me, sorry. Obviously not Aussie enough.

Lulu said...

Phucking Philistines. Do they not teach anything about Australian History in schools anymore?

But thanks for the replies! I may have to post up a decent version if I can find one. Horribly enough the most rousing rendition I found on Utube was in Polish...for phucks sake.