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This ballad is an important piece as it is an emotional powerhouse, sung in the first person. Cyril was quite emotional when he sang this for me as the earlier recording had misquoted him singing one of the lines 'we rob the banks, shoot the police and quickly run away' when he really sang 'never run away'. The fact that he had been quoted and made the Kellys look like cowards had soured him to the idea of interviews. It took quite a lot to regain his confidence.
After singing the ballad Cyril immediately moved to sing this little ditty which he said “I haven't sung that one for over twenty years; - it had obviously been triggered by his emotional contact with the ballad. Up The KellysFarewell Dan and Edward KellyFarewell Byrnes and Steve hart too Those that blame you are not many Those that blame you are but few Thirty policemen did outdo you In a manner I am told Dirty policemen did outdo you For a paltry sum of gold Only One More Drink(Composed by Uncle Robert Duncan)(Parody – The Ship That Never Returned) Only one more drink said the hearty bushman As he leaned across the bar Only one more drink of that good old whiskey Then away to the camp so far So he called them in and all were welcome And his cheque went 'round like rain And for weeks and weeks, There's been boozers watching For that man's return again. At this stage Cyril breaks into 'The Ship That Never returns….
Willy Stone The JockeyAt the graveyard at Toowong,Where the river rolls along, There lies Willy Stone, so trusty, true and brave When the whips they were drawn out, You could hear the backers shout, And hurrah! for old Willy Stone again
IndooroopillyI N D double O RDouble O P I Drive the strangers silly They can't spell Indooroopilly I N D double O R Double L I I'll spell it with a sigh I N D double O R Double O P I Double L I ToowoombaToowoomba, ToowoombaI love you BrisbaneGive me old BrisbaneAnd give me a girl Then I'll be simply all right Can anyone point to a better old joy? That Queen Street on Saturday night? When me and my Marjorie go strolling along My cobbers they try to be smart "Get out of the way, Tis Billo they say, Walking out with his fair dinkum tart."
Cyril, in correspondence, told me that this was composed by his father, John Duncan.
MussellmanWhen the whips were all drawn outYou could hear the backers shout And hurrah for old Musselman again
Cyril explained that
Out On The Downs(parody: Only A Button Between Him and Disgrace)Cyril said he composed this around 1929
Picture a home on the Darling Downs
Banks of The CondamineOh Betsy, oh Betsy, Oh that will never doTo cook and keep my tally And be a shearer too To cook and keep my tally And everything so fine I'll wash your greasy moleskins On the banks of the Condamine Stringybark & GreenhideStringybark will light your fireAnd Greenhide will never fail you Stringybark and Greenhide Are the mainstay of Australia Hustling HinklerPopular songSmithyPopular songI asked Cyril about songs about shipwrecks and he said this was the only one he knew. The YongalaAnd no one knew of the dangerThat threatened them on each side With a crash and a cry it was all over Sinking the Yongala in the tide And now they've all gone a-searching For survivors and ones they could find But at last came the news when returning The storm had left none behind Cyril had done a spot of cane-cutting and tells of a time when the cutters all wore women's bloomers – "because they were big and cool" The Cane-Cutter's LamentThe cane was badThe cutters were mad The cook he had shit on the liver And never again, will I cut cane On the banks of the Tully River
Collated with Mrs Colley's version which she called Come Home To your Brothers and Sisters There's No LadyThere's no lady, so some people would sayBecause she earns her living By working every day There's no lady, more independent than she She's just as much a lady As a lady ought to be.
Timber Cutter's Ditty(Composed by Cyril about the lousy payers at Kyogle Mill)
Cut some poles and fall that tree Road to Old Binalppo(As sung by Cyril and Milton Parker)
On the road to old Binalppo
The next song was, and probably still is, the most surprising song I have ever recorded. I had been taping Cyril for a couple of hours and he was getting into the swing of recalling old ditties from his memory when he thumped the table saying, "Well, here's one you would never have heard before!". Oddly enough, only recently, twenty eight something years later I found the song in an 1870s Melodist Songster in the Mitchell Library. I subsequently learnt the song and enjoy singing it.
Cyril had done a lot of building and when he sang Nails he explained that the strange words were actually building terms for various nails.
The IrishOh Irishmen, Irishmen, bow down your headsThere's pigs in your parlours, there's fleas in your beds Come over to Ireland, and there you will see How dirty and filthy the Irish can be (spoken… Play another bar of dat and I'll wrap this fiddle round yer head! The Old Bullock DrayOh, the shearing is all over and the wool is coming homeAnd I mean to get a wife, me boys, when I get underway, Every If you'll only take possession of the Billbudgary old bullock dray. Cyril says that 'bilbudgary' is Aboriginal for 'no bloody good'
Old Ireland FreeThey say we are going to freedomThough my poor heart it lies low How the English they deceive us You'll never find a better land Show me the land to compare with us? Emerald gem of the sea I'll cling to my home in old Ireland Don't I wish old Ireland was free
Bull Shit
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After The Ball |
I remember my father would sing a horse race song that had the lines
Cyril then went on to sing part of the chorus to the song about Lance Sculthorpe.
The Whip and The Spur
A whip and a spurA pony to a pin
Whenever a jockey rides a race
He rides toady to win.
The Blackthorne Stick |
Fragment of what seems to be a popular style Irish song
Molly Reilly
Oh Molly Reilly I love youTell me Molly Reilly does your heart beat true
Marry me me darling, I'll die if you say no
And me ghost'll come and haunt you, Molly Reilly Oh.
I'm not sure if this is related to the above fragment or a different song.
Molly Doolin |
The next item appears to be a German 'double Dutch' nonsense song,
German Song |
