Redgum

[Damp Squarie]

I'm showing my age here.
Are there any old farts out there that liked their music?...newbies too

John Schumann, the famous Redgum lead singer discussed the background context of I Was Only 19 the other night at a restaurant I was at. It was a fascinating story.

John sang this song the following day to the opening of a Huey Helicopter Museum in Port Pirie.
As you may not know, this song was very much ingrained into the Australian psyche and paved the way to bring the boys home from the Vietnam War; a very unpopular war if you gauged society at the time.

The Vietnam War is another thread.
"Frankie didn't kick the mine the day that mankind kicked the moon" it was actually done by their platoon leader. But to save his embarrassment, and coupled with the fact that Frankie was rooted anyway... they went with the story.

Other songs I recommend are:
The Last Frontier
It was penned on a road trip that went north of Adelaide in the 70's.

and

For The Children

 

[hcd199]

I'm showing my age here.
Are there any old farts out there that liked their music?...newbies too

I'll be one of those - I was born in 1993, so after they split...

Redgum are probably my favourite Australian band. I took an interest in them after picking up a cheap greatest hits of theirs on vinyl at a second-hand record shop 3-4 years back - I've now got second-hand vinyl copies of their last three albums, along with "The Essential Redgum" on CD. They're 7th most placed in my last.fm library, and most played Australian artist - http://www.last.fm/user/hcd199 if you're interested.

Great song though it is, it's disappointing that "I Was Only Nineteen" is likely to be all that they're remembered for down the track, simply because there's so much more great material scattered throughout their discography. Some favourites of mine would be "Maria", "Lear Jets Over Kulgera", "Beyond Reason", "Running With The Hurricane" and "Blood Upon The Rain". There's something a touch unique about them, which is what I think I like most.

Could be wrong, but I think "For The Children", just having looked it up, might be a John Schumann solo track - certainly I've never heard it, I'll have to track it down and check it out.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Was this restaurant in Albs/Denmark?

 

[Leaping Lindner]

I must admit I was never a fan to begin with but John Schumann lost any respect I had for him when he in his role as music ambassador for South Australia told one of Adelaide's best bands of the last thirty to learn covers and tour asia. WTF????

 

[Mr Eagle]

Never a huge fan, but my folks had a copy of Caught in the Act and that was good for a listen when I was younger. Over time I began to understand more and more of the political aspect of their work. Still got a soft spot for a few tracks - I Was Only 19, Poor Ned, Long Run, Stewie, ASIO...

(and I say that last one even as a public servant!)

 

[CrazyJoeFevola]

One of the great Aussie bands, at the time of formation they were communists.

Certainly weren't afraid to sing about the struggles of the working man against the bosses and rail for true Aussie independence against the Yanks, which rings truer than ever today.

 

[Kynge of Begrem]

.
As you may not know, this song was very much ingrained into the Australian psyche and paved the way to bring the boys home from the Vietnam War; a very unpopular war if you gauged society at the time.

I was only 19 was written long after the ending of the Vietnam war - 1982/3.

 

[Damp Squarie]

Was this restaurant in Albs/Denmark?

Port Pirie

 

[Damp Squarie]

I'll be one of those - I was born in 1993, so after they split...

Redgum are probably my favourite Australian band. I took an interest in them after picking up a cheap greatest hits of theirs on vinyl at a second-hand record shop 3-4 years back - I've now got second-hand vinyl copies of their last three albums, along with "The Essential Redgum" on CD. They're 7th most placed in my last.fm library, and most played Australian artist - http://www.last.fm/user/hcd199 if you're interested.

Great song though it is, it's disappointing that "I Was Only Nineteen" is likely to be all that they're remembered for down the track, simply because there's so much more great material scattered throughout their discography. Some favourites of mine would be "Maria", "Lear Jets Over Kulgera", "Beyond Reason", "Running With The Hurricane" and "Blood Upon The Rain". There's something a touch unique about them, which is what I think I like most.

Could be wrong, but I think "For The Children", just having looked it up, might be a John Schumann solo track - certainly I've never heard it, I'll have to track it down and check it out.

I haven't heard of those songs you mentioned either...that's the good news for me.
I will be checking them out too.


Some of the lyrics "For The Children

May you always feel the sunshine and take time to taste the rain,
May your friends be true and caring and I hope you are the same;
And in your fleeting passage, leave a little bit behind
For the children who will follow in your footsteps, along the sands of time.

I dreamed there was a world for you, without the rush of rockets
And the thump of khaki gunships in the sky…
But there were rows of eucalyptus and trains for little boys
And tadpoles in a still black creek and playgrounds full of noise;
In my vision, fear and greed and anger were the only things to die…

May the wind blow gently through your life, may your principles be strong;
May you stand up and be counted when they work out right from wrong…
May your nights be short and peaceful, may your days be warm and long;
May your music be a service…may they pause sometime and listen to your song

And here’s this little voice, reaching down the phone,
“Dad you’ve been away so long, when are you coming home?”

May your eyes be filled with kindness, may the seeds of wisdom grow…
May you seek for truth and beauty and when you find it may you know…
May you help feed those who are hungry, and comfort those who hurt
May you always fright for justice for all of us who walk upon the earth

Nice words eh?

 

[hcd199]

Nice words eh?

Indeed; there's a real sense of poetry in many of their lyrics, and it's one of Schumann's strengths as a writer in particular, so I'm not surprised to see it carry through to his solo work.

Some of the tracks I mentioned:

Maria (from 1980's Virgin Ground)


Beyond Reason (from 1984's Frontline)


Running With The Hurricane (from their 1986 post-Schumann album Midnight Sun):

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

My older brothers are huge fans but I never
Really heard much apart from the singles until I got caught in the act at an op shop the other week. Great snap shot of Australian socialism for the time. They even have a crack at the oils.


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