Description
Aussie Bush Bands originated in the outback of Australia in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The instruments of choice were generally of the homemade variety, for example tea chest bass, lagerphone and bones as well as concertinas, fiddle and harmonica.
The songs these Bush Bands played were derived from many sources and were truly unique in their evocation of a way of life unknown to most listeners, even those who have lived in Australia all their lives. They were based on Irish and Scottish tunes, brought to Australia by the early settlers and the lyrics reflected the outback life of those people and their struggle with the land.
The songs not only represent the historical culture of outback Australia, they also feature a mixture of homespun philosophy, humourand tall tales. They were often sung and played around the campfires in the outback and at woolshed dances, where many of the Bush Bands featured on this disc originated. From musical versions of A,B, 'Banjo' Paterson's bush poetry to adaptations of Irish traditional melodies, all of the songs in this collection have one thing in common – they take us back to life in the Australian outback as it was in the colonial days.
Happily, the tradition of Bush songs is carried on today by bands such as those featured on this collection: The Bushwackers, The Sundowners, The Colonials and Ants Bush Band, to name just a few.
TRACKLISTING
1 Waltzing Matilda : The Sundowners
2 Click Go The Shears : Gary Shearston
3 Lazy Harry’s : The Colonials
4 The Overlanders : The Ants Bushband
5 Billy Of Tea : The Bushwackers
6 Flash Jack from Gundagai : The Hawking Brothers
7 With My Swag Upon My Shoulder : Western Bush Band
8 The Ryebuck Shearer : The Sundowners
9 The Backblocks Shearer : Gary Shearston
10 Lime Juice Tub : The Hawking Brothers
11 Augathella Station : The Ants Bushband
12 The Maranoa Drovers : The Colonials
13 Lachlan Tigers : The Bushwackers
14 South Australia : The Sundowners
15 The Wild Colonial Boy : The Hawking Brothers
16 Barn Dance Medley: Drovers Dream / Click Go the Shears / Back Again to Yarrawonga / Dog Sits Opn the Tuckerbox / Home Among the Gumtrees : Wombats Bush Band
17 Springtime It Brings On The Shearing : Gary Shearston
18 The Old Bullock Dray : The Sundowners
19 The Man From The Snowy River : The Ants Bushband
20 Waltzing Matilda (Queensland Version) : The Bushwackers