https://soundcloud.com/tuigorge/bush-and-the-boat

RD - Nashville classic waltz
- Country waltz
Bass - RT 2303 Buzz bass
- Sampletank Fat bass synth
Guitar - RT 983
Bottleblow - Sampletank

Late 1940's. Just after the war. We lived in an inland timber town and occasionally headed to the coast for the weekend with relatives. Borrowed Grandpa Tommy's line-fish boat, dragged for mussels, burleyed for snapper. This is how I remember one trip.

Hope you enjoy a glimpse of my childhood. Any comments welcome.

The Bush And The Boat

We escape from the pine trees and coast down the Kaimais
Scull to the workboat and let her slip free
Follow old estuary curves to safe harbour
Mince up some mussels make the fish feed
The cockpit fills quickly with fat golden snapper
I'm sunburnt and satisfied my hands are on fire

The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood
The bush and the boat let us live like kings
I like what I do and I do what I like
Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing
That whining just won't fix a thing

We head back at sunset to Tommy's calm mooring
Sell to Nug's fish shop and buy crates of beer
A blaze on the sandspit with smoked fish and mussels
Out comes the squeezebox and loads of good cheer
As hoarse as the night we crash in our castles
Then work in the bush in the morning

The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood
The bush and the boat let us live like kings
I like what I do and I do what I like
Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing
That whining just won't fix a thing

The lifestyle was different in the old days
One people one country one flag
One set of values, one law for all
We were proud to call this land our home

The bush and the boat give us wild pork and seafood
The bush and the boat let us live like kings
I like what I do and I do what I like
Whinging and whining just won't fix a thing
That whining just won't fix a thing
Whining just won't fix a thing

Awesome song. Loved the back track. Lyrics were very well done. Great story in the lyrics. Well done

Hi Richard,

nice lyrics and a very unconventional backing.
Thanks for the glimpse of your childhood.

Guenter

Thanks for listening Scott. Came across the buzz bass and wanted to include it so made the song very rhythmic. Cheers.

Thanks Guenter. Those were the days! Cheers.

Nice song, to my ear the buzz bass does not fit the style. I think a standard finger bass would fit better; Could be just me. Still an excellent piece of music. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for your opinion Robert. Will keep on exploring! Cheers.

Richard,

I am very much enjoying your journey!

Super lyric on this. A great "glimpse" of the past.

I found the bass very distracting - and had to turn the track down considerably listening in phones. (personal choice.. I would like to hear this with an acoustic bass) - but I love that you are experimenting...

And...

I want to know what is meant by "...burleyed for snapper"
We fish for Red Snapper in the Gulf (of Mexico) out 25-45 MILES in 120 feet of water....

floyd

Hi Floyd
"Burley" is a anything enticing that fish will eat, generally tossed from the boat to attract fish to the area. Not sure if it's perhaps more an Australian / New Zealand term or not.

Burley often consists of what's left over after cleaning a fish, tossed back into the water.

(And, seasick people often just make their own berley, whether they like it or not!)
Hope this helps

Cheers
Trevor

I love these songs that offer a glimpse into, for me, another world of childhood experiences. Very well done. I'm biased being an old upright bass picker but I can hear one in your song. There are some outstanding acoustic bass RT's. Enjoyed it!

Trevor - thanks for the explanation! We call that "chum"...

Have taken Robert and Floyd's advice and replaced the bass.
(Goodbye buzz bass I may use you later in 'Ratbag Rap')
Also dropped one drum track. And the bottleblow.

http://youtu.be/bXn3wN_O6nM ( fixed the video May 5th )

Yeah Floyd Australasian term 'Burley'. I see the term chumming is American English from Powhatan. Looked up the red snapper. Discovered there are many species of snapper. Bet they all taste good. Thanks for your comments.

Thanks for your answer Trevor. Enjoyed the video!

We would drag for mussels from the extensive beds in the harbour where the snapper fed, smash some up to get the fish feeding off the bottom then Dad and I would work stray lines (flat out) from each side of the cockpit until we had all we wanted.
Lucky to get a feed these days.

Thanks for the encouraging comments and the listen Janice and Bud.
Cheers.

Hi, Richard !:))


I also enjoyed your
trip back into your
child/youthood !:))
I use to go there
quite often nowadays !:))


Cheers
Dani

I love the poem, the lyrics. I could see them being read at 'Poetry Night' in the bookstore as part of your collection of published poems.

The new mix and RT are much better. The video stopped abruptly, but no matter, I played both versions.

This is a wonderful heartfelt window into the past.

Hi Rich
Have to play this one to my better half. He loves fishing! Me, I dont eat seafood at all but I do like the song and as said before, I enjoyed the peak into your childhood. Great job.

Thanks Dani - as i get older I seem to remember more and more detail from the past. Most of it better forgotten. hmmmm. But there is much that's enjoyable.

Thanks Olemon - My collection of poems would be a bit of a shocker!
Thanks for mentioning the video. Didn't notice the ending. Will put a few more seconds on the last frame.

Thanks much Josie. Looks like you are into cruising yachts. I want to do a song about that one day.

I really, really like this song! You vocals combined with the backing track is great with such unique lyrics. A great combination and really well done.

Dave

Richard, thanks for the look into your past. The fishing here in Florida is not like it was 30 yrs ago. I enjoyed taking the journey of your song. If it's about fishing I'm all in. Tom

Hi Dave. Thanks for the fabulous comment. It's much appreciated! Cheers.

Hi Tom. Loved those weekends at the coast and feel very fortunate to live here now! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.

hi richmac very creative cool tune enjoyed very much thanks eric

Thanks for checking it out Eric. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.

Richmac,

I want to go on record as being one who liked the buzz bass. One of the things I like about your songs is that you experiment without paying homage to what would be considered usual. I liked the buzz bass exactly because it forced me to hear what you wrote as it denied me the luxury of hearing what I expected.

I usually have to warm up to your songs though, and that is a tradeoff you'll always have to make when you forge a new path. You risk presenting your music to an audience that would rather move on to the next song than warm up to your song. And in a world that is glutted with new songs, its easy to move on.

But you have a good creative dynamic going, and I hope you continue writing songs that make me reconsider the possibilities.

Thanks Pat for making me think about this response.

Following the most excellent (and welcome) advice i recieved the bass backing was changed, probably for the better, but i wasn't quite comfortable with it and reverted to the original for the Soundcloud version. More me somehow.

Have been following the comments on songwriting with great interest and must confess my main interest is in expressing myself in a way i enjoy and having fun (as PG says) with the software. I am always delighted that anybody would take the time to listen and even more so to comment on any of my efforts. Thanks again for such interesting comments. Cheers.

Very cool lyrics. Love the life and reality in your writing! It seems to me that the organic nature of the story and tech sound of the tracks are somewhat at odds. Always enjoy your work. Take care. Greg

Thanks Greg. I did go a bit overboard but the buzz bass reminds me of the sound of a boat motor constant in the background. Enjoy your comments! Cheers.