This week’s music track is a little different as there’s no lyrics to accompany the video clip. The reason being that it’s an instrumental, unless you consider the occasional growling of “Mouldy old dough” worthy of being called lyrics. Mouldy Old Dough was originally released in the UK in early 1972 but it seems to have been somewhat of a flop. After reaching number one in Belgium, it was re-released in the UK and spent four weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1972.
It did somewhat better in Aotearoa New Zealand, where it reached the top spot on the 15th of December 1972 and remained there until it was overtaken by Lobo’s “I’d Love You to Want Me” in early February 1973. If I was to hazard a guess as to why it was so popular, I’d say it was an ideal track to accompany a relaxed family barbecue or picnic over the summer.
In the early 1990s, there was a revival of the popularity of Mouldy Old Dough when it was adapted as the theme music for a series of television commercials by LOTTO NZ for its Instant Kiwi scratchcards.
Mouldy Old Dough was written by Nigel Fletcher and Rob Woodward who were part of the novelty music group Lieutenant Pigeon. Woodward’s mother, Hilda, features on the piano in the YouTube clip below. I’ve also included a couple of the Instant Kiwi TV commercials which might help non-Kiwis understand why the instrumental had a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s.
A recent blog post over at bereavedandbeingasingleparent regarding the insignificance of a discount he received from his electricity supplier, reminded me of an incident that occurred around 1959/1960. This was many years before Aotearoa New Zealand converted from Stirling (Pounds, Shillings and Pence) to Decimal currency (Dollars and Cents).
My father worked for the New Zealand Education Department as a PhysEd (Physical Education) specialist. His role was to visit schools and to advise the educators on all aspects of PhysEd from swimming pool and playground safety to the supervision of individual and team sports to instructing teachers how to teach folk dancing and Māori action songs/dances.
This story revolves around a cheque he was sent. I don’t recall whether it was to make up for a shortfall in his salary or for an underpayment of expenses, but the department sent him a cheque for half a penny at the end of the financial year. He thought it was hilarious, as the postage alone cost four pence plus the cost of the envelope plus the cost of typing the message detailing how the shortfall had occurred. Additionally in those days there was a two pence stamp duty on each cheque. The postage and stamp duty alone came to sixpence. My father framed it and hung it on the wall as it would have cost him a two pence processing fee to bank or cash.
Every month following, the accounts department sent him increasingly desperate letters asking him to bank the cheque so that they could “balance the books” – each letter costing another four pence postage, plus whatever it cost to process. My father ignored the requests for six months, but finally he received a phone call from Head Office and the caller sounded to be quite upset, so much so that he felt he should do “the right thing” and bank the cheque.
Cheques were valid for six months and by the time he tried to bank it, it had expired by a day or two. He sent it back from his office to head office, which again cost the department four pence in postage, explaining why it was being returned. I don’t know how the department and my father finally resolved the matter, but that half penny cheque incurred direct costs of at least eight postage stamps plus the stamp duty totalling 34 pence, not to mention the the eight envelopes, eight A4 sheets with departmental letterhead, plus the time of the accountant and the typists to prepare each letter.
Back then accounting was processed using mechanical accounting machines, and perhaps there was no practical way of carrying that half cent for an individual employee from one financial year to the next. I wonder, in these day of electronic funds transfers, if similar situations still arise from time to time.
This post is a response to a question posed by jilldennison in a reply to a comment I made on one of her articles. I felt it was a little too long for a comment there hence this post. You can view the original thread by visiting here. The following is a story originally told to me by my father on the rare occasions he opened up about his experiences of war.
My father was a platoon sergeant at a time when the front line was moving favourably for the allies. In an early morning patrol my father’s platoon stumbled across some 50 – 100 enemy soldiers who had taken over a school in which to spend the previous night. It was evident that they were unaware of how much the front line had moved, as most of the soldiers were in various states of undress and conducting morning ablutions in a stream that bordered one side of the school. Their weapons and helmets were neatly lined up against one of the school rooms and were actually closer to my father’s platoon than to most of the enemy. The lieutenant commanding the platoon ordered the platoon to advance to a slightly more advantageous position then on the command of my father to open fire.
My father ordered the platoon to stay put and under no circumstances to open fire. He made it clear to his men and the lieutenant that such an action was not only unnecessary, it was immoral. The enemy were clearly unarmed, and in no position to resist. Their best chances would have been to try to escape across the stream, but an embankment on the other side would have made them easy targets as they clambered up it. The morale of the enemy at that point of the war was very low, and often they viewed surrender as the best possible outcome regardless of any military advantage they might have.
The lieutenant and my father got into a heated (but whispered) argument which didn’t end even after my father was relieved of his command. My father never revealed what happened next apart from the final outcome where he paraphrased the official report of the incident, but it was clear that it didn’t go well for the enemy. The official report recorded that “heavy casualties” were inflicted on the enemy, and eleven combatants were captured. When asked on what happened to the rest, all my father would say was that a few crossed the stream and “one or two” escaped. Even when pressed he refused to say what happened to the rest. When I put it to him that they had all been killed, he refused to look at me and didn’t respond. Even I, as an autistic, was able to grasp the significance of his (lack of) response.
My question is: was the lieutenant and those soldiers who opened fire evil (a few, like my father refused)? If you say no, they were in a war situation, does that justify the slaughtering of up to 100 unarmed men, who, as my father described, “were sons, husbands, fathers, lovers, labourers, professionals, and most probably honest, decent people first and foremost”? If you excuse their action, then surely those who kill for different, but in their mind equally valid reasons, must also be excused. If, as in the case of the Christchurch mosque shooting or the Sandy Hook shooting, you consider them acts of pure evil, and therefore the persons committing them also evil, then surely the same applies to those who my father witnessed kill unarmed defenceless men.
If you believe one act was evil, but another not (and it doesn’t matter which you consider evil and which not) are you not justifying the event based on the premise that one group of perpetrators are “friends” while you regard the others as “enemy”. Do you not think that those who support the “enemy” might have the same mindset?
My father first relayed that story to me when he was in his mid to late seventies, some 55 years, perhaps a few more, after the event, and I heard it retold two or three times before his death at 90 years of age. There were minor discrepancies in the description of the locale between each telling, but not what happened, and as I last heard it perhaps 15 years ago, I can’t be sure I have remembered with absolute accuracy. However I am confident that the essential elements of the story are true.
In case you’re wondering, the lieutenant mentioned above was commended for his deeds that day. My father was court marshalled.
No, it’s not celebrated in Aotearoa, although Black Friday is now firmly on the retailers’ calendar, replacing Boxing day (December 26) as the day with the highest retail turnover. Besides, it celebrates a myth and a whitewashing of America’s colonial past.
Before ill health forced me into early retirement 15 years before I anticipated, I worked for the New Zealand subsidiary of a multinational information technology company. The managing director of the NZ subsidiary was typically (but not always) a foreign national – often American. In the early years of the 1990s an American was appointed to the role of managing director, and in his wisdom, he decided that as the parent company headquarters were located in the US, the NZ subsidiary should follow the American tradition of Thanksgiving. Staff located in Auckland where the NZ head office was located were “treated” to a luncheon with turkey and speeches that were mostly meaningless to the attendees. Staff in the fifteen or so branches scattered across the country were “less fortunate”, as all we were “treated” to was turkey sandwiches that had been couriered to each staff member in every branch.
I hate to think what it cost the company, as turkey was almost unknown here at the time. I presume it was imported specially for the occasion. The six staff members in the branch I was based at took one bite of a sandwich, and instantly tossed all their sandwiches into the rubbish. None of us had tasted turkey before, and not one of us liked the taste one tiny bit. The same occurred in every branch, and apparently most of the turkey served in Auckland had a similar fate. It’s not something the Kiwi palate could easily accommodate.
No one had the courage to inform the managing director what they thought of the whole Thanksgiving fiasco, so he decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the following year. While many Auckland staff found excuses not to attend the luncheon, the branches hatched up a plan of their own. Every sandwich package delivered to the branches was carefully repackaged, addressed to the Managing director and sent by overnight courier back to Auckland. There were about 80 staff members across all the branches, so when he arrived at his office the following morning, the managing director found 80 packages of stale turkey sandwiches waiting for him.
Like Nik I’m ambivalent about the monarchy. Well actually it’s the hereditary nature of the role rather than the institution of the monarchy itself. Certainly separating the head of state from the head of government, outside of politics draws me to prefer the continuation of an institution that functions in a similar way rather than a presidential form of government. So until a better way of transferring the institution of the monarchy (or an equivalent) from one person to another is devised, I’m prepared to live with with the hereditary model.
For those who do not understand how the monarchy works, the monarchy of Aotearoa New Zealand is not the same as the monarchy of the United Kingdom. They are separate institutions regulated by different laws.
Unlike Nik, I’ve been a subject of a monarch for all my life, and all but three of them under Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ. One of my earliest recollections is standing on a raised lawn in the city of Whanganui waving to the new Queen as her cavalcade passed by. That was in January of 1954 on her NZ tour.
Queen Elizabeth II poses for a portrait at home in Buckingham Palace in December 1958. For almost 16 years now, I’ve been a subject of the Queen. It’s kind of weird whenever I think about it — that a kid who was born in Alaska, grew up in the hills of California and went to […]
For the third Musical Monday in a row, I’m featuring an artist who has recently died. I hope it’s not going to become a trend, although at my age, many singers whose songs I have become fond of are now well into their seventies and eighties. So perhaps it’s inevitable.
Margaret Urlich was considerably younger than I am, and on 22 August lost a two year battle with cancer at the tender age of 57. She was well known in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and will be fondly remembered. I’m not sure how well she was known outside of these two countries. She started her musical career in Aotearoa before moving to Australia – unfortunately an all too common occurrence for NZ performers as the Australian market, being many times larger than ours, offers more opportunities.
In the late 1990s Urlich dropped out of the limelight, preferring family and being a high school music teacher. As reported in the NZ newspaper The Star, “I quite like being normal. I only ever started singing because I just love it. The whole fame side of it, I didn’t think about it that much and it always felt a little bit uncomfortable to me. I don’t need to have a high profile to be happy – in fact, I think the opposite is true for me.”
Margaret Urlich is one of those singers who, for me, flew somewhat under the radar, and it’s only now that she is gone do I realise that what is good about her music, and what was good about the person herself. Although she’s gone, her music will continue to live on. I’ve included five YouTube tracks – three solo performances and two from groups she was a member of in the 1980s.
I hope I never
This song was originally performed by the group Split Enz and was written by band members Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner. Released as a single in August 1980 it peaked for Split Enz at number 33 in the NZ charts. The Margaret Urlich cover was included in her 1999 album Second Nature.
I Hope I Never – Margaret Urlich
I Hope I Never
I fall apart when you're around
When you're here, I'm nowhere
I can't pretend that I'm not down
I show it, I know it
I've been a fool, more than once, more than twice
I'm gonna move to a new town where the people are nice
I hope I never, I hope I never have to sigh again
I hope I never, I hope I never have to cry again
I still want to beam and smile
Happiness is back in style yeah
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again, oh oh oh oh
It should be possible I know
To see you without stress
But I can see I'll have to go
I'm changing my address
My urge to cry I have failed to conceal
Life - it's no fun when you're hunted by the things that you feel
I hope I never, I hope I never have to sigh again
I hope I never, I hope I never have to cry again
I'm for living while you can
I'm an optimistic man
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again, oh oh oh oh...
I hope I never
I hope I never
I hope I never, never, never...
I hope I never, I hope I never have to see you again
Again.
Escaping
Escaping is a song written by Dina Carroll and was included in Margaret Urlich’s album Safety In Numbers released in 1989. It reached number one in the NZ singles chart. and has re-appeared on the Hot 20 NZ Singles (The 20 fastest-moving New Zealand tracks by sales, streams and airplay) at number 5, The Hot 40 Singles (The 40 fastest-moving tracks by sales, streams and airplay) at number 10, and at number 16 on the Official Top 20 NZ Singles chart (The 20 best-selling and most-streamed New Zealand tracks).
Escaping
Kid at heart playing games
In the shadows
Fall asleep make a wish
And the bad goes
I can dream can't I?
When I close my eyes
Kiss the world goodbye
You'll see me escaping
To a land faraway
In the night time
There's a secret place
Where no-one can hurt you
Desert you, no-one hurts you
That's why I'm escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
Let me loose, set me free undercover
'Cos the night all around is my lover
And you're running into you
Where you wanna be
All you have to do
No shame in escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
I can dream can't i?
When I close my eyes
Kiss the world goodbye
This time I"m escaping
Oh starry eyes am I
Knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart upon the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
No use in faking, fool for the taking
There's no more escaping you
Starry eyed am I
knowing that when I try
To forget you
Love brings me out of my shell
I put my heart up on the shelf
Hiding inside myself
What am I doing?
Rules meant for breaking
Feelings awaken, there's no more escaping you
There's no more escaping you
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night)
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night) was released in early 1990 as the second single from her debut studio album, Safety in Numbers and peaked at number 10 on the NZ charts at that time. It has re-appeared on the the Hot 40 Singles chart at number 39, and on the Hot 20 NZ Singles at number 10.
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night) – Margaret Urlich
Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night)
Last night I took a cab to the south side
I took a walk over the old neighbourhood
Just by chance we ran into each other
After so long we spent apart
Years ago you were my first love
I'm not to blame, it took my little heart
We were so close
Time went by, we drifted apart
But remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
My own number one
I maybe a fool, I know I'm sentimental
Easy to get lost in a moment from the past
The love we knew, it still lingers
Those memories will always last
There's somethin' special 'bout a love for the first time
Can't be forgotten, can't be replaced
It was yesterday, we were young again
The moment that I saw your face
But, remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
And no matter how much the times goes by
You'll always be my number one
Things were so simple then, we were so innocent
I know we can't go back
But I'm thankful for the time we shared
Our worlds are so different now
We were so close
Time went by, we drifted apart, baby
But remember when we danced all night
Danced till we cried, we were so in love
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
Still every time I think of you
I get misty eyed but I won't come undone
No matter how much the time goes by
You'll always be my number one
When the Cat’s Away
Urlich was also a member of When the Cat’s away. This was a five member all female group formed in the 1980s. At the end of that decade it was one of the biggest live acts in the country, performing to audiences of up to 80,000. They are perhaps best known for their cover version of Melting Pot, which reached number one on the NZ charts and achieved gold in 1998. They disbanded in 1990 but reformed in 2001 and their live album Live in Paradise achieved platinum. The band was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame in 2021.
Asian Paradise – When The Cat’s Away
Asian Paradise
There's a strange white moon at my open window
There's a heat on the breeze tonight
I see the lights of the hotel burn in the trees
And I feel love is burning in me
I am caught in the change of a tropical rainstorm
Out there between green and blue
And it's telling me that you're so hard to forget
I'm a traveller just passin' through
Asian paradise you still haunt me
And it's so damn nice, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes
I can tell you I feel your burnin' in me
Now the moon lies herself out on top of the water
She's as naked as we were born
And the satay and beer paralyses me here
And I'm feeling I'm already home
I am caught in the change of a tropical rainstorm
Out there between green and blue
And it's telling me that you're so hard to forget
I'm a traveller just passin' through
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
I just close my eyes, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Asian paradise you still haunt me
And it's so damn nice, I can tell you
I feel your burnin' in me
Peking Man
Margaret Urlich was also a member of the band Peking Man. The band’s single Room That Echoes, where Urlich is the lead singer reached number one on the NZ charts in 1985. In the following year Peking Man won six categories at the New Zealand Music Awards: Album of the Year; Single of the Year; Engineer of the Year; Producer of the Year; Best Group; Best Album Cover.
Room That Echoes – Peking Man
Room That Echoes
You hear all the words that I tell you
You touch upon the things that I feel
Every movement I make tells a secret
I had promised I will never reveal
It's not that I'm trying to mislead you
It's just that I'm misleading myself
Now that the wall is completed
I'm taking time to build a house
I'm gonna build a room that echoes
Around and around and around with its own sound
'Round and around, I won't need to be there
'Round and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no-one has to hear
I'm painting my face with numbers
A message that you won't understand
I look at myself in the mirror
I give myself a helping hand
I will listen to the sound that surrounds me
Even though I won't be there at all
So, next time you need some stairs to fall down
Give my room of sound a very loud call
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around, I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no one has to hear
A sound
A sound that
A sound that tells
A sound that tells you
A sound that tells you what you've got
A sound that tells you what you're not
A sound that tells you what you need
A sound that tells you
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
A sound that no one has to hear
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
Round and around I won't need to be there
Around and around and around with its own sound
If I were to compile a list of my favourite top 100 songs, I had thought that there would be few, if any, country songs included. However with the recent death of a Kiwi country music icon, I am beginning to realise that there would indeed be more than a handful. I am referring to the John Grenell, who died on July 27 at the age of 78.
I will probably always remember him as John Hore as that was his stage name in the first part of his music career, which was the family name of his step father. He grew up in rural South Island New Zealand and was always a shy country lad at heart. According to those who knew him, he was a humble man, who had no ego or pretensions. He made his first recording in 1963, and by the time he was nineteen, he had sold over 100,000 records, which in those days was quite an achievement for a NZ singer of any age or genre.
John made frequent television appearances during the 60s and early 70s, and I was a fan of his “velvet” voice. He became biggest-selling New Zealand act of the decade, and his second album, Encore John Hore, which was released in May 1965, became the best-selling album by a New Zealand artist at that time. He recorded a number of singles and made 11 albums before bowing out of the music scene to concentrate on family, farming, and rural tourism. Then in the late 80s he resurfaced under his birth name of John Grenell. For a while he went by his father’s name of John Denver Grenell, which as you might imagine, was rather confusing.
Perhaps his best known song is his cover of Welcome To My World that featured on a two minute Toyota television commercial that first aired in 1990 (with slightly altered lyrics to suit the purpose of the commercial). Below are just a few of John’s songs I found on YouTube.
Past Like A Mask
I value this first clip as the lyrics are critical of what many men (and unfortunately many women) perceive what it is to be a “real man”. The stereotype is seen all to often in this country, and one only needs to look at our statistics on family violence to see that. This song has also taken on another meaning since I discovered I was autistic in 2010, but that’s another story for another time.
Past Like A Mask – John Hore Grenell
Past Like A Mask
I was told to be a man was building fences strong
Keep your woman in her place and she'll keep hangin' on
Now I've grown to realise my life's been filled with lies
The thread that I've been hangin' on has broken in her eyes
If I could let my heart be known despite of walls so high
I might taste those bitter tears that I've never learned to cry
But I've got a past like a mask
And I can see it in her face, the many years I can't erase
A broken heart I can't replace in spite of how I try
And I've got a past like a mask
And I sure took my time to understand
When I was young, not long ago, I hid my feelings well
Sometimes I let my heartaches show but I could never tell
And now I find I've been blind, insensitive and vain
Cause someone told me long ago "ignore a woman's pain"
If I could change the fool I've been, I know just what'd do
I'd give her everything I can and make all her dreams come true
But I've got a past like a mask
And I can see it in her eyes, the lonely nights, the endless lies
The countless time I made her cry when she was by my side
And I've got a past like a mask
And I sure took my time to understand
Welcome To Our World
Toyota has made several memorable television commercials in this country, with perhaps the “Bugger” commercial being the best known for those of my generation. There’s nothing particularly memorable about this Welcome To Our World 1990 Toyota Commercial, apart perhaps for it being two minutes long and for featuring the beautiful velvet baritone voice of John Grenell. It’s a slightly modified version of Welcome To My World, of which the Jim Reeves version is perhaps recognised the world over.
Welcome To Our World – John Hore Grenell
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
It’s a real place! Taumatawhakatangihangakōauauotamateapōkaiwhenuakitānatahu is the name of a hill in southern Hawkes Bay, approximately 130 Km (80 miles) from where I live. A rough translation goes something like “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his kōauau (flute) to his loved one“
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu – John Hore Grenell
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Done a lot of travellin', this great country round
Seen a lot of people, covered lots of ground
But there's only one place I'd like to call my own
So I am headin' back there, so I am goin' home
Take me back to where it's wild and free
Take me back where I long to be
Take me back, take me back won't you
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Up and down this country, all those sights I've seen
North Cape to the Bluff and everywhere between
But you can keep your cities, they're not the place for me
Home is where the heart is that's where I've gotta be
Take me back to where it's wild and free
Take me back where I long to be
Take me back, take me back won't you
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
I've walked the length of Queen Street, Karangahape to the sea
And I've fought the wind of Seatoun, the sights of Lambton Quay
Christchurch and Dunedin, and Invercargill too
You name a place, I've been there, and now I'm a shootin' through
Take me back to where it's wild and free
Take me back where I long to be
Take me back, take me back won't you
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Take me back to where it's wild and free
Take me back where I long to be
Take me back, take me back won't you
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Take me back to where it's wild and free
Take me back where I long to be
Take me back, take me back won't you
Take Me Back to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
I’ve been Everywhere
This song was written by an Australian by the name of Geoff Mack, and the original used Australian place names. Hank Snow and Johny Cash made versions with American place names, and John Hore Grenell made a NZ version:
I’ve Been Everywhere – John Hore Grenell
I've Been Everywhere
Well I was hitching a ride on a winding Hokitika road
When along came a lorry with a high and canvas-covered load
"If you're going to Hokitika, mate, with me you can ride"
So I jumped into the cabin and settled down inside
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and sand
And I said, "Look, listen mate, I've been everywhere in this here land ...
Cos, I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
I've been to
Kaparoa, Whangaroa, Akaroa, Motueka,
Taramoa, Benmore, Pongaroa, Horoeka,
Rimutaka, Te Karaka, Whangarei,
Nuhaka, Waimahaka, Motuhura, Waikaka,
Motonui, Hokonui, Papanui, Wainui,
Matawai, Rongotai, Pikowai, I'm a guy.
I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
Woodville, Dargaville, Lumsden, Katikati,
Naseby, Cambridge, Porirua, Mararoa,
Hastings, Tikitiki, Tauranga, Auckland,
Naenae, Waitaha, Hamilton, Poroporo,
Taupo, Timaru, Oamaru, Tihoi,
Awanui, Wanganui, Pauanui, lot o' hooey.
I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
Featherston, Palmerston, Woolston, Te Awamutu,
Riverton, Queenstown, Picton, Ohinemutu,
Morere, Korere, Rotorua, Kaikoura,
Matamata, Ruakura, Ikamatua, Papakura,
Waitaki, Pukaki, Taranaki, Te Kauwhata,
Ropata, Ikowai, Waitemata, what's the matter.
I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
Ruatoki, Matahura, Taupiri, Maketu,
Kyeburn, Sowburn, Wedderburn, Mossburn,
Washdyke, Arawhata, Paparoa, Kaponga,
Teraha, Thames, Kerikeri, Kokoma,
Tapanui, Porinui, Tawanui, Otahuhu,
Ruatapu, Mosgiel, Whareroa, that's for sure.
I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
Kapiti, Ngawaka, Onepu, Reporoa,
Tongariro, Tomoana, Renwick, Papamoa,
Karitane, Oxford, Parihaka, Karetu,
Coalgate, Whitecliffs, Urenui, Mamaku,
Waimea, Waharoa, Dannevirke, Ngahere,
Gordonton, Oban, Kingston, how ya been.
I've been everywhere man,
I've been everywhere man
I've crossed the desert bare man,
I've breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man
I've been every-where
I've been here, there, everywhere
I've been everywhere
Lovers And Losers
A beautiful song that that is made for John’s voice. The song is the creation of singer songwriter William Russell Staines from Rollinsford, New Hampshire, USA. Bill Staines was a country singer, unknown to me until I looked up the writer of this sing. From my very brief acquaintance with him, his music seems similar to that of Grenell.
Lovers And Losers – John Hore Grenell
Lovers And Losers
The singer he stands in the warmth of the doorway;
The song that he sings brings a tear to an eye,
And his smile brings a nod, and the toss of a coin there;
Another cup of coffee, or a homeward bound bus ride.
The dancer she sways 'neath the light on the corner,
Her partner is the shadow now that glides at her feet.
Slowly she moves to her sweet silent music;
The people pass her by and hurry down along the street.
Lovers and losers, Dreamers and boozers,
Pickers, singers and poets in the rain.
I love to hear them, I guess that's why I linger near them,
For I have seen their faces, yes, and I have known their names.
The sun plays a game with the tops of the mountains,
The colours and the shadows change and fade with the day.
The cowboy he sings in the cool of the evening
Some old-fashioned love song in an old and simple way.
Lovers and losers, Dreamers and boozers,
Pickers, singers and poets in the rain.
I love to hear them, I guess that's why I linger near them,
For I have seen their faces, yes, and I have known their names.
A lover she stares at the one of her loving,
As warm and as pretty as the colours in the wine.
She listens while he tells her of the joys in his keeping;
Offers him a rose to touch and hold forever fine.
Lovers and losers, Dreamers and boozers,
Pickers, singers and poets in the rain.
I love to hear them, I guess that's why I linger near them,
For I have seen their faces, yes and I have known their names.
Recently two great female singers have died. Olivia Newton-John is perhaps the better know singer world wide. The name of Judith Durham less so although the name of the group she was lead singer in may be more familiar – The Seekers. For myself, I have always had a soft spot for Judith’s voice and in the 60s and 70s there was always at least one track featuring her voice on every audio cassette compilation I made. And I compiled many.
I wonder if some of my younger readers even know what an audio cassette is? Out of curiosity, does anyone still have a working cassette player? I still have one that’s usable but its mono only, so playback isn’t quite the same. I’m not looking for a replacement – I’m just curious if anyone still uses that old technology.
At one time I had several Seekers albums. If I’m being absolutely honest, I bought them solely because of Judith Durham’s voice, and before meeting my future wife, I was rather smitten by Judith’s beauty and fashion sense (hey don’t knock it – it was the 1960s and I was still a teen). During migraine attacks I found her voice soothing and uplifting at the same time. If I recall correctly, one album was on vinyl and two were on cassettes, but that was a long time ago, several house moves , one flood and one burst water pipe away. Somewhere along the line, much of my loved music has disappeared, including all The Seekers albums.
There are many tributes to Judith on social media platforms, wishing sentiments such as “rest in peace“, but I’m firmly of the belief that when a person dies, they are gone – they cannot rest whether in peace or otherwise. Their memory may linger as may any influence they may have had. In the case of Judith Durham, her memory will live on in my mind for the rest of my life, and I’m very grateful for the comfort she has given me over the years, and will no doubt continue to do so.
Breaking from my usual custom, I not including lyrics with this Musical Monday, firstly because I’m including several clips, secondly because Judith’s voice is so clear, and finally because It’s the music in its entirety and not the lyrics that I value.
Georgie Girl – The seekers
I’ll Never Find Another You – The Seekers
The Carnival Is Over – The Seekers
Someday, One Day – The seekers
And finally, for those who would like a little more, watch a 1968 TV special – The World of The Seekers. Sorry the video owner has disabled playback on other websites, so you’ll need to click the link and view it on the YouTube website: https://youtu.be/40LuQVZYepE
This post is a little different from my usual fare. It’s a documentary on the life of a specific person who was a peripheral influence in my youth. It’s more as a handy point of reference for myself than something I desire to share with the world. In particular it reminds me of the mana (personal and collective strength, pride, identity and humility) that is present in so many people that have been an inspiration to me over the years. Having said that, it does illustrate how aspects of Māori culture, and particularly Māori art are finding their way into mainstream life in Aotearoa New Zealand, and some of my readers may find it informative.
For a while, Cliff Whiting and my father were work colleagues. They shared adjacent offices, and while my father travelled the region teaching school teachers how to teach phys ed (sports, folk dancing, use of playground equipment, safety etc), Cliff taught teachers how to teach art.
The documentary below provides me with some of his background that I was unaware of and brings me up to date with what Cliff has been up to since my father’s retirement in the 1970s. The video is recorded in Te Reo (the Māori language) so I recommend turning on English language Closed Captions if you choose to watch. Some words have not been translated as they are well understood by all Kiwis, but are unlikely to be understood by others. I’ve included those of significance below the video
Iwi: extended kinship group, tribe, nation, people, nationality, Kahawai: schooling coastal fish (Arripis trutta) Kōrero: speech, narrative, story, news Kōwhaiwhai: painted scroll ornamentation – commonly used on meeting house rafters Kūmara: Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) Marae: the area in front of a meeting house where formal greetings and discussions are held; informally, it includes the complex of buildings around the marae Māui: a mythical demi-god who, among his many other deeds, captured the sun in a net in order to slow it’s travel across the sky. Nīkau: a NZ palm (Rhopalostylis sapida) Pākehā: Non-Māori Pōnga: silver tree fern – especially its tree-like trunk Tāne, Tāne-mahuta; mythical guardian of the forest, a child of Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother), who separated them from their tight embrace to allow light into the world. Te Reo: the (Māori) language Waka huia: treasure box, also the name of a TV documentary series on Māori Television Weka: several species of flightless birds endemic to NZ(Gallirallus australisgreyi, Gallirallus australis australis) with a reputation for stealing objects, especially if they are shiny (cutlery, jewelry etc) Whakapapa: genealogy, lineage, descent Whānāu: extended family, family group
The song was originally written and sung by John Hanlon for a two minute advertisement by New Zealand Fibreglass to promote home insulation. It was part of a wide campaign in the early 1970s lobbying to make home insulation mandatory, and of course the company would benefit by having its home insulation products installed in every new home. It was possibly a brave move by the company, as two minute commercials were extremely rare at that time (still are) and only 10 seconds of the advertisement actually promoted their insulation product, glass fibre Pink® Batts®.
Electricity demands were rising rapidly at that time and the nation had historically built hydro power stations to meet the growing energy needs of the country. Dams, while a renewable resource, destroy much of the local natural environment by flooding vast areas of land. We were running out of rivers that were considered socially acceptable to dam, and insulation of homes was seen as a means of slowing down the ever increasing growth in electricity demand.
The advertising jingle proved so popular that it was released as a single and rose to #5 in the New Zealand hit parade in 1973. Hanlon made a condition of its release that all the profits from the song be donated to environmental causes. The song was then adopted by opponents of the Lake Manapouri hydro power scheme.
Today it’s remembered by most Baby Boomers, of which I am one, as a protest song – younger generations are probably unaware of it’s existence, and for those who are aware, it;s just another NZ folk song. Few remember that it started life as an advertising jingle for home insulation.
It’s odd, looking back to those days, that we young adults were very much into protests. It’s not just a 21st century phenomena that many today’s youth believe it is. We were just as idealistic as they are. In fact I venture that today’s youth is rather tame when compared to the youth of my generation. Among the causes we campaigned against were the Vietnam war and wars in general, gender inequality, nuclear weapons and testing, and in this country nuclear energy, Apartheid and sporting contacts with South Africa, destruction of the environment, whaling, to name just a few. Meanwhile in America and Britain, demonstrations against racial inequality frequently turned into highly destructive riots.
We were a generation with very high ideals, but somewhere along the way, we have been distracted by the needs of providing for self and family. As a generation, I feel were were, and possibly still are, more liberal and slightly more left leaning than the more recent generations. Perhaps it’s a false perception, but I feel that today the world is becoming more conservative, less tolerant than the sixties and seventies, has made definite a lerch to the right, and partisanship is very much more pronounced.
Back to the song Damn The Dam, written and sung by John Hanlon
Damn The Dam, Music and lyrics by John Hanlon, sung by John Hanlon, 1973
Leaf falls to kiss the image of a mountain,
the early morning mist has ceased to play.
Birds dancing lightly on the branches by a fountain
of a waterfall which dazzles with its spray
Tall and strong and aged, contented and serene,
a kauri tree surveys his grand domain,
and for miles and miles around him, a sea of rolling green.
Tomorrow all this beauty won't remain.
Damn the dam cried the fantail,
as he flew into, as he flew into the sky.
To give power to the people
all this beauty has to die.
Rain falls from above and splashes on the ground,
goes running down the mountain to the sea.
And leaping over pebbles makes such a joyful sound,
such as Mother Nature's meant to be.
I have grave reflection, reflection of a grave.
Trees that once lived green now dead and brown.
The homes of tiny animals and little birds as well,
for the sake of man's progression have been drowned.
Damn the dam cried the fantail,
as he flew into, as he flew into the sky.
To give power to the people
all this beauty has to die.
Damn the dam cried the fantail,
as he flew into, as he flew into the sky,
Damn the dam cried the fantail,
as he flew into, as he flew into the sky.
To give power to the people
all this beauty has to die...
Another Spectrum 
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