1. |
All the Way to Mapoon
04:29
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All the Way to Mapoon
Ken McDonald
Flying up the Cape in ’43
Raining so heavy they couldn’t see
The pilot’s face a furrowed frown
Had to put their new baby down
Sea on the left trees on the right
Tide was out a miracle sight
Long white runway of sand
Waiting for their baby to land
They put her down Winnie the Pooh
The Beaufort Bomber four man crew
Bounced along a beach near Janie
Broken down down near Mapoon
Step by step they all came together
Winnie the Pooh didn’t really mind the weather
Rather be here than winging it to heaven
People all the way to Mapoon
Women and kids men on horse
Blind old man a leading voice
9 mile walk along a long white shore
Had to pull her all the way to Mapoon
Had to pull her all the way to Mapoon
Flyers were safe Winnie was broken
The RAAF were in doubt, another mere token
People of Mapoon dancing to another tune
Had to get her back home soon
Zig zag her out, hold her broken tail
Out with the ropes, pull like a whale
One way tug-a-war, walk and walk
Chanting mob of bodies work
Tim and Ina, Susie and Bill
Another 97 a ton of goodwill
1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile north
9 mile, home like a hawk
Step by step they all pulled together
Winnie the Pooh didn’t mind the weather
Rather be here than winging it to heaven
As they pulled her all the way to Mapoon
Women and kids men on horse
Blind old man a leading voice
9 mile walk along a long white shore
They pulled her all the way to Mapoon
They pulled her all the way to Mapoon
Pulled her apart and put her on the luggers
Sailed around the Tip back with the others
Revive Winnie down in Charters Towers
There she’s back in flying colours
Why not sing about the unsung heroes
Pulled together to counter the zeroes
Was it just a lucky escape
Or another rescue on the Cape
8 Yanks parachuted in’42
Always remember the humble few
Jimmy James up from the south
Tim Savo riding down from the north
Chorus
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2. |
Orchids and Greens
04:02
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Orchids and Greens
In her quiet world of orchids and greens
She drives off her belief drives off her tee
Queen of her kitchen busy as a bee
She holds to her secrets holds to her dreams
Chorus
What is your secret for everlasting youth
Is it your laughter is it the truth
Is it your walk around an 18-hole park
Is it your cooking or is it your past
The younger generation she puts them to shame
Her handicap is not part of her game
She reads your lips she reads your mind
She walks up the fairway we tread down the side
Chorus
What do you see in the orchid display
Is the start of a colorful day
Is it a part of a nurturing heart
Is it connecting the future and past
The aroma of cooking food of a Queen
Take a melting moment keep your taste keen
The orchids respond to a recipe unseen
She holds to her secrets of orchids and greens
Chorus
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3. |
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The Ballad of Wilbur the Hunting Pig
One day several years ago in the scrub not far from here
I chanced upon a piglet trembling in fear
His family had been massacred by Jaws the hunting dog
The piglet hid to save his life inside a hollow log
I picked the little fellow up Wilbur was his name
I said I’ll teach you how to fight and play the hunting game
I gave him lots of exercise put steroids in his swill
Showed him all the Rambo films to teach him how to kill
Wilbur the Pig growing more and more
Developing his skills as a mighty hunting boar
I took him down to Woolies to buy the evening meal
I only left him for a sec before I heard a squeal
I saw a sight of blood and mayhem and when I turned around
The tiny little piglet had brought a puppy down
Chorus
Wilbur the Pig fighting trotter and claw
Never giving in the a mighty hunting boar
The pigdog was his enemy the hunter was his foe
As Wilbur grew each day he knew those mongrels had to go
And in the bush he challenged every dog he came across
And Wilbur made each pigdog pay for his own awful loss
The locals had a meeting to organise a hunt
We’ll get the best dogs in the land to catch this ruthless killer
There was Butch and Spike Fang and Claw Big George and Vicious Ben
A fiercer pack you’ve never seen and that was just the men
The dogs set out to catch the pig they knew they musn’t fail
27 vicious beasts were hot on Wilbur’s trail
Then from the scrub there came a roar an awful bloody cry
As hair and flesh and teeth explode - the dogs began to die !
Chorus
Then from the scrub Wilbur emerged blood dripping from his snout
He hadn’t won the battle yet there was one final bout
He turned towards his rival and as he stood he knew
A pigs gotta do ----- what a pigs gotta do
Jaws looked in Wilburs eyes he saw they were ablaze
He remembered a piglet in a log in his youthful days
He turned to run he couldn’t win cos Wilbur was too fast
A single blow was all it took the pigdog breathed his last
Chorus
So if you’re into bloodsports and if you like to hunt
Don’t forget the story of this scrawny little runt
Who grew to pighood overnight and taught the dogs what’s fair
And keep your pigdogs safe at home cause Wilbur’s still out there
Chorus
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4. |
Fella from Goonyella
02:51
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Fella from Goonyella
I knew a fella from Goonyella
Who went to get a job at a coal mine
Not pick and shovel work like the old time
He went to get a job as a wheelbarrow operator
Was digging on a dragline coupla days later
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Big machine digging clean all the time
Never stops digging clean the dragline
Shovel operator loading up a truck
If you thought mining coal was hard, you’re out of luck
Trucking down the haulroad 100 ton
And you thought one ton’s having fun
Through the preparation plant clickety clang
Getting rid of bad coal ching-a-ling chang
Belting out a dirty great pile of wash black coal
Doesn’t look too hot but it’s as good as gold
Catches a train on down to the port
Hey yeah you got it right it’s Hay Point
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Loaded on a ship and send it overseas
It’s no trouble to the coal it’s all a breeze
Japanese say it gives their steel a blast
People in Australia say it mighn’t last
People at Goonyella say it suits me fella
We’re mining coal to fill our pockets full of brass
Well this fella from Goonyella
He gave away his job at the coal mine
He said it didn’t seem like the old time
Traded back the dragline for a horse and cart
Bought a coupla acres down at Emu Park
Bought a new barrow and is making a start
To easy living and home for the heart
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5. |
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Love Crept Up on You and Me
1. We didn’t read the signs
We didn’t look behind
We didn’t see it coming
But it’s been there for some time
As I look across the water
I get that old feeling of a sailor
And I wish the wind would blow us out across the sea
Chorus
Love crept up on you and me
Love crept up on you and me
And I wish the wind would blow us out across the sea
2. Memories of yesterday
Will never fade away
We didn’t see it coming
But we know now it’s here to stay
You’re my fantasy lover
Clear breeze you’re like no other
And I’ve been sailing single handed far too long
Chorus then instrumental
3. We didn’t read the signs
We didn’t need the lines
We didn’t feel it coming
But it’s been there for some time
As I look across the water
I get that old feeling of a sailor
And I wish the wind would roll us out across the sea
Chorus
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6. |
Ebagoola Gold
02:52
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Ebagoola Gold
Hey John Dickie were you a bit lucky or just plain tricky
Hey John Dickie were you a man of fortune or a man of tenacity
It wasn’t the first time you ever struck gold
It wasn’t the first time you were a bit bold
It wasn’t the first time you left them in the cold
Hey John Dickie you’re a man of gold
Ebagoola Ebagoola Ebagoola Gold
John Dickie took his turn at the turn of the century
Fossicking for gold was part of his philosophy
He left the Palmer River was working every gully
Then at Ebagoola they say he struck it lucky
Ebagoola Ebagoola Ebagoola Gold
John Dickie on his own the dillybag and dynamite
Tell me the story ‘bout skeleton and stringybark
Gold in the reef gold in the creek
Then at Ebagoola they claim he struck it deep
Ebagoola Ebagoola Ebagoola Gold
Hey John Dickie were you a bit lucky or just plain tricky
Ebagoola
Ebagoola Ebagoola Gold
Hey John Dickie were you a man of fortune or a man of tenacity
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7. |
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Mount Tom Price and Paraburdoo
Chorus
Mount Tom Price and Paraburdoo
They’re mining mountains no hullaballoo
One of these days these great big holes
Could be the world’s biggest swimming pools
Working in a heatwave
Don’t know what I’m gonna save
I’m telling you it’s the way to make a start
A good operator is worth his weight in gold
When I build a home I’ll be too cool too cool too cool
Chorus …. for me and you
Money for the iron ore
Dig and rail and ship them more
Still got Mandurah cornered in my mind
Make another pay day another brick and room
When I build a home I’ll build a pool
a pool a pool
Chorus …. and Marandoo
Thinking ‘bout heading south
Been enough to Exmouth
Packed up my fortune - got it in the bag
Shimmer in my mind - Mandurah’s in my hand
Now they can’t say that I’m a fool a fool a fool
Chorus …. no hullaballoo
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8. |
Sir Henry
03:51
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Sir Henry
Born in a poor surrounding
No education a boy rebounding
Making rope and cracking stone
Breaking his back and aching bones
No place like England in 1823
Chorus
And we’re living in the memory
Of good old Sir Henry
Good old Sir Henry the Premier
Of New South Wales
He’s 165 and very much alive
Packed his woman and his misfortune
Sailed to Sydney another dawning
Was greeted by an endless scrub
A new domain of fire and flood
No place like Australia in 1843
Chorus
How did you see the future
Was it linked to your past
Why leave your native country
And sail to the wilderness
How did you keep things moving
What made your spirit last
What stopped you going under
Were you from another class
Fought long and hard for education
Built the railways then Federation
Moved the people of this land
Building a vision for the common man
No place like Australia in the 1990’s
Chorus
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9. |
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The Legend of Bob the Scraper Driver
Chorus
Bob the scraper driver standing tall and true
In his Bolles and his kidney belt there’s nothing he can’t do
When you’re in trouble he’s sure to lend a hand
Bob the scraper driver hero of our land.
The wet had come in 94 – the creeks and rivers burst
In country that weeks before had nearly died of thirst
The river rose so quickly and soon engulfed the town
1500 people were almost sure to drown
Then from the swollen waters like a lifeboat in the sea
Came our mighty hero in his 657E
Chorus
He worked all night without a word, flood raged all around
Hauling human cargo to safer higher ground
When morning came the town was gone beneath the rising tide
Bob had rescued everyone - his pigdog by his side
They said how can we thank you - but he never said a word
The coolest scraper drivers are seen but never heard
Chorus
The water soon receded the townfolk ventured down
Bob was hailed a hero by everyone in town
He said I am no hero and I’ve got one thing to say
I’m just another member of the FEDFA
And with these words he climbed upon his 1000 horsepower steed
He rode in to the sunset to help all those in need
Chorus
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10. |
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Captain Cook and the Man on the Moon
Who’s this fella by the name of Captain Cook
Musta been some fella go and have a look
At a great big country a million miles away
From the place where his family musta wanted him to stay
In 1770 this fella Captain Cook
Sailed to Australia he had a good look
Went back and told his people he found this big land
Been living here a million year so I don’t understand
Since 1770 it’s never been the same
People fly in and out on big jet planes
Already been up there a checking out the moon
With a rocket and a capsule they’ll be living it up there soon
Chorus
Sail on the mystery, flying to mastery
World of curiosity, wonder and discovery……
The man on the moon with his wooden spoon
He’s stirring up all the trouble
Boys up in space, found there’s no place
Like home for bursting your bubble
They’re heading off to Mars - checking out the stars
Wonder where the wonder is ending
The man on the moon with his wooden spoon
He’s stirring up all the trouble
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Ken McDonald Music Brisbane, Australia
G’day, I am Ken McDonald, a singer songwriter who has been writing songs for over 40 years. I started recording albums for
fun about 10 years ago. I have completed five albums, some with the help of family and friends.
All the best,
Ken
... more
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