Warren Fahey is a leading custodian of Australia’s folklore and folk music. He has an extensive and unique repertoire of songs he uses as ‘signposts’ to our history. Much of his repertoire was gathered during his collecting work in recording old bush singers in the late sixties and seventies. He plays the English Concertina and is usually accompanied by Marcus Holden (Mandolin, Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar) and Garry Steel (Accordian). His many recordings, mostly originally issued by the ABC, also feature notable guest artists.
Warren Fahey’s recorded Songs 1
Warren Fahey’s recorded Songs 2
Attached are two excel spreadsheets showing the various songs and poems I have recorded across far too many albums and years. 333 entries in total and this does not include my Australian Bush Poetry release (ABC Books) or the Classic Bush Yarns (ABC Books) titles. Rouseabout will reissue these two titles later in the year. One shows the titles in groups as per the album and the other, far more useful I assume, is an alphabetical listing. In some instances there are two entries for the same title – this usually shows a different version or, possibly, an instrumental version. Many of the songs are unique to my repertoire, either my collected version or, in some cases, where I have fitted traditional tunes to previously published songs crying out for tunes (see convict broadsides ‘Botany Bay Scoundrels’ aka ‘Botany Bay: a new song’, ’The Dodger’ and ’Ticket-of-Leave’. My intention in recording so many previously unrecorded works was to show the breadth of Australian folk song and to make available many songs considered mere curiosities (see ’Sydney Exhibition’ and ’The New Exhibits’ as examples).
This album is a joyful celebration of Australian social dance music. It’s the sort of music that would have been played at woolshed dances and also dance palaces in towns and cities. Drawn from collected bush dance tunes and rare sheet music, it includes polkas, schottiches, jigs, reels, set dances, mazurkas and waltzes. Many of the tracks are introduced with snippets from Warren Fahey’s field collection recordings including Sally Sloane talking about the varsovienna and Susan Colley the polka. These short actuality cuts add to the distinct flavour of the recordings. The music is (hopefully) more sophisticated than the average bush band thumpity-thump style, yet retains the flavour of Australia’s unique bush sound. Some of the sheet music tunes tell fascinating backstories like ’The Catadon’ which relates the discovery of a 17.4 metre sperm whale washed ashore at Wollongong in 1871 and hauled to the Australian Museum (where it is still on display); and ‘Bottle-O’ which tells of bygone days when bottles were regularly collected door-to-door.
Catalogue Number RRR95
Track Listing:
The World Turned Upside-Down
Songs From The Australian Gold Rush Era
Warren Fahey & Luke Webb with Marcus Holden & Garry Steel
Australia has been blessed with minerals. It has been our saving grace and curse for centuries. The gold-rush of the mid-19th century changed Australia forever adding well-over a million people in just two decades. It was also important socially as the gold diggers forged an independent working spirit that became a major part of who we are as a people.
Today’s Australia is still mineral rich and, thankfully, it has helped us ride through the so-called Global Economic Crisis. We still battle with side issues of workplace relations, environmental sustainability, increasing reliance on partnerships with relatively new partners like China and India, and that age-old balance of who actually owns mineral wealth. It is important we know our mining history so we can properly establish where we are today, and where we should be headed.
There is no doubt that the discovery of gold at Ophir, near Bathurst, in 1851, set the entire colony of New South Wales into a tumble of excitement. Rich copper steams had already been discovered in South Australia and prospectors had been scratching and scraping all over the colonies and reporting traces of gold but here was the evidence that Australia had real golden valleys. Three years earlier the discovery of gold had radically changed California and now it was Australia’s turn to shine.
In 2013 cultural historian, Warren Fahey, published an ebook under the title of The World Turned Upside-Down and in this companion album wanted to show the influence of American minstrel music and parodies on our gold songs and folksong tradition. Minstrel music was extremely popular in Australia from the late 1840s and became particularly popular in the 1850s and 60s when several major American minstrel troupes, mostly blackface, toured extensively. Parody, including parodies based on minstrel songs like ‘Oh Susanna’, had wide circulation and were, understandably, an easy way to get a song to travel. You will also find some good honest doggerel but remember these sometimes awkward rhymes delighted many a lonely miner as he sat by the campfire at night.
Catalogue Number RRR63
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Most of the songs in the collection come to us from anonymous writers however there are two exceptional contributors – Charles Thatcher, better known as ‘The Colonial Minstrel’and Joe Small, another well-known colonial singer and music publisher who used the non-de-plume of ‘George Chanson’.
The role of these ‘popular’ songwriters and music publishers cannot be underestimated for their songs definitely travelled far and wide. We are also fortunate that both identified the tunes to their songs. Other songs came from newspapers, magazine and the oral tradition – many have never been recorded before, especially the songs about the early New South Wales gold rush.
The music features Luke Webb, a young Sydney-based musician with an interest in American old-timey and bluegrass music. His singing, banjo, guitar and singing on this album helped to illustrate the American minstrel influences. Marcus Holden is a multi instrumentalist playing fiddle, mandolin, cello, guitar and keyboard. Garry Steel is an accordion virtuoso and pianist. His colourful playing of the upright piano injected a sound that helped recreate the music of the goldfield hotels. Elsen Price is a highly talented, young bass player who happened to be passing by the studio one day and was roped into a session. Warren Fahey sings and plays concertina.
Gold is a major part of the Australian education syllabus in all states.
Companion album to the book of the same title which is already recommended reading for schools.
Warren Fahey is a regular on ABC Radio
Over 70 minutes of music
Comprehensive booklet notes below.
Track Listing:
Down through the years the Australian soldier became respected as a reliable fighter, a mate when a mate was the difference between life and death and, above all, the Australian soldier was considered to be a ‘larrikin’ who saluted but would not doff his hat to no man. He was an Aussie, he was Cobber, he was Pongo, he was Curley and Bluey and he was Digger.
Australians have fought in 11 wars. It seems incredible but 11 times we have marched away to the sound of the bugle and every time it was a call to join our allies and ‘mates’ at arms. We fought in the famed Maori Wars of Taranaki and the Waikato, a contingent of gallant lads travelled to the Sudan wars and then our Lighthorsemen galloped into the Orange Free State and the Boer War. Nextcame the so called ‘Boxer Rebellion’ and then the first and second World Wars. We glibly believed that the second World War was the ‘war to end all wars’ but we were wrong and our troops were once again called to battle in lands too close to the home front – Malaya, Malta, Korea and Indonesia and these were all followed by the horrors of Vietnam. As if to remind us that war is always ‘just around the corner’ our troops rallied in 1990 to confront the threat of yet another uprising in that war-torn zone known as the Middle East. 16 years later, they’re there again.
This recording is a unique oral history of the songs that the Australian soldiers sang.
Catalogue Number RRH42
BUY CD – Email: info@undercovermusic.com.au or Phone: +61 447 046 516
War is always a frustration and the songs, ditties, parodies, poetry and stories serve many well-earned roles as a morale booster to facilitate camaraderie, to educate and to assimilate ‘new recruits’ and to allow that necessary ongoing de-fusing of tension. As with other periods of history when all is not well, like times of economic recession and depression, the songs tend to be short and not so sweet, and, army songs being what they tend to be very much to the point – boots and all!
This collection mainly comes from the first and second World Wars however, there is no doubt that many of these same songs were sung by the ‘Diggers’ who marched away to Korea, Malaya and Indonesia. As our entertainment patterns changed so too have our soldier songs and the collected material from the Vietnam War tends to be songs about air fighter planes, raids and gas bombs. The later songs still use parodies however, they are chiefly American popular songs. Warfare has also changed dramatically and this might explain why there are so few songs from the Gulf War. I guess it’s hard to sing when you’re sitting alone in a computerised fighter plane with one finger cocked on a button.
Warren Fahey
This series of ten albums set out to deliver a panorama of Australia’s treasure trove of folk song, ballad and verse. It was an ambitious project and includes many songs previously unrecorded or unknown. As a folklorist, Warren Fahey set out to record the songs with their original verses – songs like ’The Black Velvet Band’ and ’The Old Bullock Dray’ went back to their earliest publication. Other songs, previously only known through printed sources, were joined to traditional tunes to make them singable. There are also songs from the Warren Fahey Collection at the National Library of Australia. The set was the finalist in the 2011 ARIA Awards for best traditional and roots album. It has received many accolades and is highly regarded as a resource for singers and those interested in Australian folk songs and ballads. The core musicians are longtime musical associates Marcus Holden and Garry Steel, plus numerous guest artists. Complete notes appear in the PDF booklet (see below each album).
The experience of travelling to Australia as a free settler must have been a daunting prospect, yet thousands followed that path as the colonies opened up. Despite being so far away from their homeland of England, Scotland and Ireland, these hardy settlers survived and often thrived. They battled remoteness, unpredictable climate and loneliness, yet, somehow, managed to keep their optimism in place. These pioneers laid the foundation for Australia’s journey as a new country.
Catalogue Number RRR103
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The discovery of gold in 1851 was soon followed by the cry of “Bail up!” as bushrangers stuck up isolated stations, stagecoaches and, in the case of the Kelly Gang, entire townships. Australia’s highwaymen were bold and mostly unsuccessful, but they carried with them the honour of the original ‘Wild Colonial Boy’, Bold Jack Donahue, who declared, “I’ll fight but never surrender”. The songs and ballads of the bushrangers were full of bravado and offered a fascinating insight into popular sentiment, where most were seen as heroes and victims of police persecution.
Catalogue Number RRR102
Track Listing:
Australia’s convict birth gave rise to many songs and ballads. Most were printed on single sheets called broadsides, and sold by ballad-mongers in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Dublin. They told of dreadful deeds, anguish and remorse experienced by those sentenced to transportation to far-off New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. Amongst the popular songs are several never before recorded, and some never recorded with their complete verses.
Catalogue Number RRR101
Track Listing:
