CD It's Tough To Be A Kelly

1. It's Time to Stop the Rumours Lads - There are those who ascribe to the theory that Dan Kelly and Steve Hart survived Glenrowan to live out their lives in Queensland. This song relays the view of a Catholic Priest, father Gibney, who was present and relates how he saw the two boys lying dead in a room at Jones Inn whilst it was burning.

2. It's Nothing Short of Magic - Whilst visiting Gold Guitar winning ballad writer Wave Jackson on his property Maintop, west of Injune, he was pretty chuffed to finally have a really great season on his property after ten years of drought. Wave kept telling me that it was nothing short of magic and therefore inspired the writing of the song.

3. An Old Man's Vows - This poem was inspired by Andrew Barton [banjo] Paterson's poem Lost. I always felt that the old man would never have rested until he found his grandson's bones and lay them to rest beside his mother, who had persihed whilst searching for him after he had been thrown by the family's mare.

4. Midst the Mulga - Over the years, Chris and I have toured and performed out at Quilpie in south-west Queensland and were told that once you drunk from the old Buloo River you woul always go back that way.

5. Sometimes I Forget - Throughout the years I have come across folk who had lost a partner or family member, and at times, even years later, have enjoyed doing something that the deceased would have enjoyed and reflected that they would share it with them, only to remember they were no longer with us. Thank God for memories.

6. Robby - This moving poem was sent to me as a story in an email. It moved me to want to put it to verse.

7. The Times Have Changed So Quickly - Chris and I were returning from the Mildura Country Music Festival one year along the Kidman Way and camped on the southern side of Cobar one evening. After lighting a fire I was sitting there reflecting on the the red dirt and how tough it must have been for the early pioneers of the district and after comparing their lives with the mod cons of my own I realized that the only thing we had in common was the fire and that Aussie spirit.

8. A True Blue Home Grown Love Song - The documentary, The Last of the Nomads, a story about a young aboriginal couple, who being of the same skin, could not marry despite their love for each other. Eventually it was too strong an urge and they fled to the Gibson Desert in W.A. where they lived for some thirty years before being found. We all know of Romeo and Juliet but this was a true blue home grown love affair.

9. Gran's Last Wish - Some years back I heard a rather humorous news item about a Gran's one last trip back to her birthplace in England that saw her return home in an unusual way and it tickled the old fancy so I'd thought I'd put it verse. Chris shares the story.

10. How Two Boys Lived Their Dream - Two of Australia's great bush ballad icons were Slim Dusty and Shorty Ranger. Theirs is an interesting tale of how two boys love of music and song became a lifestyle. My tribute to them both.

11. If the Memories Last - During our years of touring in the west we would often stop at the Wellshot Hotel at Ilfracombe and enjoyed having a beer in the back bar which was made of old wood presses and the seats were saddles mounted on pipe to the floor. Sadly upon returning in recent years I found the saddles were gone. Like the lifestyle of an old Drover that once was so real to him but now just memories, the reality of sitting in one of the saddles once more became a memory to myself. This thought inspired the song.

12. It's Tough To Be a Kelly - I have always found the research of the Kelly era rather fascinating and decided that I would like to dedicate a poem to Ned's mother Ellen. A tough resilient women who found the era quite a challenge.

13. Down on Dogs and Ducks - For some sixteen years I have been performing down at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in front of old Grace Bros. now Target. During those years the local Lions Club have conducted their Duck Race where they sell tickets in a 1000 or so ducks and on the Saturday morning they toss them in the Peel River and the first duck past the winning post wins. The monies go to local Charities. in 2009 the boys asked if I could write a song about it. In 2010 it won the lyrics only section of the T.S.A. National Country Music Songwriting Competition.