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Sleeper

by David Hosking

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1.
Blank 01:42
2.
3.
Fork 02:44
4.
5.
6.
High and low 04:14
7.
Autumn ears 04:15
8.
My eyes 02:28
9.
Wasteland 03:01
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11.
All senses 04:24
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13.
14.
To the end of this world where the edges curl and you're falling To have a look Jimmy Cook came calling With the bright red coats and sails like ghostly warnings Spied some smoke so dropped a boat that morning But another man above the sand and water Stood and watched with his sons and daughters Who and how and why the kids kept asking He said just run and tell your Mother that they've got white skin They found her by the fire mixing ochre She said you know your Dad he's always been a joker But before they could return with their Mother Their home their heart was claimed by another Jim let off a shot just to see their fear and wonder He knew the loudest sound they'd ever heard was thunder But they just stood, how could they know the danger Or see the coming days behind this stranger Phillips sad and landless bag of prisoners Left the shore and the royal claw of Windsor Yeah, I know it wasn't their name they'd have to change it later Auf Wiedersehen king crocodile hello king alligator They settled into Sunday hymns and memories But freedom is more than sung if you can make it past the sentries And head for home into a killer summer Or the blacks picked off the braver ones or dumber Then cattle and sheep the squatter and thief moved westward Over Blue mountain peaks with rivers beneath that ran red But the way they saw it, it wasn't a war, it was progress It was never said one more dead just one less Then second-hand chains, poison and shame, and power Cleared the plain turning scrub into grain and flour Then the Sunday thing the church bell ring would follow But unlike a bell truth won't ring if it's hollow Some got the land, a little milk, but no honey So they dropped everything and went digging for the heavy money They'd come a long way with a shovel, pick, bucket and rope And wound up blistered souls, living in holes and on hope Of course, it never ends there the Queen wants her share of what's coming You're put in your place while she wins the race without running It's all about class, she just sits on her arse on a throne It's called privilege of birth on this little old earth we call home So at Bakery Hill, they said it's either be killed or be mastered It had to be them or all her majesties men who lasted But the way most saw it, it wasn't a war it was slaughter Once again more fatherless sons and daughters Then World war 1 took the sons to Europe It's said aloud we should be proud we grew up That on a beach below a cliff we stood tall But those that lived to tell didn't say much at all Then number 2 lived on through my Father In an ugly world, he met a pretty girl my Mother Then 5 little boys with guns for toys it's playtime Pretend to be dead, and before bed, it's bath time Yeah 3rd son born, a September storm, a big one The next day Essendon lost the old mans cross to Melbourne He never did say but he hoped we'd play and win one Through the long white posts, we'd battle his ghosts and kick some December 1 the summer sun sat higher As cattle and sheep choked on smoke from the distant fire While on a beach there was no cliff or dying Just a cricket bat a ball and people frying Well every morning it seemed we still bowed to a Queen of England If we were lucky the rain, was a welcome refrain from singing Then one day we found that Elizabeth's crown was shrinking If we'd never belonged we'd have our own song and thinking Then pretty soon Neil on the moon was walking I was sitting crossed legged in a room full heads not talking While Miss McCoy and this little boy sat breathless She was thinking of Neil and I was thinking of her dressless Well first there was Ned but he was dead so Gough came To level the field that the well-heeled still claimed But at whistling tunes for the Oval room, not good I know it's a bit of a stretch but a drunken wretch called John could Well biding my time 'til the sleeping mind was woken Finishing school learning some rules should be broken How many days in this kind of year ended In discovering that the ways of the world can be unintended I learned to swim and fish and kiss and shiver And drink too much beside the Backbone river Though always told you'll be this old forever We kept risking life and limb to fit in better I moved into town thinking up or down would be better Then I lost everything to what heroin brings in from the gutter No, it wasn't my veins that suffered the strain, I'm not that dumb It was a friend and an enemy rolled up into one I smashed through his door with a hammer and claw for a reason To break every bone or everything in his home for thieving And to retrieve a guitar full of grief and wires But it wasn't there it was paying his fare for leaving With a newer guitar and eyes full of stars I listened To the sounds of this land and the Dollys that Molly christened We all looked and wondered how far they'd get Then looked again and they were gone with a head still wet Well moving right along I guess it's my editorial power It's either that or we'll be here for hours But this is not so much a song, it's just some words and sounds But otherwise, I'm going alright in this town.

about

Partly recorded by Adam Rhodes at Periscope Studios, Melbourne then completed by Shane O'Mara at Yikesville, Melbourne. Released mid 2003. Mastered by Ross Cockle at Sing Sing, Melbourne. Photography by Natascha Stellmach and Art Direction by Michael Lelliot.

credits

released June 20, 2003

Vocals, Electric and acoustic guitars, piano and keyboards: David Hosking; Harmonies: Shelley Scown, Rebecca Barnard and David Hosking; Baritone guitar, Electric guitar and ebo: Shane O'mara; French Horn: Steve Kinrade; Cello: Anita Quayle.

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David Hosking Melbourne, Australia

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