WARREN FAHEY – AUSTRALIA: FOLK SONGS AND BUSH VERSE, VOLUME TWO

The second volume of William Fahey’s expansive compilation of Aussie music heritage, subtitled Celebration of the Nation, has for its subject the origins of Australian nationalism – a divisive subject, to be sure – and the period of the people’s music from the late nineteenth century, through federation and up to the second World War. What’s to be proud of in the history of an introverted, violent nation? Well, the “battler” story gets a fair singing here, with Lean Times and Mean Times on the Hungry Mile collecting material dealing with the economic depression of the 1890s, and Solidarity Forever with Australia’s socialist turn, with songs about unionising, industrial relations, and “bloody Billy Hughes” and his conscription legislation. These tunes fare much better than the other material (maritime songs, songs about sport et. al.), for their like-able characters and charged political energy; The Pub With No Dike is a particular standout (a dike here is a loo), a tune about drunks mucking about looking for relief, which seems to be the tune that Slim Dusty’s Pub With No Beer was based on. So while it’s just as erudite as its first half, Celebration of the Nation is a better listen, its themes are familiar and its melodies aren’t quite as antiquated as the colonial material on Volume One. Bloody good, then.

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