CATTLE & CANE
I recall a schoolboy coming
home through fields of cane
to a house of tin and timber
and in the sky
a rain of falling cinders
from time to time
the waste memory-wastes
I recall a boy in bigger pants
like everyone
just waiting for a chance
his father's watch
he left it in the showers
from time to time
the waste memory-wastes
I recall a bigger brighter world
a world of books
and silent times in thought
and then the railroad
the railroad takes him home
through fields of cattle
through fields of cane
from time to time
the waste memory-wastes
the waste memory-wastes
further, longer, higher, older
The above words are to a song recorded by a great Australian 'indie' band called The Go-Betweens. The lyrics were penned by one of their songwriters, Grant McLennan. This particular song, with its distinctive 5/4 timing, resonated within me for many years. It took me back to where I was born and the spent the first 8 years of my life. I have walked through fields of cane and sat on my Grandfather’s porch watching a ‘rain of falling cinders’.
Grant McLennan died in his sleep at the age of 48. He was not a substance abuser. He was not your ‘typical’ Aussie man. He wasn't even sick. He simply went to bed and didn't wake up.
Grant was a modern thinker who believed in the power of word and music. He gave us some of himself every time he sang.
Vale G.W., you will be missed.