This is the 4th and final tune from my time in the rainforest of eastern Australia with the nonchalant, dare I say happy-go-lucky perpetual jungle dweller Brodie Buttons, his family and his friends. I say, with no reservations, Brodie is one of the best songwriters i've ever had the pleasure of meeting. His book of songs, which he broke open to recite lyrics from at times around the fire, was dogeared, messy and disheveled. Filled to the brim with clever words and stories plucked from his lived experience. There's no pretentiousness in his work, and it lacks the self seriousness and self pity so rampant in most "folk music". In Brodie's songs, I find a stoic this-is-how-life-is delivery, with a fiery determination to live it, face it, regardless.
He also writes about his community, real experiences and tales of the times. This song is one example, written after the horrific drought that struck Australia, and the firestorm that consumed it, the likes of which hadn't been experienced in living memory. He balances the tragedy of the climate with the simple fact that we need the light of the Sun, like we need the air we breath, just like the generations after us will and the ones before.
I would just like to highlight the beautiful writing in this verse;
"
As the sun sets over Hobart,
Martin Bryant cries and cries,
as a sliver of sun falls cross the bunk,
of the cell in which he lies.
He's thinkin of his mother's tears,
the blue eggs of magpies,
as the same sun sets on everyone,
and kisses the day goodnight.
As the same sun sets on everyone,
and kisses the day goodnight.
"
I'm someone who, for better or worse, has to listen to a lot of songs, in the heart of the "musical industry" in Nashville. So listening to someone like Brodie and his friends, sharing songs around a campfire, doing it for the love of life, fills my cup to the brim. Trekking out in mud and wet to find him, deep in the bush, was worth every moment. The last words of the video, "I guess that's all we have time for," is both a tragedy and a simple fact of it all. Until we meet again Brodie, in this life or next!
We're releasing some of the Brodie field recordings on Spotify, right now you can listen to his hit single "King Brown" on there;
open.spotify.com/album/0g4pN6...
That's Bobby Dazzla on the fiddle, a wonderful fellow.
Find more of Brodie here;
/ boringbuttons
open.spotify.com/artist/265un...
Our undying love and gratitude go to our executive producers for making this project possible: Brad Sirois, Mitchell Davis, Keith McQuillan, David Jameson, Lisa Galvan, Irvin Maddox, Josh Collins, Brady Jones, Julie Nestoroff, VJ Arizpe, Mr. Free, and Rusty Shackleford.
Consider becoming a Patreon contributor to help sustain this project. For the price of a cup of coffee every month, you let us continue finding and filming amazing artists.
/ gemsonvhs
GemsOnVHS is a long running series of intimate, off-stage performances by songwriters we love.
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11 янв 2024
