Come all you sons of liberty and listen to my tale
A story of bushranging days I will to you unveil.
'Tis of those valiant heroes, God bless them one and all!
We'll sit and sing: 'God save the King, Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.'
Ben Hall he was a squatter, and he owned six hundred head;
A peaceful, quiet man was he until he met Sir Fred.
The troopers burned his homestead down, his cattle perished all.
'I've all my sentence yet to earn, was the word of brave Ben Hall.
John Gilbert was a flash cove, and young O'Meally too,
With Ben and Bourke and Dunn and Vane they all were comrades true.
They bailed the Carcoar mailcoach up and made the troopers crawl.
There's a thousand pound set on the heads of Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall
From Bathurst down to Goulburn town they made the coaches stand,
While far behind, Sir Frederick's men were labouring thro' the land
Then at Canowindra's best hotel they gave a public ball:
We don't hurt them that don't hurt us, says Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.
They held the Gold Commissioner to ransom on the spot,
But young John Vane surrendered after Micky Bourke was shot.
O'Meally at Goimbla did like a hero fall;
But 'We'll take the country over yet,' says Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.
They never robbed a needy man, the records go to show,
Though staunch and loyal to their mates, unflinching to the foe;
So we'll drink a toast tonight, my lads, their memories to recall.
Let us sit and sing: 'God save the King, Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall!'
A story of bushranging days I will to you unveil.
'Tis of those valiant heroes, God bless them one and all!
We'll sit and sing: 'God save the King, Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.'
Ben Hall he was a squatter, and he owned six hundred head;
A peaceful, quiet man was he until he met Sir Fred.
The troopers burned his homestead down, his cattle perished all.
'I've all my sentence yet to earn, was the word of brave Ben Hall.
John Gilbert was a flash cove, and young O'Meally too,
With Ben and Bourke and Dunn and Vane they all were comrades true.
They bailed the Carcoar mailcoach up and made the troopers crawl.
There's a thousand pound set on the heads of Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall
From Bathurst down to Goulburn town they made the coaches stand,
While far behind, Sir Frederick's men were labouring thro' the land
Then at Canowindra's best hotel they gave a public ball:
We don't hurt them that don't hurt us, says Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.
They held the Gold Commissioner to ransom on the spot,
But young John Vane surrendered after Micky Bourke was shot.
O'Meally at Goimbla did like a hero fall;
But 'We'll take the country over yet,' says Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall.
They never robbed a needy man, the records go to show,
Though staunch and loyal to their mates, unflinching to the foe;
So we'll drink a toast tonight, my lads, their memories to recall.
Let us sit and sing: 'God save the King, Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben Hall!'
inviata da Bartleby - 28/10/2010 - 11:07
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Album “Ned Kelly & That Gang”
Scritta da John Manifold (1915-1985), poeta ed etnomusicologo australiano.
A partire dalla fine del 700, perse le proprie colonie americane in seguito alla guerra d’indipendenza, gli inglesi rivolsero la propria attenzione all’Australia e lì i protagonisti dell’avvio della colonizzazione furono, ancora una volta, soprattutto schiavi e detenuti delle regie galere che, anziché marcire dietro le sbarre, meglio potevano essere utilizzati come manodopera a zero costo nella costruzione delle infrastrutture delle nuove colonie.
Molti di questi schiavi (primo fra tutti John “Black” Ceasar, nel 1789), prigionieri evasi dai lavori forzati, avventurieri e semplici poveracci trapiantati in quella terra piuttosto ostile, preferirono o furono costretti a diventare “bushrangers”, banditi, piuttosto che crepare nelle miniere, nelle fattorie, nelle “chain gangs” o continuare a subire le vessazioni dei ricchi e della loro polizia.
Nei loro assalti e rapine – soprattutto a banche e stazioni di servizio – raramente i bushrangers uccisero dei civili, più spesso invece poliziotti. Per esempio, il famoso e audacissimo Ben Hall era detto anche “The Gentleman Bushranger” proprio per la sua ripugnanza all’omicidio… Quando nel 1863 la sua banda sequestrò per tre giorni l’intera cittadina di Canowindra, non solo trattò benissimo gli ostaggi ma organizzarono balli e intrattenimenti vari. Pure ai poliziotti non fu torto un capello, ma vennero pubblicamente derisi e poi rinchiusi nelle celle della prigione cittadina.
Ma nel 1865 i ricchi australiani, ben rappresentati in Parlamento, fecero approvare il cosiddetto “Felons Apprehension Act” che dava alla polizia il diritto di sparare a qualsiasi cosa si muovesse nel “bush”…
Ned Kelly, cui è dedicato l’album in cui è inclusa la canzone, fu invece uno degli ultimi “bushrangers”: la sua banda fu sterminata nel 1880, lui fu processato e impiccato l’anno stesso… Pare che prima di essere giustiziato abbia semplicemente detto: “Such is life!”…