I think of Australia as home now although this is not where I started out. It’s always interesting to look back on the journey. Some days I wonder at how I got from the streets of New York to the back woods of Oregon, from the beaches of South Australia to the fishing fleet in Kodiak and of course eventually settling down with Dianne to raise Quarter Horses, wheat, sheep, puppies and a couple of awesome kids on our farm in SA’s Mid North. I was often playing music in bands or duos but mostly solo in small venues or around the kitchen tables of close friends who wanted to know the stories of the songs I sang.These are songs of two countries, of observations and experiences, of joy and regret, of friendship and the good fortune to have been able to lead the life I have. THE REMAINS OF WAR This song was knocking around in my head, waiting to be born, for the best part of fifteen years. An opportunity to do some WW2 shipwreck diving in Vanuatu also allowed me to do some searching for places my dad may have been during his time in the Army Air Force during that war. The Night We Left the Island It was gut wrenching to be on my friends' property one afternoon in the early 90s when the bank manager arrived to say they couldn't continue to farm. The contrast of an idyllic ferry trip from Kangaroo Island back to the mainland that night got me imagining how hard it would be to leave that place. The song wrote itself in fifteen minutes the next morning. TRAVELLIN' SHOES The older I get, the less attractive international travel sounds to me! BITTER MAN For a horseshoer friend. SONG ROOM Written on piano late one night after returning, inspired, from an Eleanor McEvoy concert at a local Song Room session. Thanks VJ Productions! RATS A love song and a story of how I met my beautiful wife, Di. xxxxx KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD For a mate who had a bit of trouble settling down. DELUGE OR THE SPARK This song was written the day after a hot, sleepless night on the farm when constant lightning strikes threatened destruction from fire and the smell of rain in the air held out the promise of rescue. The song was buried in a notebook for decades until I played it at the Wirrabara Bushfire Relief Concert in 2014. This one's for the folks who fought that fire and also to our friends Mel and Graham who have had enough fire fighting in two years to last anyone a lifetime. Here's to some uneventful, regenerative times ahead! OUR JOBS ARE OVERSEAS General Motors Holden closures and Qantas layoffs in the same week.....and then there's the submarines....DONT mention the submarines ( I didn't!) SWAMP SONG Wrote this in Florida, in a room that backed onto a swamp, the night before boarding the Cayamo songwriters cruise out of Miami with best mate Jim. Yes....that's a real alligator you can hear at the start! THREE-TWO-THREE One cold night in December 1969 I sat around a table in upstate New York with five friends. We listened to a live radio broadcast of the conscription lottery of 365 birthdates as they were randomly selected to choose who would go to Vietnam. If your number was less than 195 you were likely to be called up, higher and you could 'get on with your life.' My draft number was 323. I NEVER WAS MUCH OF A COWBOY Wrote this one back in the early 90s for the Starmaker competition at Tamworth. ANCHORS - duet with Rosie Roberts I got the idea for this song while walking up in our scrub with Rosie when she came upon the bones of our deceased QH stallion, Trader's Charm. She wanted to know when he died. The process of working it out reminded me how it is we use landmark events to work out dates.