| The Rumjacks – Green Ginger Wine Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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The references to Kate Leigh & Tilley Devine refer to two rival crime bosses in Australia. Their rival gangs fought with razors (among other things), hence the “swing like the razors” part of the song. The two women physically fought on numerous occasions and their respective gangs conducted pitched battles in Eaton Avenue and Kellet Street, King's Cross in May and August 1929. The “Sly grog” is an Australian term for an unlicensed hotel, liquor-store or other vendor, sometimes with the added suggestion of selling poor-quality alcoholic beverages. From the time of the First World War to the 1950s Australia had early closing of hotels and pubs serving alcoholic beverages. The term is also used to denote illegal sales in Indigenous areas where alcohol has been banned or restricted. Both Tilley and Devine engaged in illegal alcohol production and sales (bootlegging). |
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