about a relationship that is constantly uncertain as to where it's going. i can relate a lot. he describes his first encounters with her, when he fell in love with her, in a really nostalgic, longing way. since then, though, chances to get close to her haven't been so successful and he's left wondering "Which way does my good luck lie" - whether he'll have better luck in the future and how long he will have to wait until that happens - and "Which way if my luck deserts" - pretty straightforward really, he's anxious about whether the opportunity of establishing a more stable relationship with this girl will fizzle out entirely at any given point, and what he'll be left with if that happens ("Dig deeper in that frozen dirt" being a reference to sinking into depression). i'm guessing the joe byrne references are him using the story of the kelly gang lieutenant as a metaphor for relationship issues. the "I hear a knock on my door" / "To be nailed to a door" part is about expectation and disappointment respectively. brilliant.
I think the song involves a little more than just personal relationships. I think Liddiard is drawing on the album title here to make reference to modern Australia's mining boom and the social consequences of another 'gold rush'. Obviously, he's tying that into a relationship story and it can be read as a personal relationship or, in this reading, perhaps a transnational one. Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner digging coal/iron ore for the 'Cantonese', giving up lifestyle for cash. But...
I think the song involves a little more than just personal relationships. I think Liddiard is drawing on the album title here to make reference to modern Australia's mining boom and the social consequences of another 'gold rush'. Obviously, he's tying that into a relationship story and it can be read as a personal relationship or, in this reading, perhaps a transnational one. Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner digging coal/iron ore for the 'Cantonese', giving up lifestyle for cash. But...
"Which way if my luck deserts?/Dig deeper in that rock and dirt/Which way when the...
"Which way if my luck deserts?/Dig deeper in that rock and dirt/Which way when the good luck dies?"
And maybe that's the folly of pitching your tent at 'Havilah', where working/living in the 'golden' sands of Australia's mining towns is really missing the point of life.
"And if it's all supposed to mean something
It's nothing he's interested in
One thing Joe Byrne won't never know
Is you only get what you let go
He pitched his tent down Havilah
So he would never have to travel far
It don't matter Chinese or Afghan
All that he wants grows on dry land"
"Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner..." Quite possibly, but it also refers to Joe Byrne -- the Kelly Gang member -- who known for speaking Cantonese and associated with the Chinese community. Like many of the rural poor, Byrne came from a social sector that sought to make a living by panning for gold. At the very least, the song references this and the rural poor in north-east Victoria in the time of the Kelly Gang, even as it uses this to tell a story on different levels.
"Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner..." Quite possibly, but it also refers to Joe Byrne -- the Kelly Gang member -- who known for speaking Cantonese and associated with the Chinese community. Like many of the rural poor, Byrne came from a social sector that sought to make a living by panning for gold. At the very least, the song references this and the rural poor in north-east Victoria in the time of the Kelly Gang, even as it uses this to tell a story on different levels.
The lines "And I, I hear a...
The lines "And I, I hear a knock on my door. Someone's waiting outside. Waiting outside, what for?" suggests the possiblity the song is about, or those lines at least are meant to evoke, Aaron Sherritt, who was a close friend of Byrne's and a supporter of the Kelly Gang. When the Kelly Gang found out he was receiving money as a police informer (though it is unclear whether he was deliberately misleading police or not) Byrne knocked on his door late at night and shot him dead.
The song, at least, seems to refer to Byrne and possibly to Sherritt's killing, even if it also works of different levels and refers to relationships in general -- an quite possible in the context sof modern day miners and transnationals.
about a relationship that is constantly uncertain as to where it's going. i can relate a lot. he describes his first encounters with her, when he fell in love with her, in a really nostalgic, longing way. since then, though, chances to get close to her haven't been so successful and he's left wondering "Which way does my good luck lie" - whether he'll have better luck in the future and how long he will have to wait until that happens - and "Which way if my luck deserts" - pretty straightforward really, he's anxious about whether the opportunity of establishing a more stable relationship with this girl will fizzle out entirely at any given point, and what he'll be left with if that happens ("Dig deeper in that frozen dirt" being a reference to sinking into depression). i'm guessing the joe byrne references are him using the story of the kelly gang lieutenant as a metaphor for relationship issues. the "I hear a knock on my door" / "To be nailed to a door" part is about expectation and disappointment respectively. brilliant.
I think the song involves a little more than just personal relationships. I think Liddiard is drawing on the album title here to make reference to modern Australia's mining boom and the social consequences of another 'gold rush'. Obviously, he's tying that into a relationship story and it can be read as a personal relationship or, in this reading, perhaps a transnational one. Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner digging coal/iron ore for the 'Cantonese', giving up lifestyle for cash. But...
I think the song involves a little more than just personal relationships. I think Liddiard is drawing on the album title here to make reference to modern Australia's mining boom and the social consequences of another 'gold rush'. Obviously, he's tying that into a relationship story and it can be read as a personal relationship or, in this reading, perhaps a transnational one. Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner digging coal/iron ore for the 'Cantonese', giving up lifestyle for cash. But...
"Which way if my luck deserts?/Dig deeper in that rock and dirt/Which way when the...
"Which way if my luck deserts?/Dig deeper in that rock and dirt/Which way when the good luck dies?"
And maybe that's the folly of pitching your tent at 'Havilah', where working/living in the 'golden' sands of Australia's mining towns is really missing the point of life.
"And if it's all supposed to mean something It's nothing he's interested in One thing Joe Byrne won't never know Is you only get what you let go
He pitched his tent down Havilah So he would never have to travel far It don't matter Chinese or Afghan All that he wants grows on dry land"
"Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner..." Quite possibly, but it also refers to Joe Byrne -- the Kelly Gang member -- who known for speaking Cantonese and associated with the Chinese community. Like many of the rural poor, Byrne came from a social sector that sought to make a living by panning for gold. At the very least, the song references this and the rural poor in north-east Victoria in the time of the Kelly Gang, even as it uses this to tell a story on different levels.
"Perhaps Joe Byrne is a modern fly-in, fly-out miner..." Quite possibly, but it also refers to Joe Byrne -- the Kelly Gang member -- who known for speaking Cantonese and associated with the Chinese community. Like many of the rural poor, Byrne came from a social sector that sought to make a living by panning for gold. At the very least, the song references this and the rural poor in north-east Victoria in the time of the Kelly Gang, even as it uses this to tell a story on different levels.
The lines "And I, I hear a...
The lines "And I, I hear a knock on my door. Someone's waiting outside. Waiting outside, what for?" suggests the possiblity the song is about, or those lines at least are meant to evoke, Aaron Sherritt, who was a close friend of Byrne's and a supporter of the Kelly Gang. When the Kelly Gang found out he was receiving money as a police informer (though it is unclear whether he was deliberately misleading police or not) Byrne knocked on his door late at night and shot him dead.
The song, at least, seems to refer to Byrne and possibly to Sherritt's killing, even if it also works of different levels and refers to relationships in general -- an quite possible in the context sof modern day miners and transnationals.