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They Were Never Here

from The Wayside Ballads Vol 1 (2015) by Bill Jackson

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Bill Jackson has firmly established himself over the past few years as one of Australia’s finest Singer/Songwriters. His last record ‘Jerilderie’ was enthusiastically received in the marketplace, so much so that the song ‘Something in Blue’ was covered and released on legendary Americana songwriter David Olney’s most recent album ‘When the Deal Goes Down’.
    The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Wayside’ as the edge of the road, figuratively meaning to be set aside or discarded. The Jackson brothers songs have been described as topical, historical and most things in between, populated by characters outside of the mainstream – in many ways somewhat extraordinarily ordinary but always real. Rather than have them fall off the edge they wrote these Ballads to give them a voice and a history.
    The songs making up The Wayside Ballads Vol 1 were handed over to Melbourne musician and producer, Shannon Bourne early in 2014 with a view to making a record that was more electric, eclectic and rocking than Bill Jackson's previous outings. He last worked with Shannon on ‘Diggin’ the Roots’ (2006) and had great respect for him not only as a musician but also as a person who listened widely and who had an instinctive appreciation for the lyric in a song. Shannon continually challenged his pre-conceptions of the songs on this record. As a consequence they were essentially recorded ‘live’ over two days to capture ten performances from a band that had never rehearsed or played together before.
    The other common link on this record was Pete Fidler, Jackson's constant musical companion since 2008. A beautiful musician, Fidler showcased his electric roots and brilliance in a side of him that people rarely get to see. The rhythm section of Dean Addison and Roger Bergodaz was recommended by Bourne and proved to be the perfect foil for this group of songs, both being brilliant and creative musicians in their own right

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Wayside Ballads Vol 1 (2015) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 11 Bill Jackson releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 1965, The Kelly Songs (Bill Jackson - 2023), The Wayside Ballads Vol 3 (2021), The Wayside Ballads Vol 2 (2016), The Wayside Ballads Vol 1 (2015), Try / Somebody's Darlin' - (Single from 'The Wayside Ballads Vol 1' - Bill Jackson), Jerilderie (2011), The Nashville Session (2010), and 3 more. , and , .

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about

spent a lot of time around the Angus McMillan homestead at Bushy Park when I was a teenager. McMillan (1810 – 1865) was an explorer and pioneer pastoralist in Gippsland, Victoria. History has shown him in a different light and is he is now often referred to as the ‘Butcher of Gippsland’, due to his involvement in massacres of the local indigenous population.

lyrics

They Were Never Here

When the pipes droned down Maggie’s Glen
Decent folk never spoke of such things
All was quite and hush about the killing raids
Carried out by the Highland Brigade

They were never here they were never here
By the grace of God they disappeared
The ghost gums stand still in the Haunted Hills
And it’s as if they were never here

Out at Bushy Park in the Laird’s homestead
Angus McMillan never mourned the black dead
Down at Maffra and by Butcher’s Creek
Around Bony Point their spirits still speak

They were never here they were never here
By the grace of God they disappeared
Like saying there’s no sing in a cruel October wind
And it’s as if they were never here

In the Gippsland winter of eighteen forty three
They rode for revenge on a murderous spree
Infants and women the wild and the meek
Made the water run red at Warrigal Creek

They were never here they were never here
By the grace of God they disappeared
We struck their head in bold on the two-dollar gold
And it’s as if they were never here

credits

from The Wayside Ballads Vol 1 (2015), released June 1, 2015
Written by Bill Jackson / Ross Jackson

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Bill Jackson Melbourne, Australia

'His songs are gritty and real and come at you like a hammer, ringin' in the mornin'. Take it or leave it, he's telling it straight up' (Shane Howard)

' Take a chance and listen to some Roots Music that cuts across Borders...' (Keith Glass)

‘We heard Bill Jackson for the first time at the Unpaved Sessions earlier in the year and he’s up there with Paul Kelly’ (The Melbourne Folk Club)
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